In Cincinnati, art is all around us. Our streets are galleries, our pedestrians are patrons and in part, our connection with ArtWorks, has helped to make it possible.
Over the years, public art has become a full-fledged Cincinnati tradition. Since 1996, ArtWorks has worked with local communities in our city to take art to the streets, creating over 90 large-scale murals throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. For years, ArtWorks has been the largest employer of professional artists and apprentices in Cincinnati, tapping into the Queen City’s vibrant creative community. Since 1869, the Art Academy of Cincinnati has been feeding that creative community, turning our students into the artists that make a difference in our society and, in many cases, the art you see adorning the walls throughout our city.
Of the beautiful murals that you see on buildings in the Cincinnati area, AAC artists’ work have been featured in 5 of them, including 3 Masters’ Murals celebrating artists at the absolute apex of their craft. Those murals include:
Still Life #60 by Tom Wesselmann
Homecoming by Charley Harper*
The Cobbler’s Apprentice Plays Ball by Frank Duveneck*
Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon by John Ruthven*
Energy and Grace by Kim Krause
“Over the years, the Art Academy has provided the fuel for the creative economy of Cincinnati, as evidenced by the number of Art Academy artists that are hired by ArtWorks and the artists they feature in their murals,” says Kim Krause, AAC Associate Dean, Chief Academic Officer and ArtWorks mural artist. “It’s humbling to be a part of this series that tells the story of art and the Art Academy of Cincinnati through the work of our artists.”
In addition to the traditional ArtWorks murals program, the AAC also recently had the opportunity to participate in ArtWorks’ Ink Your Love mini mural project. AAC’s Associate Dean and Professor, Mark Thomas, created a mural inspired by a stanza of a crowd-sourced poem, “Seven Hills and a Queen to Name Them,” penned by over a 1000 participants.
“The invitation to work collaboratively with other area artists and designers on these murals was my main motivation to participate in the project,” said Thomas. “But I was also really drawn to the opportunity to interpret this dynamic poem about the city.”
All of the above works can be viewed in person by anyone with a pair of tennis shoes and ArtWorks’ website to guide you. You can find more information about all of ArtWorks’ public art projects by visiting their website here.
Images courtesy of ArtWorks.
*Denotes Masters’ Murals
