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.
For BLINK 2022, Jenny Ustick designed a homage to Ukraine mural 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 ArtsWave, a community arts foundation that is responsible for supporting and funding the majority of the city's murals.
The Top 10 designation received media coverage by USA Today and The Cincinnati Enquirer and WLWT.
