Look through the mock-ups and descriptions for the murals that ArtWorks is producing this summer, and a theme emerges. Marginalized groups and underdogs — African-Americans, immigrants, women artists, people with disabilities, even a premature hippo — are getting their due.
ArtWorks’ attention to diversity appeals to project manager and artist Harry Sanchez Jr., who’ll guide apprentices painting “The Early Bird” at 1715 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine. The mural on the Cincinnati Recreation Commission building will recognize the “cheerful givers, hard workers and overcomers” who participate in Saturday Hoops games and other activities for at-risk kids through the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.
The design by Nashville, Tenn. artist Bongang, a native of Cameroon, is a vibrant jumble of words and avian figures.
“It’s uplifting and positive for kids in the area,” Sanchez says, describing not only the mural but the bigger picture.
Art is not always about the imagery, he says. “For me, it’s who does it and who’s seeing it get done. I’m a Hispanic from the border (El Paso, Texas), and I’m a project manager in this. I’ve got some minority kids that are going to be on the project.”
He’s excited that neighborhood youths will watch a mural be painted by “kids that look like them.”
In Oakley, “Building Inclusive Communities: A Mural Project of Visionaries+Voices and ArtWorks” is being designed by an outsider artist from V+V. The nonprofit for creatives with disabilities opened its Visionarium studio and gallery at 3054 Madison Road, next to the mural site, late last year. Apprentices from both V+V and ArtWorks are going to do the painting.
ArtWorks has created more than 175 murals in the region over the past decade, ever broadening in scope and style. Last year, the nonprofit made a conscious effort to address social issues through works like “Faces of Homelessness” in Over-the-Rhine and “Razzle Camp” in Camp Washington, which was designed with input from immigrants. This summer it will partner with Cincinnati Public Schools for “The Refuge Project,” an installation that will welcome families from near and far to the new Wellness Center at the Academy of World Languages in O’Bryonville.
Three projects highlight Cincinnati’s urban identity. Artist James Pate, an Avondale native who installed scratchboard portraits of African-American women and girls inside the Duke Energy Convention Center last year, has designed the “Avondale Heroes Mural” for 3371 Reading Road. “Avondale Pride,” 3529 Reading Road, brings a series of murals by artist Cedric Michael Cox to the new Avondale Town Center. Cox had also designed the mural at the old shopping center. In Pendleton, “New Lines: Bolivar Alley” will employ street-art styles while calling attention to overlooked passageways in the city’s core.
The virtual soundtrack of ArtWorks’ summer has a decidedly R&B beat. “It’s Your Thing,” a mural planned for 311 E. 13th St. in Pendleton, borrows the name of a 1969 Funk anthem by Lincoln Heights’ Isley Brothers that’s now part of everyday jargon. It will be adjacent to a Cincinnati Legends mural honoring singer Mamie Smith. Born here in the 1880s, she went on to become the first African-American Blues recording artist.
Smith isn’t the only woman receiving recognition. “Emerge,” 1200 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, will mark the 125th anniversary of the Women’s Art Club of Cincinnati. The oldest such group in the country, it was formed when the Cincinnati Art Club accepted only men. “All in This Story Together” will be installed outside the Silverton classrooms of Women Writing for (a) Change, an organization that has provided a nurturing environment for female voices for more than 25 years. The outstretched arms of “Creatress,” to be painted on the side of Brentwood Bowl, 9176 Winton Road, Springfield Township, also will encourage anyone with an idea to engage.
These murals join the previously announced “Cincinnati Paints by Numbers: Fiona.” The Cincinnati Zoo’s little hippo that could, whose image is already on everything from ice cream cartons to beer cans, will be immortalized in a mural at 910 Race St., Downtown. The design was put to a public vote, and ArtWorks is now giving fans the chance to buy tickets and paint alongside artists and apprentices.
For more info on this summer’s ArtWorks murals, visit artworkscincinnati.org.
This article appears in Jun 20-27, 2018.
