How does this artwork elucidate its Removal?
Amid the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials beginning in 2015, about 150 protesters rallied at the statue in August 2017. The protests aimed to have the statue removed, given Christopher Columbus's violence and enslavement of Native Americans. The 2020 George Floyd protests in Columbus renewed calls to remove the statue, with petitions circulating to also remove other statues of the explorer and to rename the city. The statue's removal was announced on June 18, with Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther announcing plans for a work of art that better represents the people of Columbus. The statue had been vandalized one day prior, with the word "rapist" written across the statue's base. The Columbus Piave Club, representing the Italian-Americans who facilitated the statue's installation there, opposed the move, and called for it to either stay or be returned to them. The club stated it had celebrated the anniversary of its unveiling every year by the statue, since 1955. A city resident filed a lawsuit urging for a court order to stop the statue's removal, in hope that a decision is made by the Columbus City Council after a public hearing. The Columbus Art Commission, which oversees the city's public art, voted unanimously to approve the statue's removal on June 24. The statue was removed and stored on July 1, without a public hearing, as Mayor Ginther was able to order it. The art commission announced in 2020 there will be public input into the work that replaces it, and who the artist will be. As of June 26, 2022, the plinth is still empty.
George Floyd protests in Columbus George Floyd protests removal of Confederate monuments and memorials Andrew Ginther Christopher Columbus