Columbus Invitational Arts Competition Explained

The Columbus Invitational Arts Competition is a competitive arts event held annually in Columbus, Ohio, since 2012.^[1] The event brings together organizations selected for inclusion due to a combination of "artistic excellence and exceptional community involvement."^[2] In its first year the event drew participation from twenty-five local groups representing over three hundred individual artists, across four categories, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Studio Recordings and Literary Arts. Literary Arts was eliminated in the second year^[3] and the divisions were further reduced to Performing Arts and Visual Arts for the third year, which was billed as a "regional" competition, and which drew participation from all five states surrounding Ohio (Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia). Organizers plan to hold the event at a national level by year six, and an international level by year ten.^[4]

Judging

All divisions are judged by a panel including one (and only one) juror from each participating organization in that division. Each piece, regardless of division or genre, is evaluated independently by each juror according to a scoring rubric on a scale from 1 to 10 in each of three areas, creativity, craft and depth. Scores for each piece are averaged by area, refactored to prevent juror bias and then multiplied to produce a final score between 1 and 1000.^[5]

Winners

2012

• Visual Arts – Mother Artists at Work, Columbus, Frayed Edges (758)
• Performing Arts – Transit Arts, Columbus, Hip Hop Dance with DJ BHB (746)
• Literary Arts – Paging Columbus, Columbus, Winter Break In (345)
• Studio Recordings – Flotation Walls, We Want Action, Columbus, Worms (331) ^[6]

2013

• Performing Arts – Saints Drumline, Columbus (715)
• Visual Arts – Mother Artists at Work, Columbus, Totem (547)
• Studio Recordings – Nick Tolford & Company, WWCD, Columbus, Until I Walk Away (294)

2014

• Performing Arts – NoExit Performance (Indianapolis), The Red Couch
• Visual Arts – Mother Artists at Work (Columbus), Behind Closed Drawers

Notes and References

1. News: Grossberg . Michael . June 17, 2012 . 200 Columbus Invitational: Performance, music and more to be showcased . dead . The Columbus Dispatch . https://web.archive.org/web/20211019225508/https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/06/17/performance-music-and-more-to-be-showcased.html . October 19, 2021.
2. News: Mayr . Bill . August 22, 2013 . Event gives range of talent an opportunity to perform . dead . The Columbus Dispatch . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044545/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2013/08/22/event-gives-range-of-talent-an-opportunity-to-perform.html . March 4, 2016.
3. News: Lovett . Matthew . August 8, 2013 . Arts preview: Columbus Invitational Arts Competition: Visual Arts Exhibition . dead . Columbus Alive . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052038/http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2013/08/08/arts-preview-columbus-invitational-arts-competition-visual-arts-exhibition.html . March 4, 2016.
4. Web site: Home . invitationalarts.org.
5. News: Yates . Christopher A. . September 16, 2012 . Exhibit - Main Library: Invitational showcases appealing area works . dead . The Columbus Dispatch . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225123/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/09/16/invitational-showcases-appealing-area-works.html . September 23, 2015.
6. News: October 5, 2012 . Show & Tell - Entertainment News: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Invitational Arts Competition and more . dead . The Columbus Dispatch . https://web.archive.org/web/20170313125318/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/10/05/central-ohio-1-tv-1art1-3-gerjlb9h-1.html . March 13, 2017.