What does it mean to be radically welcoming?
BLINK Cincinnati
is the nation’s largest public art festival, transforming the city into a vibrant, immersive experience of light, projection mapping, murals and interactive installations.
Starting in 2017, BLINK takes place approximately every other year to celebrate public art and light across the urban core of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The festival’s mission is to nurture a sense of community, connection and inspiration through the medium of public art.
The theme for BLINK 2026 is "Radically Welcoming." Upon reflection and discussion around National Underground Railroad Freedom Center staff, we were reminded that the most radically welcoming things people could do were the very small acts that aided the thousands of individuals who sought freedom in the mid-1800s. These acts could be leaving a lantern in the window, placing a plate of food on the stoop or unlocking a barn door to aid in someone who was risking everything for a chance at freedom. These little gestures by thousands of average people made up the Underground Railroad.
Robinhawk
Given the mission of our organization to present exhibits and programming that tell the history and build on the principles of the Underground Railroad, Freedom Center staff member and artist Jazmina Robinhawk, pictured right, created the mural Where Freedom Takes Flight to serve as a reminder of how our region was radically welcome to those who were formerly enslaved, and continues to be welcoming to all who seek freedom and safety.
Artist Statement: Where Freedom Takes Flight
by Jazmina Robinhawk, local artist and manager of philanthropy data and strategy at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Sneak peek of "Where Freedom Takes Flight"
What does it mean to be radically welcoming in a way that supports freedom? How do we champion freedom in spaces, and the freedom to be seen, heard, respected and valued within those spaces?
Freedom seekers relied on people in the neighborhood of Little Africa, right where you’re standing, to be radically welcoming. Those who embraced and helped freedom seekers imagined a world where everyone was free. Our mural asks the viewer to consider how they can propel freedom forward.
Robinhawk uses imagery to inspire us. The water evokes the Ohio River, the boundary between enslavement and freedom. Rivers symbolize transition, adaptability and life. The barred owl’s call was used by abolitionists to send signals to freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad. The flock of birds moves northward and reminds us that freedom is not solitary. We rise together. The bird of paradise is a symbol of freedom in 19th century American culture and in various African cultures. Abolitionists lit candles to signify safe houses. The glow-in-the-dark chalk represents the promise of safety hope, and the joy found in freedom.
