Dublin Park Pass Returns with Local Artist Poster Rewards, Arts Council Hosts Open House

For every five GPS-based check-ins at Dublin parks, residents can earn a limited-edition poster by a central Ohio artist—a reward that puts paid local artwork inside a city program built around recreation and wellness.

The Dublin Park Pass returned in 2026 with a new rewards structure featuring posters created by four local artists and distributed through GPS-based check-ins at city parks. Visit Dublin and OhioHealth developed the poster series in collaboration with Dublin Arts Council. The partnership offers one measure of whether Dublin's arts infrastructure can extend beyond event programming to create paid opportunities for working artists and greater cultural continuity.

Marie Cottrell, Kevin Lopes, Fiona Miller and Yani Sheng were selected through an open call to central Ohio artists and a juried process organized by Visit Dublin in collaboration with Dublin Arts Council.

"The addition of original artwork created by local artists transforms the Dublin Park Pass into something people will want to earn, collect, and display while celebrating the natural beauty that surrounds us," Leslie Rummel, Visit Dublin Ohio's head of marketing and communications, said.

The mobile Park Pass encourages exploration of more than 60 parks across Dublin. It is delivered by text and email after sign-up, with no app download required, and users check in via GPS with location services enabled. Participants receive 100 points for each park check-in and can redeem 500 points for one poster. The full four-poster set is available to participants who reach 20 check-ins by September 30, 2026.

Inspired by the Works Progress Administration national parks posters of the 1930s, each design highlights a different Dublin green space. Cottrell's poster features Hayden Run Falls; Lopes created one for Indian Run Falls; Miller illustrated Riverside Crossing Park; and Sheng depicted M.L. Red Trabue Nature Reserve.

Lopes is a graphic designer and illustrator based in the Columbus metropolitan area. Miller is a British illustrator and architectural artist based in Columbus and Dublin who specializes in architectural subjects, maps and children's illustration. Sheng is a Dublin-based visual artist who has exhibited internationally and in the Columbus local art scene.

The posters are described as limited-edition and available while supplies last, though no specific print run quantity was publicly disclosed. The Park Pass is presented in partnership with OhioHealth as a presenting sponsor and is co-branded to promote outdoor activity and wellness.

"Dublin has one of the most remarkable park systems in Central Ohio, and we wanted to create a program that inspires people to experience those spaces in a fun, meaningful way," Rummel, Visit Dublin Ohio's head of marketing and communications, said.

The poster initiative sits alongside community programming intended to bring residents into direct contact with artists and the creative process. Dublin Arts Council and Kiln Room Dublin hosted an open house on August 8, 2026, with artist demonstrations, a community clay activity, public artist talks and food at the council's Riverside Drive location.

Dublin Arts Council is at 7125 Riverside Drive, just north of the I-270 overpass. Kiln Room Dublin, the council's ceramics studio, is on the lower level and offers classes and workshops.

The open house ran from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Public artist talks included Andrew Lundberg discussing "Celestial Feline" at 11:30 AM, Todd Smith discussing "Exuvia" at 12:15 PM, and Mary Jo Bole discussing "Tree of Life, Future Tense" at 1:00 PM. Tortilla Street Food Truck provided food onsite, and guests were encouraged to picnic on the lawn, with blankets and chairs welcome.

The exhibition "Thrown Together" runs from July 16 through August 28, 2026. Dublin Arts Council offers free admission and complimentary parking at its Riverside Drive location. Its mission is to engage the community, cultivate creativity and foster lifelong learning through the arts.

The collaborations bring together institutions with different roles in Dublin's cultural economy. Visit Dublin Ohio, the city's official destination marketing organization, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(6) founded in 1988 to promote tourism and attract visitor spending to Dublin. At the Arts Council, Merijn van der Heijden became executive director effective June 30, 2025, succeeding David Guion, who retired after serving since 2005.

The poster program represents paid commissions for four central Ohio artists chosen through an open, juried process, but it embeds that support in a health-and-recreation tourism initiative rather than providing standalone arts funding. The open house, meanwhile, gave the public access to working artist studios, hands-on participation and direct artist talks—not only the consumption of finished work.

Whether the collaboration among a tourism organization, healthcare sponsor and arts council can generate recurring artist income and build a stable creative workforce in Dublin—or will remain a one-season amenity program—will depend on subsequent commission cycles, broader artist rosters and institutional commitment beyond the current pilot.