 250px|thumb|the wexner center for the arts the wexner center for the arts is the ohio state universityâs multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. through exhibitions, screenings, performances, artist residencies, and educational programs, the wexner center acts as a forum where established and emerging artists can test ideas and where diverse audiences can participate in cultural experiences that enhance understanding of the art of our time. in its programs, the wexner center balances a commitment to experimentation with a commitment to traditions of innovation and affirms the universityâs mission of education, research, and community service. the wexner center opened in november 1989, named in honor of the father of limited brands founder leslie wexner, who was a major donor to the center. the wexner center is a lab and public gallery, but not a museum, as it does not collect art. however, when the center was constructed, it replaced the university gallery of fine arts, and assumed possession and stewardship of the university gallery's permanent collection of roughly 3,000 art works. the collection serves a secondary role in the center's programs in the visual, media and performing arts. while it is made available to university students and scholars for study, and occasionally drawn upon for exhibitions at the center or elsewhere, it is largely dormant. ==history== the $43 million wexner center, commissioned by ohio state university, was named after the father of leslie h. wexner, chairman of limited brands, an ohio native and ohio state alumnus who pledged $25 million to the project.robin pogrebin (september 18, 2005), extreme makeover: museum edition new york times. peter eisenman won the design competition for the wexner in 1983 over four other, more experienced finalists: cesar pelli; michael graves; kallmann mckinnell & wood; and arthur erickson. (each was paired with a local architect.) progressive architecture magazine devoted a whole issue to the building even before it was finished; architects like philip johnson, richard meier and charles gwathmey convened in columbus to mark the building's completion with a public forum on the state of american architecture.paul goldberger (november 5, 1989), the museum that theory built new york times. during its three-year renovation between 2002 and 2005, the wexner relocated
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