In mid-October, Cincinnati will once again be awash in the glow of colorful murals, shimmering light displays and vibrant art installations as BLINK returns with more of, well, everything — more artists, more artworks, more events and a bigger footprint than ever before. From Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine to Covington in Kentucky and now in Newport, this immersive lights and arts festival will transform the Queen City into an imaginative and vivid playground of creativity that will fuel all the senses and draw an estimated crowd of millions to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s urban cores.

BLINK 2024 will run Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 17-20, kicking off with the traditional parade on Oct. 17. This is the fourth iteration of the festival, which started in 2017 and has grown to become one of the largest art events in the world and the nation’s largest light, art and projection-mapping experience. At BLINK, visitors can interact with some of the world’s most innovative and engaging art throughout the city — all for free.

“We are so excited at the city to continue this tradition, to continue this incredible international event that continues to put Cincinnati on the map,” Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said at a press conference in July 2023, when BLINK’s return was announced.

BLINK 2022’s executive director, Justin Brookhart, is again at the helm for the 2024 festival. Organizers say Brookhart’s organizational leadership skills and collaborative mindset for the 2022 event opened the public art spectacle to a wider audience and helped celebrate everything Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and the art world at large have to offer. Over 2 million people from 29 states attended BLINK in 2022, and it created an estimated direct economic impact of $126 million. The event also supported or created nearly 1,700 jobs and generated $1.5 million in direct artist commissions, honorariums and art fees.

“This is an event where the community shows up and we also bring people here and show them what we do well, which is a sense of community, inclusion and art innovation,” Brookhart said at the July 2023 press conference.

Meet the artists

In 2022, BLINK hosted 71 artists from around the world, including 32 local artists. For the 2024 festival, the BLINK team received over 900 submissions from artists on nearly every continent; the final list was whittled down to just over 80 projects, with another 32 local artists included in the lineup. For reference, BLINK 2022 received 250 submissions. 

Amy Fitzgibbons, the vice president of marketing with Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, is handling marketing for BLINK. She says a curatorial team was brought in to help with the artist selection, so there were more voices in the room when it came to selecting artists and projects versus the 2022 event. 

“It was still really important for us — even though BLINK has gotten a lot of international recognition, which is amazing — 40% of our key artists are still local. And there’s a lot of collaboration happening between the local and the international artists,” Fitzgibbons told CityBeat. “Being able to bring those pieces together, I think, was really important to the team as well.” 

Fitzgibbons added that there was also a lot more intention in selecting artists for the 2024 event versus the 2022 one. 

“It was more about having the time to really curate and be thoughtful, whereas in 2022, with COVID and everything, that was a time where it came together really quickly because the team wanted to make sure it happened and we didn’t lose the momentum of the event moving forward. I think there is a real intention behind a lot of the projects and the thinking and the curation that they’re bringing,” she said. 

“I’ve been fortunate to have the gift of time to really be intentional about what BLINK is and can be,” Brookhart said in a press release announcing the artist lineup. “We want it centered around the artists and our regional community. From the opening ceremonies, to the artwork, to the parties we hope people will throw, BLINK embraces all of who we are.”

Among the projects, BLINK 2024 will add 15 new permanent murals along the 2024 footprint. Visitors will also be able to enjoy 70 light-based art and projection mapping installations.