Things keep getting brighter for Cincinnati's 2022 BLINK art and light festival.
From Oct. 13-16, BLINK will convert 30 blocks of downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington into a glowing experience, complete with projection mapping on local architecture, animated murals and large-scale light sculptures.
Organizers have announced a second wave of local, national and international artists participating in the illuminated event, including 18 from the United States and three from abroad.
This includes a slew of artists contributing new murals near the Findlay Market area.
“The goal is to assemble one of the best collections of street art in the world. We are creating opportunities for people to explore and see world-class public art right here in Cincinnati and really engage in conversation around it," says Andrew Salzbrun, BLINK co-founder, executive creative director and partner at local creative agency AGAR, in a release. "I’m excited to say this will be the biggest year yet, with 17 murals as a part of BLINK plus a handful of other murals and alley takeovers.”
The collection of 17 mural-makers includes, per the BLINK release:
- Brooklyn art collective FAILE, which already has murals in Covington;
- L’Amour Supreme, whose work features "hyper pop imagery" inspired by comic books;
- Canadian artist Michelle Hoogveld, whose mural will "weave a vibrant tapestry of color;"
- Virginia-based experiential mural group Chroma Projects;
- and Atlanta artist Greg Mike, who will be creating a surrealist pop art mural, which will later be animated by projections.
BLINK also announced that Faith47's mural "Ad Pacem" — part of 2019's BLINK — will once again be illuminated with projections by South African artist Inka Kendzia. And ArtWorks' mural of James Brown, "Mr. Dynamite," will be animated to celebrate Cincinnati's King Records (the local label helped launched Brown's career).
The freshly announced roster of artists also includes a list of new projection mapping experiences: Hotel Covington will be illuminated by Chicago-based artist George Berlin, and Northern Kentucky's Gateway Center will be brought to life by local motion designer Greg D’Amico.
BLINK announced in July that the festival would expand into Covington.
Warmth, a local "POC and Queer Femme led music series," per BLINK, will also be activating an alleyway with a musical installation.
BLINK's First Wave
The first wave of participating BLINK artists and projects was revealed at the end of July and consisted of 14 international artists and 18 local artists and installations.The list included returning experiences like the Architects of Air inflatable luminarium; the activation of "Cincinnati Toy Heritage" by international artist Graffmapping; and the American premiere of “PULSE,” an immersive tunnel-like audio-visual experience from the U.K.’s This is Loop.
Cincinnati’s history will also be honored at this year's BLINK festival. Portuguese visual artist and illustrator AddFuel is utilizing design from Rookwood Pottery, “ensuring the past is well represented deftly toeing the line between representing his own heritage and representing the rich history of the city itself,” per a release from BLINK.
The history of Little Africa will be brought to life in a large projection installation by Afro-surrealist visual artist Vince Fraser in collaboration with Underworld Black Arts Festival and Napoleon Maddox.
Visit blinkcincinnati.com for a full and updating list of participating artists.
BLINK 2022
BLINK festivities kick off on Oct. 13 with a glowing parade themed after “Together: a constellation of shared cultures and unique identities; we illuminate joy through creative expression.”Led by event producers Marie Krulewitch-Browne, founding executive and artistic director of the local ish Jewish cultural festival, and Megan Rahill, ish's director of programs and operations, the BLINK parade aims to bring communities together.
“The parade is the way our communities can get involved and collaborate. Anyone can be an artist or designer through their entry, and this is the spirit of what BLINK means for our city and our region,” Krulewitch-Browne said in a release. “In a time when there are so many things that can divide us, we want to focus on the Parade as a coming back together after the pandemic and a way of bridging those divides with joy and celebration.”
The parade is slated to step off at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and run through the Central Business District.
On July 12, BLINK announced that it would be expanding across the river into Northern Kentucky this year. An illuminated installation on Covington's riverfront will join other light exhibits that extend from Roebling Point through MainStrasse.
And just two days after the Northern Kentucky announcement, BLINK founding partner Brave Berlin announced it would no longer be involved with the festival.
The creative consulting agency announced on Facebook that they would be ending their relationship with other executive partners the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.
“As we began working on BLINK 2022, it became clear to us that our ideas, influence and the creative direction we had to offer was falling on deaf ears or, in some cases, met with open hostility,” read the post.
The BLINK festival takes place Oct. 13-16. For more information, visit blinkcincinnati.com.Stay connected with CityBeat. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google News, Apple News and Reddit.
Send CityBeat a news or story tip or submit a calendar event.
