Cincinnati ranks No. 1 in the nation for street art
USA Today highlights top 10 cities with the best murals and public art
Take a stroll or a drive through the city center near UC's campus and your eyes will likely land upon a mural painted on the side of a building or city stairway.
With more than 300 street murals in the city — 55 in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood alone — Cincinnati has earned the No. 1 spot on USA Today’s 2024 list of top 10 cities for best street art.
Murals, such as the UC Alumni Association's “Boldy Defining Next” mural at 1430 Vine Street, impact a city’s vitality and commerce, says Hyesun Jeong, an urban design researcher and assistant professor in UC’s School of Art the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP).
Jeong recently received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to expand her public art research to five cities nationwide. Her initial research looked at the impact of public art in Cincinnati, to include murals, with a finding that Over-the-Rhine had an increase in foot traffic and decrease in crime when compared to similar neighborhoods without murals.
Muralist Jenny Ustick with a School of Art student on the UC campus. Photo/UC Marketing + Brand.
Cincinnati also happens to be home to Jenny Ustick, one of the most prominent muralists in the region with murals in seven U.S. states and projects stemming from residencies in Argentina and Italy.
Ustick, an associate professor at DAAP’s School of Art and a 2005 alum, was commissioned to paint “Boldy Defining Next” and has contributed to numerous public art projects in Cincinnati, including 40- by 51-feet mural — an homage to the Ukraine — on the side of Dunlap Café, 1920 Dunlap Street in downtown Cincinnati.
Ustick partnered with Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister Cities Partnership and Cincy4Ukraine to create the mural for BLINK 2022, a festival of lights and public art that drew an estimated 2 million people and created $126 million in economic impact.
For BLINK 2022, Jenny Ustick designed a homage to Ukraine on the side of the Dunlap Cafe in downtown Cincinnati. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
“Public art is receiving more and more attention on the urban planning agenda,” says Jeong, which is evidenced by a 2023 public art collaboration between DAAP and the City of Cincinnati. The partnership, called “Step Up to Art,” refurbished two pedestrian stairways near campus with new signage and murals.
UC faculty and students are also very involved with ArtWorks, an award-winning Greater Cincinnati nonprofit that creates community-based public art providing career opportunities for artists of all ages and ArtsWave, a community arts foundation that supports and funds public art.
The Top 10 designation received media coverage by USA Today and The Cincinnati Enquirer and WLWT.
Read more about UC’s involvement in public art projects:
- With NEA grant, UC researcher looks at public art in different light
- DAAP’s Step Up to Art cuts ribbon on Fig Alley and Ohio Avenue stairway projects
- OTR mural to celebrate UC alumni who are ‘Boldly Defining Next’
Featured image at top: "Boldy Defining Next" mural/photo courtesy of UC Alumni Association
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Cincinnati boasts a plethora of street art, including murals, which led to its designation by USA Today as the No. 1 city with the best street art for 2024. UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning has been instrumental in designing, implementing and placing public art projects throughout the city.