BLINK 2019

After announcing that the record-setting light festival spanning through downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine would not return in 2018, it was announced in April that BLINK would return in 2019.
 

Following the initial announcement in the spring, officials recently released new information about the light festival making its return to Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine next year, including an expansion into Covington, a partnership with ArtsWave, and more.

Featuring large-scale projection mapping, murals, urban artscapes, media light, music performances, interactive art, and diverse entertainment, the four-day light festival drew nearly one million people in 2017 and featured artists from New York to Tasmania.

Twenty blocks spanning from Cincinnati to Over-the-Rhine were shining with more than 70 features of light, color, and video during last year’s festival. Next year, the event promises to be even bigger.

“How do you make the biggest event of its kind in the nation even bigger? Well, we decided to literally make it even bigger,” says Dan Reynolds, owner and partner of Brave Berlin, one of the producers of BLINK. “We’re so excited to share that BLINK, in October of 2019, will expand to include a new zone in Northern Kentucky. We’re still working out many of the details, but we can tell you that BLINK will wind from our beautiful Roebling Bridge to Seventh and Madison in Covington. How cool is that?”

Lights will span the Roebling Suspension Bridge, connecting Cincinnati and Covington to symbolize the regionalism city officials are hoping to continue to develop in the area.

In addition to the expansion into Covington, BLINK will also incorporate ArtsWave in their “Illuminated by ArtsWave” show in 2019. ArtsWave, the Greater Cincinnati region’s local arts agency and the nation’s first and largest community campaign for the arts, supports more than 100 arts and community organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area. The organization will serve as the presenting sponsor for BLINK next year.

“ArtsWave is delighted to take a major role in the 2019 return of BLINK. With the help of tens of thousands of donors every year, we’ve been investing in Cincinnati’s arts, creativity, and innovation for decades,” says Alecia Kintner, ArtsWave president and CEO. “The ArtsWave Campaign forms the foundation for the quality and variety of cultural experiences that our region enjoys today, including events like BLINK that connect and enliven our community through the arts.”