This past Sunday, September 26, over 1,000 people from all over Cincinnati converged roughly five blocks of Over-the-Rhine to participate in the newly branded ArtsWave’s Paint the Street event.
Students from the Art Academy designed and chalked out over 50 ten-foot squares into a mural that amassed 12th Street from Central Parkway to Main Street. Brightly colored abstract shapes illustrated some of Cincinnati’s pride and joy, with text saying “City of Choice” and “World’s Biggest Small Town.”
Being there in person, the highlight of the event was the enthusiasm and joy painting a mural on the street brought to participants and observers alike. The street was shut down to vehicle traffic for the day, and crowds of Cincinnatians walked slowly in the street, taking in the colors and working together.
Old and young, black and white, Cincinnati was brought together in one of its oldest and most historically significant neighborhoods – Over-the-Rhine – to show, as one citizen put it, that “12th street is a testament…OTR has a heart and is alive.”
