CINCINNATI — The colorful mural on the side of the Dunlap Cafe in Over-the-Rhine is hard to miss. The message behind it shouldn't be missed, either.
Jenny Ustick, a University of Cincinnati professor and BLINK mural artist, said she was approached by the Cincinnati Kharkiv Sister Cities Partnership and Cincy for Ukraine, regarding the project. Both are organizations that provide humanitarian relief to people in Ukraine.
The goal?
“[To] make something that didn’t portray the horrors of war, but to honor the beauty and culture, and history of Ukraine and its people. A love letter to them,” she said.
The mural, designed by Ustick, was a collaboration between an University of Cincinnati Intro to Public Art class, and a School of Design class.
The large-scale mural is quite the introduction to public art.
“Gave them an out at the beginning of the semester. If you’re not comfortable knowing what you might be doing every day for class this might not be the class for you. If you want to learn how the sausage is made, then come along,” she said.
Conversations began months ago with the two Ukrainian organizations.
“I actually involved the students in the vetting of the content of the mural. Give them a chance to consider all the elements that ended up in the design. Why some of them didn’t make the cut,” she said. “Certain elements to the story about Ukraine we don’t want to fixate on in the mural, but we want to be aware of in the making of it.”
The mural has been a labor of love for Ustick.
“Amazing children’s art that has been made in the subway bomb shelters in Harkhiv. We’ve involved some of those as references in the mural. Little Easter eggs,” she said.
The mural comes to life with the use of a digital projector. That too, was made possible due to Sean Hafer’s class at the University of Cincinnati.
“There’s different ways we can do it. In this case it’s a video at the end. Get the mural. Everything syncs up, aligns. Get your scaling right. Use your template to animate what you’re going to animate over it,” Hafer said.
He said his students are excited to see the end result of their hard work.
“They can’t wait to see it. To see all of BLINK. We’re on the outskirts. It’s the gateway all the way down. They’re fired up,” he said.
Ustick said the mural was made possible because of the hard work of the students, and the partnership with the two Ukrainian organizations.
“So impressed. Blown away with the adventurousness, the fortitude the willingness to jump into action. Taking the initiative to do different things. Wanting to help even when they aren’t quite sure what to do,” She said.
Ustick said it is a privilege to be able to produce a public work of art, like the one on the side of the Dunlap Cafe.
“To have it be outside for anyone to see it, to see it. It’s not lost on me how special that is,” she added. “Being a professor at UC. Trying to model for my students the seriousness, the honor that comes with making such visible work. To take the process seriously. Not take it lightly. It’s going to communicate in a certain way. You want to be thoughtful about what it’s saying and doing. How it’s operating in the community.”
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