Educational Impact

Collage of several Wexner programs representing educational impact

The Wexner Center provides a multitude of free educational programs and contextual materials exploring the art and issues of our time. These offerings strive to spark discussion, enhance curricula, and provide entry points into the contemporary arts. A sense of fun and play—along with an element of care and resilience—is often woven into these programs.

"The art sparks insight, ideas, creativity, and wonder in the hearts and minds of my students."
—Rachel C. Barkeloo, Columbus Alternative High School visual arts teacher

Each year, the center serves hundreds of diverse K–12 students and teachers from urban, rural, and suburban districts through a suite of free programs offered in and out of school. The anchor high school program, Pages, is an internationally noted, yearlong writing program that meets in classrooms and at the center, fostering critical thinking, art appreciation, and creative expression. The Wex is a partner of Columbus City Schools on the Pathways program, which provides free experiential learning opportunities to the district’s students. And in a collaboration with the nonprofit Godman Guild, the center hosts an after-school program with arts-focused studio activities and homework assistance.

All-ages programming is offered in Columbus neighborhoods through the center’s Community Studios initiative—held in such venues as the Linden Community Center—where Wex artists teach free classes ranging from ceramics to painting to DJing. Other opportunities for learning abound, including gallery tours (often aided by digital learning guides providing students and educators with additional context), artist talks, filmmaker conversations, and annual endowed lectures including the Lambert Family Lecture and Glimcher Lecture. The Zoom: Family Film and Book Festival allows families to come together for international films focusing on kids’ perspectives, a book fair, and hands-on art-making.