CODAworx and Architects Foundation Present: The Journey

Tickets to the panel are free; $15 tickets will permit additional entry into a giveaway for various prizes. This course is available for AIA Continuing Education credits (1 LU); please provide member ID upon signup.

Project background

Winner of the 2020 CODAaward in the "public spaces" category, Graduate Columbus, a hotel in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, Ohio, features a series of three permanent murals, titled The Journey, by Los Angeles-based artists Ryan “Yanoe” Sarfati & Eric “Zoueh” Skotnes. The murals, which are the tallest in the city, depict the journey of a hummingbird connecting man to the gods. Mythological figures signify the prosperity of Columbus, while the figure of local Somali woman Hodan Mohammed, founder of the community organization Our Helpers, wearing a traditional guntiino, represents the journey of new Americans in Columbus, a welcoming city. Presently, the mural is under consideration for being one of the largest augmented reality murals in the world.

Hear from our speakers:

Hodan Mohamed

Hodan Mohamed founded Columbus organization Our Helpers in 2012 to help immigrant families get connected to resources in there community and to provide volunteer help and case management. Our Helpers since its inception has helped over 3,500 clients and families. Our clients come from over 30 countries and speak over 50 languages. We provide culturally sensitive programs to our clients and have two location in north and west side of Columbus, Ohio.

Ryan Sarfati

Ryan “Yanoe” Sarfati, is a Belgium American contemporary artist best known for his large-scale murals and evocatively veristic aesthetic. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Yanoe forged his urban art identity as a graffiti writer, crafting wild-style, interlocking lettering radiating with energy. Yanoe relocated to Los Angeles during the early 1990s and has since become a formidable, prolific force in the mural and installation scene. With site-specific murals in cities ranging from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Columbus, Ohio to Los Angeles, California, Yanoe creates work that is an important integer of placemaking. Developed over his multi-decade career, Yanoe has a keen understanding of mass and space and is elegantly versed at translating multidimensional modalities, like Brutalist architecture, into dynamic, unidimensional walls. In more recent years, Yanoe has pivoted the intentionality of his practice to fine art, exploring studio painting and commercial partnerships with companies such as: Nike, Urban Decay, Headspace, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Netflix.

Eric Skotnes

Eric Skotnes is a Los Angeles-based urban artist known for interconnecting disparate styles into an aesthetically integrated whole. Skotnes began writing graffiti at 11 years old, an influence that has evolved throughout his career and remains prevalent in his outdoor murals. He studied illustration and fine art at Art Center College of Design and, through that training, is well versed in classical, figurative painting and knowledgeable about the history of art. Colliding these schoolings—one in the classroom, the other on the streets—Skotnes creates murals and works on canvas that juxtapose his wildstyle graffiti with figural renderings of classical sculptures from antiquity.

Moderator: Nicole Carroll

Nicole Carroll is Vice President of Business Development for CODAworx. CODAworx is the hub of the commissioned art economy. We connect all members of the industry, matching creative talent with creative opportunities, providing art commissioning services that streamline the commission workflow process resulting in successful art installations. We connect those looking to commission artwork with professional artists who create large-scale commission projects for installation in public and private settings.

Project goals:

●Stimulate Conversation: Public art can stand out, engage, and inspire residents and visitors intellectually, aesthetically, and emotionally.
● Tell the Story: Public art can embody our community spirit and aspirations by honoring the past and envisioning our future.
● Speak to Diversity: Public art can speak to the many people and neighborhoods united by High Street.
● Take Risks: Public art can be bold, challenge our understanding of art, and express our ambition.
● Level Up: Public art can represent the highest expression of culture and elevate the profile of our city.
● A successful project would maximize the site-specific nature of the building as a canvas, leveraging its unique architecture, while creating deliberate linkages between the artwork and the pedestrian.

This project is featured as part of the 2020 CODAworx exhibition hosted virtually at The Octagon. View the exhibition here.