Mural Honoring Cincinnati's Immigrants and Refugees to be Unveiled During CCO Festival

A concert from the “We Are One: Healing & Understanding” festival in 2022 Photo: Mark Lyons

A new mobile mural dedicated to Greater Cincinnati’s immigrant and refugee community will be unveiled during a four-day festival next week.

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) is hosting the second installment of its equity-focused We Are One festival series from Sunday, Oct. 22 to Wednesday, Oct. 25. CCO’s inaugural “We Are One: Healing & Understanding” in 2022 highlighted Cincinnati’s Black community; this year, the festival, “We Are One: Hope,” will focus on the stories and works of Greater Cincinnati’s residents who came to the United States as immigrants, refugees or displaced persons.

“We are thrilled to present the second annual We Are One festival as we offer a platform for conversations that highlight the rich, diverse makeup of Cincinnati. Music and arts have the power to spark dialogue and perhaps even help us reimagine how we can better advocate with and for our refugee, immigrant and displaced communities,” CCO associate conductor Daniel Parsley said in a press release.

The festival’s events will have both an educational and musical component and be held in several Cincinnati-area communities where immigrants and refugees call home. Events include concerts, a storytelling session and a closing choral concert, “Asylum,” that will invite the audience to participate in a community chorus.

The mobile mural will be unveiled during “Asylum.” The mural was created by ArtWorks artists Michael Thompson and Jason Al Ghussein and was inspired by stories that were collected by local nonprofit A Picture’s Worth during Little Amal’s visit to Cincinnati in September. Little Amal is a 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee.

“Asylum” will be held Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Christ Church Cathedral from 7-8:15 p.m. and feature the Take What You Need Community Chorus, as well as the professional choral ensemble Coro Volante and projection artist Sharon Huizinga. A pre-concert discussion, “Asylum Seekers: The Stories Behind the Numbers,” with Dr. Maria Espinola will start at 6:15 p.m.

All festival events are free, but you do need to make reservations, which you can do online here or by calling the CCO box office at 513-723-1182 x2.

Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St., Downtown. For more information and a schedule of events, visit ccocincinnati.org.