A $150,000 public art project is taking shape in Hilliard, and residents have until August 17, to help steer it.

The city's Public Arts Commission met on August 3, with Chair Rebecca Rehbeck presiding. The agenda listed five discussion items: the Designing Local placemaking plan, a GIS map status check, underpass reconstruction progress, peace poles, and a "parking lot" of future topics.

Meeting minutes have not yet been posted, so specific outcomes from the session are not confirmed.

Plan enters Phase 4

The city partnered with Designing Local, a Columbus-based firm, to develop "Artful and Alive: Hilliard's Public Art and Placemaking Plan." The effort's centerpiece is a national artist search to create site-specific artwork outside The Well, Hilliard's Recreation and Wellness Center, with a budget of approximately $150,000.

Designing Local presented the plan to City Council's Committee of the Whole on May 11. The five-phase timeline runs through November 2026, and the August 3 meeting falls at the start of Phase 4 (public art vision and goals), following the public engagement phase that ran through July.

The plan is intended to serve as a five-to-ten-year roadmap covering site recommendations, policy guidelines, and an implementation strategy.

"We want this plan to reflect the voices and ideas of the community," Ed Merritt, director of Recreation and Parks, said in the city's June announcement of the initiative.

Residents can weigh in through the online survey at us.maptionnaire.com/p/hilliardart, open through August 17.

Underpass and GIS mapping

The commission has tracked underpass reconstruction progress since at least June 2026. The city's 2023 Community Plan identifies the Cemetery Road rail overpass as a candidate for public art, calling its concrete retaining walls a "canvas" that, paired with lighting and landscaping, could become a welcoming gateway.

The agenda also asked whether the commission's GIS map is functional. The tool would track where art installations are planned across Hilliard neighborhoods.

What's next

Council member Kathy Parker-Jones said at the May 11 committee meeting that she wanted art distributed throughout the city so residents can experience it close to where they live. Council President Emily Cole called public art "a powerful way to tell Hilliard's story" at the same session.

The commission's next meeting is September 8, at 5 p.m., shifted from the usual first Monday because of Labor Day. The finished public art plan is expected in October or November.