The art festival, which is sponsored by ArtsWave, last took place in 2022 when its spanned more than 30 city blocks throughout Covington, The Banks, downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine. The 2022 festival featured more than 100 art installations, a parade, live music, food and more.
The 2024 festival is set to take place Thursday, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Oct. 20.
Brendon Cull, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, said BLINK also had a record amount of artist applicants for the 2024 festival, with nearly 1,000 applications.
“We have artists from all over the world that want to be part of this spectacle,” Cull said.
Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK, teased that the 2024 festival will have a laser display installation across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, signifying how the festival is bringing Cincinnati together with Northern Kentucky.
Brookhart couldn’t specify where exactly in Newport there will be art installations, but he said the levee will be a focus.
After the festival ended in 2022, Brookhart called the four-day event synonymous with Cincinnati.
“BLINK is a part of the brand of Cincinnati. Now, this is something that Cincinnati is known for,” Brookhart told WCPO 9. “We’ve seen that a lot with some of the folks that have traveled in this weekend, I spoke to people from LA, New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, so many places and they were telling me that like they love that Cincinnati is a place that not only celebrates public art but does it in such a positive way.”
The 2022 festival also created a large economic impact in the region.
Organizers said attendees traveled to Cincinnati from 29 different states; through the execution of the event, BLINK also “directly created or supported 1,638 jobs,” Brookhart said.
In all, the region raked in around $126 million in the four days BLINK brought people to downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine, Covington and other nearby neighborhoods.
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