UC DAAP's All-Star Sculpture Dedicated on Fountain Square

This summer, when Cincinnati hosted the

2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

, sixty-eight of the world’s greatest baseball players from 30 teams across North America convened in the Queen City to play ball. To commemorate the event and the 146-year history of Cincinnati’s professional baseball team — the first in the nation — students and faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning partnered with the Spirit of Cincinnati Community Organizing Committee to create an interactive art installation titled

146 Years, Game On!

146 Years, Game On!

is a sculpture made of 3,884 baseballs — 1,869 for the founding of the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 plus 2,015 for this year as Cincinnati hosts the Mid-Summer Classic for the fifth time. The balls form a 20-foot-wide by 14-foot-high arc, and

on July 24, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley officially dedicated the sculpture on Fountain Square,

where it will be on display until late September. 

Every fan and friend of baseball can own a part of this public work of art, with a portion of the proceeds funding scholarships for middle and high school students to attend DAAPcamps.

  Each ball in the sculpture is numbered, and for $25, ownership of a ball can be purchased from the

Spirit of Cincinnati Community Organizing Committee

. After August 1, all owners of these commemorative balls will receive duplicates of their uniquely numbered baseballs with a certificate of authenticity and directions for locating the matching ball in the sculpture.

The 146 Years, Game On! project was led by DAAP professors Joe Girandola, Leah Hollstein and Vincent Sansalone as part of the collaborative studio class, IMPACT: Public Art and Planning, that is also implementing ideas for how public art and urban planning can lead to more pedestrian-friendly roadways in Over The Rhine.

LOCATION
146 Years, Game On!

Fountain Square, along 5th Street, Cincinnati Ohio

CONTACT
Joe Girandola
Director of Graduate Studies, School of Art
University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
joseph.girandola@uc.edu
(513) 556-2426

ABOUT BATTER UP CINCY
Batter Up Cincy is an initiative of The Cincinnati Community Organizing Committee (COC), formed to support local and community events and activities surrounding the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Week coming to Cincinnati July 2015. In cooperation with the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau, the COC is responsible for creating a unique, exciting and memorable experience for visitors and locals in the Cincinnati region. This community engagement effort will provide incremental programming and activations, above and beyond the MLB sponsored events, to engage the largest audience possible for the 2015 All-Star Summer.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI COLLEGE OF DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, ART AND PLANNING
The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) is a comprehensive research and design institution offering undergraduate majors in Architecture, Art History, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Communication Design, Horticulture, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Urban Planning, and Urban Studies. DAAP also offers the following graduate degrees in Architecture, Art Education, Community Planning, Design, Fine Arts, and Regional Development Planning.

DAAP’s primary mission is the creation of a better visual and design environment, which is achieved through excellence in educational programs, research, creative works, and service to the community, the faculty, the students, and administrative officers. DAAP’s programs within the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning are, year-after-year, ranked among the very best in both a world and national class. Visit DAAP at daap.uc.edu.