"As We Are": The Interactive LED Sculpture Inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center
Located in the North Atrium of the Greater Columbus Convention Center at 400 N High St, As We Are is a 14-foot interactive LED sculpture created by Columbus artist Matthew Mohr that displays the faces of real Columbus residents - and lets visitors add their own portrait to the display.
What the Sculpture Is
The work was created by Matthew Mohr, a Columbus-based artist whose practice centers on large-scale digital portraiture. As We Are takes the form of a giant human head rendered in LED panels, programmed to cycle through photorealistic portraits of Columbus residents who volunteered to be scanned. The effect is a continuously shifting face built entirely from the city's own population.
What makes it interactive: visitors can step inside a scanning booth adjacent to the sculpture, have a 3D image of their head captured, and see their own portrait displayed on the 14-foot face. The transition from observer to subject is the central experience the piece is designed around.
Where to Find It
As We Are is installed in the North Atrium of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215. The North Atrium faces High Street and is accessible from the main convention center entrance. The sculpture is visible from inside the building and oriented toward the atrium's open floor.
The Convention Center sits at the corner of N High St and Goodale Blvd, at the southern edge of the Short North. It's within walking distance of the Short North Arts District, Nationwide Arena, and the Scioto Mile. Paid parking is available in the convention center garage off Goodale. The COTA #2 and #10 routes stop on High Street directly in front of the building.
How It Fits Into Columbus's Public Art Landscape
Columbus has built a substantial inventory of permanent outdoor public art through its Public Art Program and development agreements, but As We Are is among the few major works that lives indoors and centers interactivity rather than passive viewing. Most Columbus public art - the murals along the Short North High Street corridor, the sculptures in Bicentennial Park, the installations along the Scioto Mile - is designed to be encountered while moving through the city. This piece asks you to stop and participate.
The closest comparison in scale and ambition is Penelope, the large figurative bronze near Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the west side of downtown. Both works center the human figure at monumental scale in a civic setting. But where Penelope is fixed and mythological, As We Are changes constantly and draws its content from living Columbusans. The experience of standing in front of it shifts depending on whose face is currently on display.
For visitors interested in how Columbus institutions approach community representation in contemporary art, the Columbus Museum of Art is about six blocks north on Broad Street and regularly programs work that engages similar themes around identity and place.
Who This Suits
Anyone passing through the Convention Center for an event will encounter the sculpture without planning for it, which is part of how it functions as a civic artwork - it's embedded in a building that hosts trade shows, conferences, and public events year-round, putting it in front of an audience that spans well beyond dedicated art visitors.
Visitors who want to participate in the scanning process should allow extra time, as availability depends on whether the booth is staffed. The sculpture itself is viewable any time the convention center is open regardless of whether the interactive component is running.
Families with children tend to respond well to it - a face that size, cycling through recognizable portraits, is immediately engaging without requiring any art context to appreciate.
Practical Notes
Viewing is free and requires no ticket. The convention center is generally open during regular business hours and during hosted events; hours vary, so checking the Greater Columbus Convention Center website before a dedicated visit is worth the step. The North Atrium is accessible from the main High Street entrance.
Parking in the convention center garage is paid; street parking on High Street is metered Monday through Saturday. If you're combining this with a Short North visit, the garage on Hubbard Avenue a few blocks north is often easier to exit during high-traffic evenings.
For a full picture of Columbus's public art inventory, the city maintains a searchable map through the Columbus Office of Arts and Culture at columbus.gov - As We Are is listed there alongside the city's outdoor commissioned works.
