accessing nostalgia
Opening Weekend image by Hadley Fruits for Landmarks Columbus Foundation
location: Columbus, IN
date: 2024-2025
type: public installation
role: designer
In fall of 2024, Adaptive Operations was chosen as a recipient of the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize, an award that commissions a new quasi-temporary architectural installation. The site we were given was the historic Crump Theatre, for which we created Accessing Nostalgia.
The 136-year-old Crump Theatre is a vessel that holds the collective memory of Columbus, one that is illuminated with the projections of a not-so-distant past. Accessing Nostalgia creates new apertures, literally and metaphorically, within and around The Crump that allows a creative nostalgia to be projected; a nostalgia not for historic reenactment, nor for historic revision, but one that searches for a past perfect that can point to an idealized future. The apertures, or portals are an attempt to peel away and gaze at parts of the building that demonstrate how it has reinvented itself over its history, and how it can continue that pattern in a way that expands its access to arts and culture.
The recent preservation efforts demonstrated by its diverse community of supporters show that The Crump is valued as something other than an obsolete piece of real estate. It shows that it is part of a bigger trajectory and narrative that says this is a community that values arts and culture and will prioritize this in a way that treats its built environment as an active member of that community.
The primary architectural move was to peel away the existing metal siding that had been covering up a wall scar since 1980. This action creates a new space within which visitors could experience an element the building not seen since in roughly 45 years, and also activates the neighboring open space for use an an outdoor performance and gathering space. Additionally, on the front facade, we reconstructed a 1920s opening that lies buried beneath the 1940s art deco facade currently in placed. The reconstruction is the same size and location, but is made using 130 silhouettes of community members who have had a role in some way of caring for the theatre over the course of its life. The silhouettes were laser cut out of mirrored vinyl on recycled/reused polycarbonate yard signs.
Organization: Exhibit Columbus
