Wexner Center for the Arts. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern File Photo.
Representatives of the Wexner Center for the Arts are concerned and seeking to raise awareness about the future of the center’s film theater, as campus construction plans create uncertainty.?
At a March 5 Board of Trustees public meeting, the board approved a $2.3 million proposal to design and construct a revitalized gateway to campus, according to board documents. The project aims to design a campus entrance and walkway at 15th Avenue and High Street, neighboring the Wexner Center for the Arts.?
“If it was followed to the letter, it would mean that they would basically kind of flatten out that approach to the Wexner Center,” said Dave Filipi, director of film and video at the Wex. “The film theater is under there, and so that would mean it would be demolished.”?
University officials said the details of the construction plans have yet to be determined, and will require future board approval.?
“To have 15th [Avenue] & High [Street] reactivated as a central hub and main entrance to the university will position the Wexner Center for the Arts as a centerpiece of campus and the surrounding neighborhood,” Chris Booker, a university spokesperson, said in an email. “Construction will require future board approval, and the Wexner Center for the Arts will remain engaged with the project team throughout the planning process.”
Filipi said current design discussions suggest the construction may cut through the center’s film theater.?
“This is where we do our work,” Filipi said. “There really is not a replacement for it. It’s very upsetting to find out about it the way we’ve been finding out about it, and nobody’s talking to us. It’s frustrating.”?
Board documents say the redesign includes “a new plaza, with enhanced site furnishings and amenities, [that] will provide a seamless pedestrian connection from East of High Street to Thompson Library.”?
In an effort to speak out against the demolition of the center’s film theater, Filipi said he has reached out to university officials and filmmakers who have visited the center for support — many of whom responded positively.?
“Hopefully, once enough concerns are expressed, it would cause the planners to pause and reconsider the decision, or maybe look at a plan that would preserve the theater,” Filipi said.?
Booker said the university plans to keep the Wex involved throughout the planning and design process for the project.?
“The Wexner Center for the Arts is aware and engaged in ongoing conversations about the project, and Ohio State remains committed to the center and its film department,” Booker said.?
Filipi said the Wex’s film theater provides one-of-a-kind opportunities and resources for Ohio State film students.
“I was telling the students, ‘Your films are being shown the way that any other filmmakers would be shown,’” Filipi said. “That means something to them.”?
Steve Bognar, an Ohio-based documentary filmmaker, said he has a longstanding relationship with the Wex. When breaking into the film industry, the theater provided him with opportunities he could not find elsewhere.?
“The Wex brought filmmakers to Columbus,” Bognar said. “Not only was I seeing amazing films as an emerging filmmaker, but I would meet the filmmakers, and that was huge.”?
Through meeting filmmakers he looked up to at the Wex, Bognar said he felt his dreams were achievable. He said he hopes Ohio State students have the same experience.?
“You’re not going to get world-famous and world-class filmmakers to come if there’s not a great cinema to show their work,” Bognar said. “It would hurt all the aspiring young filmmakers who would be going there to learn their craft and learn about this art form, and see that they, too, could make it.”?
Booker said the final plans for construction have yet to be determined.?
“The university board of trustees has approved professional services, including portions of the design, engineering and construction management work,” Booker said. “This planning work will further inform the full scope of the project.”
