BLINK
Film

Started in 2017, BLINK is a biennial celebration of public art and light spanning the urban core of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The massive four-day event features more than 80 large-scale projection mappings on some of the region's most iconic architecture, interactive light-based installations in public spaces, and expansive murals by renowned local, national, and international artists. In 2024, the festival crossed the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky, spanning more than 30 city blocks and attracting over two million people. Its mission is to nurture community, connection, and inspiration through public art. As BLINK puts it, "By the artists, for the people." (blinkcincinnati.com)

Our projection began with archival footage of Marian Anderson singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the Lincoln Memorial, projected onto the exterior wall of Bader and Simon Gallery in Cincinnati. In 1939, Anderson had been denied the opportunity to perform at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution because she was Black. Eleanor Roosevelt intervened, publicly challenging the decision and helping bring about the now-historic performance before a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience numbering in the millions. Anderson's voice, rising above the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, became a powerful statement about racial injustice, dignity, and the promise of America.

From there, the film transitioned into an excerpt from the old Coronet educational film Who Are the People of America? Coronet Films produced short educational films for American schools from the 1940s through the 1980s, covering subjects ranging from science and history to citizenship and social behavior. I remember watching these films in fifth grade, and I was drawn to this particular clip because of its positive and inclusive message: that people of many different backgrounds come to this country, make their homes here, and contribute to its culture and character. Rather than weakening America, this extraordinary mixture of people has helped make it stronger.

I began to wonder how many people had watched this very film in their own classrooms as children. How many had absorbed its simple, affirming message, only to lose sight of it as adults? And how easily can the lessons we once understood be drowned out by the loudest and greediest voices-those that profit from stoking hatred, encouraging cruelty, and deepening division?

The projection brought these two films together across time: Marian Anderson's voice, a reminder of the struggle to live up to our nation's ideals, and a childhood educational film celebrating the diversity that has helped shape our country. Together, they ask us to consider what we choose to remember, what we allow ourselves to forget, and what truly makes America great.