If you’re looking for local art, grabbing lunch might be better than going to a gallery.

Many campus bars and restaurants are livening up their walls by showcasing local artists. This allows artists to get their name out their and exposes visitors to creative talent that otherwise might go unnoticed. At Blue Danube Restaurant on North High Street, more than 600 individually decorated tiles cover the ceiling. Anyone with an artistic itch can add their own creation.

“All people have to do is buy a 2-by-2 feet tile, paint it at home and we put it up,” said Ben Slaughter, Blue Danube’s general manager.

Ohio State students and amateur artists have contributed to the restaurant’s diverse tiles, whose topics range from sports to politics.

Slaughter said he is pretty tolerant of what he allows to be put up.

“There is one tile of Michael Jackson that says ‘Bad,’ with little kids all around him. Maybe our best one is from when Ohio State beat Penn State in football a couple years back,” he said.

But there is one tile that holds a special place in Slaughter’s heart.

“There is one me and my wife put up before we were married. It doesn’t look all that great but it has our signatures on it and means a lot,” he said.

Other bar art displays are more like galleries.

Larry’s bar on North High Street usually features local art along its back wall.

“The art adds to the décor of the bar,” said Jon Paoletti, Larry’s owner and son of the bar’s founder and namesake, Larry Paoletti.

Larry’s shows mostly paintings but puts up anything that hangs, Paoletti said.

And customers do notice the work.

“A lot of the artists are customers who see stuff up and ask if they can put their stuff up,” Paoletti said.

The sales from displaying art aren’t bad either.

“The last show at Larry’s, I had 16 pieces hung up and I sold 13,” said Rob Jones, self-described pop artist.

Jones currently has art at Ravari Room on North High Street and said prices for his pieces ranges from $40 to $300. The cost might be too much for a lot of students.

“I would like to buy art when I’m older and have more money,” said Holly Coats, a junior in political science and sociology. Coats said she would consider purchasing art from a bar if it was good enough.

Jones said selling the art isn’t as important as the amount of people who see it.

“One of the major benefits of showing work at a bar or restaurant is there is such a wider audience than at a gallery. A lot more people see the product; whether they want to or not, it’s there,” he said.

Slaughter said art like that at the Blue Danube does more than improve the buildings looks, it brings people together.

“It is almost like a union, but not for students – it’s for the neighborhood. Columbus is so artistic and this is a spot where they can showcase their talent,” he said.

Jim Baird can be reached at [email protected].