One of the Biggest Street and Light Art Festivals Opens Thursday in Cincinnati—Here’s What to Expect
Blink festival executive director Justin Brookhart previews highlights from the festival, which features big-name global artists like Add Fuel and Shantell Martin, and celebrated Afrofuturist Vince Fraser.
Projection mapping by artist Vince Fraser, who will execute a large-scale projection installation at Blink. All photos courtesy of Blink.…
On October 13, Cincinnati’s urban landscape will become a canvas for over 71 artists from around the world who are there to participate in Blink, a citywide festival of murals and projection art. Returning after a three-year hiatus, this iteration packs some serious star power in its lineup of 101 demos and projections. Standouts to look forward to this year include a new mural by Portuguese street artist Diogo Machado. Better known as Add Fuel, Machado’s vibrant paintings are often rendered in cerulean and inspired by glazed azulejo-style ceramics—gracing skylines and galleries alike. Another name to watch: British artist Shantell Martin, who in 2014 staged a collaboration with Kelly Wearstler’s erstwhile gallery and retail space in Los Angeles, and has shown at the Brooklyn Museum, Milk Gallery, and the Museum of the Moving Image. For the festival, Martin has collaborated with artist apprentices from local arts organization ArtWorks to create a mural she describes as “A thank you to Cincinnati,” rendered in her signature style of line art. In her own words, Martin’s work often “explores themes of intersectionality, identity and play.” She will also host a talk for local young artists during the festival.
In addition to painted murals, Blink will also showcase technologically-driven mediums including projection murals and projection mapping, in which a custom-sized video or multimedia work is projected onto buildings or other surfaces. Among the most highly-anticipated projection art at Blink is from noted Afro-surrealist Vince Fraser, who is teaming up with Underworld Black Arts Festival and composer Napoleon Maddox on a work that illustrates the history of Little Africa—one of the city’s first Black communities—through a large-scale projection installation near Smale Riverfront Park.
Artist Shantell Martin, whose signature line art style "explores themes of intersectionality, identity and play." …
Here, Blink executive director Justin Brookhart gives Surface a preview of the four-day event which runs from Thursday through the weekend.
Snapshot: Spanning 30 city blocks, Blink is the nation’s largest light, art, and projection mapping experience, returning to Cincinnati for the first time since 2019. Attendees can look forward to experiencing transcendent works across mediums.
Inspiration: Thanks to technology, artists have been able to reach new audiences, but rarely, in recent years, have they been able to take those connections into the real world. The emerging and rapidly growing world of artistic possibilities is thrilling, but the true magic lies in where the digital and physical meet. That very space is where Blink excels: by bringing people to Cincinnati where they can experience immersive art amidst the cityscape. Our audience can look forward to transcendent works across mediums, including murals, projections, light sculptures, and performance art. Blink embodies the spirit of world-building. This immersion within immersion transports attendees, simultaneously encouraging the seemingly impossible combination of escapism and mental presence.
A mural by Diogo Machado, who also goes by Add Fire, will be on view during the Blink festival.…
Standout Presentations: The programming is nothing short of astounding, with mind-blowing artists leaving their mark on the city. Portuguese visual artist and illustrator Add Fuel has created work deeply inspired by over 140 years of work by local ceramics manufacturer Rookwood Pottery & Tile. British visual artist Shantell Martin has joined forces with ArtWorks, a Cincinnati non-profit, to work with young artists in the community. Cincinnati-based artist Michael Coppage extends his Black Box community impact project with a large-scale projection installation. Multidisciplinary artist Tristan Eaton, who is a veritable superstar in the world of public art, will execute the largest painted mural in Ohio on the 84.51° headquarters building. It will stand at an estimated 17,000 square feet and mark our city’s deep-rooted commitment to public art and preserving history.
On top of that, interdisciplinary artist Wendy Yu will work with local hip-hop cultural art center Elementz on “Acts of Holding Dance,” a projection art installation. Her works usually combine dance with computational design, and her collaboration with Elementz will show the unique skills of Cincinnati-based hip-hop and breakdancers, accentuating the choreography with slow-motion capture technology. Finally, Afro-surrealist visual artist Vince Fraser has teamed up with Underworld Black Arts Festival and Napoleon Maddox to tell the history of our city’s “Little Africa” neighborhood with a large-scale projection installation.
A still from Wendy Yu's "Acts of Holding Dance" work.…
Sustainability: In pursuit of a positive community and environmental impact, Fifth Third Bank, a recognized local leader in environmental sustainability, will offset the carbon emissions from the festival’s lighting installations through an Ohio-based carbon reduction project. Fifth Third will also offset its own Blink installation with renewable energy certificates from the bank’s own solar power purchase agreement project, which came online in 2019. This initiative demonstrates a responsible way to present entertainment without being a detriment to the planet, and will hopefully serve as an example for events to come.
