Hey AAC Community,
We are in full swing for the upcoming BLINK festival taking place Oct. 17 to 20! AAC will bring to life zoOTRopia for those four days and nights.
We’re looking forward to all the events surrounding student participation and activating Jackson Street with art, light, projections, music, and performance—one of those performance experiences being STINKSTOCK: BLINK edition! This annual event (usually held every spring on campus) includes music and spoken-word performances from our very own AAC students and faculty. Please see Stephen Kenny for information and participation possibilities, and make sure you’re there to experience it on Saturday, Oct. 19!
Check out the complete details about BLINK at the Art Academy of Cincinnati below.
ZoOTRopia is a a four-day creative extravaganza of light, music, and curated oddities on Jackson Street between Central Parkway and 13th Street.
Centered on immersive experiences that are designed and produced by AAC students and faculty, zoOTRopia focuses attention on the urban creative landscape as the integral backdrop for projects presented on Jackson Street and celebrates our 20th year since our relocation from Mt. Adams to Over-the-Rhine.
Collaborating with the AAC and a first entry into the BLINK universe is the Cincinnati Zoo, the American Sign Museum, and The Mural ReMix team from Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD). We’re also pleased to welcome new collaborations with past BLINK participants like the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM), School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), Cincinnati Music Accelerator (CMA), Forealism Tribe, and the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (UC DAAP). The four-day-and-night series of events also includes projects by the Know Theatre.
ZoOTRopia is funded in part with instrumental support from ArtsWave and City of Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.
Day 1, Oct. 17: ZoOTRopia kick-off party
- OTR kick-off party including the “zoOTRopia” sign to represent a connection to the original 2017 BLINK festival with a revamped and re-imagined installation by American Sign Museum in partnership with Matt Lynch and myself. The cascading milk crate installation kicks off the evening of installations, student activations, and performances.
- AAC and CCAD collaboration: digital projection mapping and animation on the Kim Krause-designed “Energy and Grace” mural (which will continue all four nights)
- Cincinnati Zoo lanterns collaboration: cross-promotion for the Jack O’ Lantern Glow and Festival of Lights at the Zoo
- Student activations: engaging sculpture led by Professor Keith Benjamin and additional student projects from AAC and SCPA
Day 2, Oct. 18: Fired Fantasies
- Glass blowing and fire performances, featuring AAC Alum Merritt Holdcraft with glass blowing demonstrations
- Evening activities also include glow-in-the-dark face painting, interactive street murals, kids’ activities, duct tape games, and prize giveaways.
- Special performance by SCPA students in the evening
Day 3, Oct. 19: SATURDAY&NIGHT FAB 155 FEVER
- Cincinnati Zoo Animal Ambassador experiences: daytime activities for all ages, including live animal ambassador program (featuring Lily the Skunk!). Other Zoo experiences for all ages include interactive “live animal drawing” workshops during the day
- Celebration of Excellence: evening festivities with STINKSTOCK: BLINK edition (emceed by Crystal Tubes and Pam Kravetz) and a special performance by Michael Coppage and GODJILLA
- Digital mapping archive projection in collaboration with the Cincinnati Art Museum: highlighting AAC’s 155 years of excellence through the art of our treasured alumni from Frank Duveneck to the Harpers (Charley and Edie) to John Ruthven, Tom Bacher, Petah Coyne, and Jenny Roesel Ustick, to name a few of the many alums highlighted.
Day 4, Oct. 20: Sunday Funday and Night
- DJ set battles from 7 to 10 p.m.
- All-inclusive evening in collaboration with students from AAC, a block party with a special DJ set by AAC alumni Forealism Tribe, and a finale wraps up the festivities
Can’t wait for all that is upon us this October—see you there!
Joe Girandola, President, AAC
