At this year's BLINK art festival, the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine, through its Storefronts series, will present grassroots projected animations as part of the Time for an UPdate? installation. Right, Danny Capaccio (Miami '11) uses a heat gun to measure the temperature of the LED lights in one of 10 toilets that will be part of an installation titled No public restrooms. Both art pieces will be located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
At this year's BLINK art festival, the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine, through its Storefronts series, will present grassroots projected animations as part of the Time for an UPdate? installation. Right, Danny Capaccio (Miami '11) uses a heat gun to measure the temperature of the LED lights in one of 10 toilets that will be part of an installation titled No public restrooms. Both art pieces will be located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Photo: submitted
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BLINK to feature art installations with Miami University connections

Two located in Over-the-Rhine will have social justice messages

By Margo Kissell, university news and communications

Creative forces with Miami University connections will be in the limelight at this year’s light-based art festival, BLINK.

The event — one of the largest light, art and projection mapping events in the nation — runs from Oct. 10-13 in downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Inspired by decades of affordable housing advocacy by the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement, the Storefronts piece illuminates and builds upon the buddy’s place mural on the north face of 1300 Vine St., where the center is located.

Miami’s Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine, through its Storefronts series, will present Time for an UPdate?, a grassroots projected animation.

Storefronts is a community and student-driven series of performance art pieces at the center challenging the dominant narratives about Over-the-Rhine and the people who live there.

“It is being created as a collaboration of 10 Over-the-Rhine residents who, working alongside students and local artists, have developed the concept and are creating much of the content for the piece,” said Mary Clare Rietz, socially engaged artist in the department of architecture + interior design and facilitating artist of the Storefronts art series.

Inspired by decades of affordable housing advocacy by the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement, the Time for an UPdate? piece illuminates and builds upon the buddy’s place mural on the north face of the center at 1300 Vine St.

Community members — several of whom live in the building — have come together to produce artwork that asks how we can come together to create healthy and equitable growth in our communities.

Flush with creativity

Danny Capaccio, top, and Ian Bellomy high five

Danny Capaccio (Miami '11), standing, and Ian Bellomy share a celebratory high-five after installing the first toilet and everything worked (photo courtesy of Alyse Capaccio).

Miami alumni Danny and Alyse Capaccio are part of a four-person team creating an art installation titled No public restrooms, which will be on the south side of Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine. It will consist of 10 interactive toilets that create a spectacle of light, fog and sound. 

“I've definitely learned a lot more about the innerworkings of toilets than I ever thought I would,” said Alyse, who graduated in 2012, a year after her husband.

The Capaccios, along with friends Clayton Belcher and Ian Bellomy, created the art piece because they believe everyone, regardless of income, race, gender and socioeconomic status, should have access to resources to meet basic human needs.

“The toilet represents a resource/need that every human has,” she said, but "throughout history, you've only been able to use if you were able-bodied and the right race, gender, and socioeconomic status.”   

Both groups hope BLINK attendees give some thought to the messages behind the art.

Time for an UPdate? envisions the past, present and future of advocacy and community in Over-the-Rhine and invites visitors to imagine the possibilities that blossom when people come together to uplift and support one another.

A student's behind-the-scenes perspective

Abigail Karr, a senior violin performance major with an arts management co-major, has worked behind the scenes on Time for an Update? by designing and implementing the audience development and community engagement strategy for the exhibit and the Storefronts art series as a whole.

The Cincinnati resident, who has worked with community collaborators since mid-July, enjoys seeing it all come together.

“Not only am I learning a lot of practical career skills in this position, but working with residents of Over-the-Rhine to design and create content for Time for an UPdate? has taught me so much about this city and this neighborhood.”

Those new skills learned during BLINK will be put to good use after graduation.

“My focus is on the intersection of art and social justice, so after I graduate, I want to continue to build and strengthen platforms that amplify and elevate the voices of marginalized people,” Karr said.

“I think it is essential for arts organizations to find new and innovative ways to connect with the community and create meaningful opportunities for expression and connection.”

Inside BLINK

Want a look behind the art, science and business of creating the BLINK festival?

Ben Nicholson, a creative producer and content director who is an instructor in Miami's Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies, will moderate a panel discussion featuring key contributors to BLINK.

The panel discussion, breaking down what it takes to pull off visuals on a grand scale, will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Union Hall.