Sculpture Walk Sponsor Spotlight: Song of the Sandhill

Public art has become part of the experience of exploring downtown Columbus. Whether you're meeting friends for lunch, shopping at a favorite local business or simply taking a walk through the Trackside District, the Columbus Sculpture Walk gives you something unexpected to discover along the way.

Each year, new sculptures are brought to downtown Columbus for a rotating outdoor exhibition. Making that possible takes the support of businesses and organizations that believe public art adds value to our community.

Over the coming weeks, we're going to introduce you to the sculptures in this year's walk — and, just as importantly, recognize the sponsors who help bring them here.

Meet Song of the Sandhill

One of this year's featured sculptures is Song of the Sandhill, created by Sondra Jonson of Cambridge, Nebraska.

The bronze sculpture captures the beauty and graceful form of the sandhill crane, a bird with a special connection to Nebraska. It's a piece that feels particularly at home in our state and gives visitors to the Sculpture Walk an opportunity to experience the work of a Nebraska artist right here in downtown Columbus.

Song of the Sandhill is available for purchase for $24,800.

Honoring the Columbus Area Arts Council

Song of the Sandhill is sponsored by the Columbus Area Arts Council, 1981–2024.

For more than four decades, the Columbus Area Arts Council helped champion the arts in our community. Its support encouraged opportunities for people to experience visual and performing arts and helped build an appreciation for the important role creativity plays in making a community a great place to live.

Although the organization concluded its work in 2024, its impact did not disappear.

Its sponsorship of Song of the Sandhill is one way that legacy continues — bringing a work of art into a public space where anyone can experience and enjoy it.

We are grateful for that lasting investment in the arts and in Columbus.

Sponsors Make the Sculpture Walk Possible

The Columbus Sculpture Walk relies on sponsors who understand that public art is more than decoration.

It creates interest. It sparks conversation. It adds character to our streets and public spaces. And it gives residents and visitors another reason to spend time downtown.

Sponsor support allows us to bring rotating sculptures to the Trackside District each year, continually changing what people can discover as they explore downtown Columbus.

Without these sponsors, the Sculpture Walk simply would not be possible.

Take the Sculpture Walk With Us

Want to learn more about the sculptures you see throughout downtown? Join us for a guided Columbus Sculpture Walk on Saturday, September 12.

Start the morning with coffee and donuts from 9:00–9:30 a.m. at the Thrivent Building, 1464 27th Avenue. Then, from 9:30–10:30 a.m., we'll head out on a guided walking tour featuring 11 sculptures throughout downtown Columbus.

The Sculpture Walk is sponsored by Empower Financial Group – Thrivent, and the guided tour is a great opportunity to get a closer look at the artwork, learn more about the pieces and experience the collection as you walk through the Trackside District.

Bring your walking shoes and come discover some of the art that's helping make downtown Columbus a more interesting place to explore!

Take a Walk and Discover It

We invite you to find Song of the Sandhill and the other sculptures featured in this year's Columbus Sculpture Walk.

Make an afternoon of it. Grab lunch or dinner. Stop into a shop you've never visited. Find your favorite sculpture. Take a picture. Then keep walking to see what you discover next.

That's exactly what public art can do — turn an ordinary trip downtown into an experience.

Interested in purchasing Song of the Sandhill? The sculpture is available for $24,800. For more information about purchasing this or another Sculpture Walk piece, contact the TRAX Creative District at 402-562-4273.

And as we begin looking ahead to next year's Columbus Sculpture Walk, new sponsors are welcome. If your business or organization would like to help bring another year of rotating public art to downtown Columbus by sponsoring a sculpture, contact the TRAX Creative District at 402-562-4273. Sponsor support is what allows us to continue bringing new artwork to the community each year.

Take a walk. Discover art. Dine, shop, explore & experience the Trackside District.