Campus Update: Immersing Our Space In Local Art
Our campus was built for our employees and our community. In this update, learn how we’re connecting both groups through art.
With each passing day, our campus comes closer to becoming our home. Our team is busy painting walls, assembling desks, arranging furniture and installing equipment. At the same time, our vast collection of local art — carefully curated over the course of our 13-year history — is being hung with care.
Since the inception of CoverMyMeds, we’ve incorporated local art into our office spaces. No two pieces are alike and nearly all come from creators in the communities where we live, work and play. It’s one of many ways we engage with and support our neighbors — including those in the vibrant and thriving Franklinton Arts District, the neighborhood we’ll soon call home.
Our new campus also presents opportunities to create an even bigger impact through art — all while connecting the two pillars of our project: for our people and for our community.
Large-scale murals a blank canvas for local artists
We’re creating several large murals — some as big as 1,000 square feet — in the most visible and highly trafficked areas of our destination workplace. The project, led by CoverMyMeds’ Occupancy Coordinator Gabe Michael Kenney, harnesses a diverse pool of local artists to interpret our core values and community.
“We wanted to create something that matches what our space represents — and that’s an unconventional office,” Gabe said. “For the most part, we want to fill large spaces and we’re fusing things that are irregular by creating immersive wallscapes that reflect the local art scene’s vibe and aesthetic within our destination office.”
To read more about Gabe’s passion for the arts, check out this blog post, which also describes his role with a local nonprofit arts organization, Wild Goose Creative.
Above the “nest” — a cozy nook in our community space — a blank wall will transform into a massive work of art that creatively depicts two aspects of our growth mindset: Be Yourself and Be Selfless. The concept — which balances the ambitious, yet humble nature of our culture — is the brainchild of local artist Miss Birdy. Known for her large-scale exterior mural work, Miss Birdy is tasked with creating art that’s visually recognizable from the lobby two stories below, yet still provides an engaging level of detail up close.
“With a combination of realism and playful comic book-like lines, it tells a story of being bold, but being fluid with the environment as well,” Miss Birdy said. “Having more opportunities to paint in my own city is exactly what I'm looking for. Most of my murals are out of state. Being able to practically walk to a jobsite from my very own home means a lot to me.”
On the first floor of the lobby, another local artist is transforming 360 degrees of wall space in our large training rooms into an homage to our community. The approach is intentional, as this space is shared with our Franklinton neighbors to host tech, civic and philanthropic community events. Paul Giovis, whose work can be seen at The Olde Oak just east of downtown Columbus, is creating a Franklinton-themed piece made of large shapes filled with many smaller elements.
The motif pairs replicas of unique homes with trains — iconic and historic symbols representative of the Franklinton neighborhood. The mural also incorporates nature and wildlife, fitting with our emphasis on sustainability.
We’re also teaming up with several other local artists to spruce up spaces throughout campus, including restrooms, with commissioned work and murals.
• Derrick Callender — a recent graduate from Columbus College of Art & Design, where he studied illustration and graphic design. Derrick has been creating art since he was five years old and is now a full-time artist and art teacher with a unique, colorful bold style. Derrick tries to incorporate color, shapes, creative figures and anything else he can imagine into his work. He aspires to be a children’s book artist; until then, Derrick continues to teach, host painting events, participate in gallery shows, paint murals and anything else he can put his art toward.
• Oriana G. G. Hirschberg — a Columbus-based artist whose drawings map their memories and experiences of their neighborhood. They intentionally work in people’s homes and DIY spaces to meet their audience where they are. They have shown work at Skylab and Cartpushers and created visuals for house shows and nightlife. In 2018, Oriana co-founded Friend, a studio and events space on Columbus’ south side focused on uplifting marginalized artists and creating joyful programming. After tattooing for two years, Oriana is focused on creating clothing as another way to wear symbolic imagery. Whether it’s through a narrative drawing or an event, they create conduits for connection to bring people closer together.
• Kyle Knapp — a visual artist and designer who lives and works in Columbus. Kyle is interested in all forms of analog and digital image making, and he’s always working to improve his craft and explore different media — whether it's through murals, zines or animated gifs. A recurring theme of his work is surreal landscapes overgrowing with detail. These scenes are often exploding with organic shapes that melt, tangle and overlap. Kyle has participated in numerous art events and gallery shows throughout Columbus over the years and is happy to be a part of the local art community.
At a Glance
- Six local artists
- Six locations
- ~6,840 total square feet of wallscape
Innovative art gallery puts local creators on display
A nearly 60-linear-foot gallery wall, also located in the lobby just outside the training rooms, is another place we’ll display the works of local artists. The name — Innova Gallery — represents both the past and present of CoverMyMeds.
“Innova was a name given to our company in the very early days of our existence — it’s part of our heritage,” Gabe said. “It’s also about innovating, creating and designing the future.”
The public exhibition space prioritizes the value of an arts presence in our space and honors the work of local independent artists. While details and plans are still being worked out, our vision is to host several art exhibitions throughout the year that showcase local and regional contemporary artists.
CoverMyMeds staff will play a key role in collectively curating the exhibition space by voting on the artists selected to present. With an eclectic variety of themed solo, duo and group exhibitions, Innova Gallery will showcase a fresh, novel experience for our employees and local community.
“The gallery provides a platform that celebrates the abundance of diverse, creative cultures embedded in our community and our company,” Gabe said. “We’re also planning to team up with local arts organizations and the Franklinton Arts District to be a remarkable new stop on the Franklinton Fridays tour.”
The gallery provides a platform that celebrates the abundance of diverse, creative cultures embedded in our community and our company.
Art on our campus is deeper than decoration. It’s creating meaningful connection — for our employees and our community. True to our principles, we’re approaching a situation in a way that everyone wins. In this case, we’re supporting budding artists while enriching the lives of our neighbors and our employees.
Stay tuned for more updates as work wraps on campus and our murals come to life. We’ll also share more details as we finalize plans to open the Innova Gallery. In the meantime, catch all of our progress updates and interact with campus by visiting our experience site.
