COLUMBUS, OH – February 17–28, 2025 – What happens when artistic practice and academic inquiry collide? The trace layer play collective invites you to witness, explore, and engage with the evolving messiness of the research process at their fifth annual exhibition, hosted at Hopkins Hall Gallery at The Ohio State University.

Born out of a desire for connection and creative collaboration during the pandemic, trace layer play began as a research experiment in 2020. Over the past five years, it has grown into a dynamic, interdisciplinary collective of graduate students and alumni from the Department of Arts Administration, Education, and Policy. Through interactive installations, immersive experiences, and collaborative art-making, the collective challenges traditional notions of research and dares to make the invisible layers of inquiry visible.

This year’s exhibition builds upon the collective’s foundation of experimental research practices, embracing the ways trajectories intersect, overlap, and evolve. Through multimedia installations and participatory experiences, visitors will not only witness the research process but also become a part of it. 

Participating researchers include Aelim Kim, Anastasia Sotnikova, Lingran Zhang, Lydia Gokey, Noor Danielle Murteza, Robin Gordon, RuoYi Li, Tamryn McDermott, Xiaoxiao Bao, and Yanshuang Ji.

Visitors are invited to celebrate the exhibition at the reception and artist talk on Friday, February 28 from 4–5:30 PM at Hopkins Hall Gallery at The Ohio State University. The exhibition will remain on view from February 17–28, 2025.