Columbus Arts Campaign Rides City’s Creative Momentum

For Immediate Release
Monday August 17, 2015

The unprecedented campaign to support and promote the arts in Columbus, Ohio coincides with the 15th largest city's growing reputation as one of the nation's top locations for creativity and culture. Art Makes Columbus/Columbus Makes Art is the theme of a sustained five-year campaign to demonstrate the vitality, innovation and the connectivity within the Columbus arts community. Launched in June, the campaign capitalizes on the momentum of the city’s growing national reputation.

In July, Smart Assets listed Columbus No. 6 on its Top 10 Cities for Creatives. Also in July, Mashable listed the upcoming Fashion Meets Music Festival No. 10 on its 14 Epic Music Events Around the Globe. In June, Fox News ranked Columbus No. 4 on its list of Unlikely Foodie Cities. Late last year, Forbes named Columbus the No. 1 Opportunity City, calling it the best place in the nation where individuals can make their own mark.

"This campaign was born out of an understanding that when it comes to artistic talent Columbus rivals any city, except in two important areas—awareness and perception," said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Greater Columbus Arts Council. "The timing for our campaign couldn’t be better. Just as we start to see a shift in national perception, we are introducing the creative stars that live in our community."

Art Makes Columbus/Columbus Makes Art features a cutting-edge website, [columbusmakesart.com](https://columbusmakesart.com), with engaging videos of Columbus artists telling their own stories, an interactive calendar that will serve as an all-encompassing, go-to resource for arts events, showings, activities and tickets, and a robust artist directory. Through 2020, the campaign will be pushed out through a variety of paid and earned media efforts encouraging people to nominate Columbus artists for future profiles, explore Columbus’ world-class events and share dynamic arts images through #artmakescbus.

The Campaign is supported financially by American Electric Power, Cardinal Health, Dispatch Media Group, PNC, The Columbus Foundation, Greater

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