CODAsummit: Art, Technology and Place
In collaboration with BLINK
October 16 - 18, 2024 Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
Speakers
Our list of distinguished speakers is constantly expanding. Check back as we add more exciting speakers to our lineup!
Keynote Speakers
Brendan McGetrick
Brendan McGetrick is a writer, designer, and curator whose work has appeared in over forty countries, including The New York Times, Wired, and Vogue Nippon. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, he studied at New York University. He started his career as editor for architect Rem Koolhaas, co-producing the book Content and serving as head writer at OMA-AMO.
After leaving OMA-AMO, McGetrick collaborated with designers in Asia, contributing to projects like MAD Dinner and Urban China: Work In Progress. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including Unnamed Design at the Gwangju Design Biennale and co-curated Fair Enough in the Russian pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
From 2015 to 2019, McGetrick was the director and curator of Global Grad Show, part of Dubai Design Week. In 2019, he became the Creative Director of the Museum of the Future in Dubai, where he oversees storytelling, design, and the overall visitor experience. His work aims to empower visitors to see the world, the future, and themselves in new ways.
Brendan McGetrick
Creative Director, Museum of the Future
Justin Brookhart
Justin Brookhart (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of BLINK Cincinnati and the Senior Vice President of Cultural Economy at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. Justin is responsible for leading the nation’s largest immersive art event, taking over 30+ city blocks in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to exhibit large-scale murals, lighted-art installations, and projection mapping onto Cincinnati’s historic architecture.
Justin moved to Cincinnati from Austin, TX, where he combined his strong business acumen with a passion for supporting the creative arts. As the Managing Director for Mondo, an e-commerce brand that produces limited-edition collectibles, he partnered with world-class designers and illustrators to grow an international community of collectors. After leaving Mondo, Justin served as the Chief Operating Officer for Renegade Craft, a group that works with artistic entrepreneurs to produce a nationwide tour of events that support the creative economy.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Film Arts from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Justin Brookhart
Executive Director, BLINK!
Maria Finkelmeier
Named a “one-woman dynamo” by the Boston Globe, Maria is a percussionist, composer, new media artist, and Associate Professor of Creative Entrepreneurship at Berklee College of Music. Obsessed with making noise, she transformed Fenway Park into a percussive playground and turned the Roebling Bridge into a sound and light instrument. She's used AI to investigate gender bias through interactive art and music, flipped a bus into a mobile electronic bucket drumming program, and performed at iconic global venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian, and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Maria has been commissioned by national organizations, municipalities, and festivals including the National Parks Service, Esplanade Association, Harvard Ed Portal, IGNITE Broward, TEDx Cambridge, BLINK Cincinnati, London’s i = u festival, ILLUMINUS, and the Boston Center for the Arts. Her cutting-edge work has been featured in the Boston Globe, National Parks Magazine, Boston Magazine, Vulture, SunSentinel, I Care if you Listen and on WGBH, WBUR, and CBS. She is the Founder of the experimental music, art, and technology studio, MF Dynamics.
Maria Finkelmeier
Artist, MF Dynamics
Davy & Kristin McGuire
Davy & Kristin McGuire are mixed reality artists and directors of Studio McGuire, known for their idiosyncratic explorations in immersive art, storytelling, and digital projections. Their innovative creations have earned them numerous accolades, including the Helpmann Award for Best Visual Theatre Production and the Samuel Beckett Theatre Award. They have been honored with the Innovation of the Year at the Museum and Heritage Awards, the Japan Space Design Award, and the Ginza Association Division Excellence Award.
Their artistry and expertise has been sought after by prestigious institutions worldwide, including The National Gallery of Singapore, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and The Barbican. They are associates of Ridley Scott Creative Group and have collaborated with luxury brands such as Christian Dior, Mikimoto, and Courvoisier, creating mesmerizing installations in cities like Shanghai, Tokyo, Paris, London, and New York.
With projects showcased in over 100 venues across 38 countries, Davy and Kristin have left an impact on the global arts scene. Their work has been featured at renowned events like SXSW Texas and the Perth International Arts Festival, as well as prestigious galleries including Woolff Gallery London and Wanrooij Gallery Amsterdam.
Combining Davy's theatrical background with Kristin's experience as a dancer for Cirque du Soleil, the couple excels in merging physical and digital elements to craft immersive experiences that captivate audiences worldwide. Their creations have been lauded by critics, earning praise from publications like The Times and The Guardian for their “magical and exquisitely crafted” universe that “makes the jaw drop and the head whirl.”
Davy & Kristin McGuire
Studio McGuire
The Pearl, submitted by BREAKFAST
The Impact Of Art In Unexpected Places
Aaron Myers
Aaron Myers II, originally from Goodlow, Texas, found his passion for performing at an early age while playing music in the church, eventually choosing the piano as his instrument of choice. His soulful baritone voice, second-to-none stage presence, and captivating personality make him one of the most exciting up-and-coming acts in jazz.
His credits include four albums: “Leo Rising,” “The Lion’s Den,” “The Pride Album,” and the holiday album “Snowing in Vegas.” He is a Governor and voting member with the Recording Academy. From 2018 to 2022, he hosted “Jazz Stories” on WPFW 89.3FM, a show dedicated to featuring DMV-based artists and their new projects. For the last 13 years, Myers has served as Minister of Music for Covenant Baptist UCC.
Myers is a stout advocate for Mental Health and LGBTQI Rights. He is the Founding Chair of the Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation Board of Directors and served as Interim President & CEO of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington. He sits on the board of directors for CTE Vision Foundation and Covenant Full Potential Development Center. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, he led the DMV Music Stakeholders cohort to share resources, offer relief, and advocate for community needs to help strengthen and preserve Washington’s music ecosystem. In 2023, Myers was named Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the state art agency for the District of Columbia..
Myers was awarded Best Jazz Artist by the International Music and Entertainment Awards in 2016, named a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2021, and received the Wammie Award for Advocacy in 2019 and 2020, as well as Best Jazz Artist and Best Jazz Song by the Wammies in 2022.
Aaron Myers
Executive Director, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Sandra Bloodworth
Sandra Bloodworth is Director of MTA Arts & Design (A&D), the program responsible for visual and performing arts throughout the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Sandra joined MTA Arts & Design as a manager in 1988 and has served as the director for 28 years. She has worked with hundreds of artists through A&D’s permanent art commissions, digital arts, graphic art, photography, poetry, musical performances, and special programs, all of which are intended to engage riders, enrich stations, and encourage the use of mass transit. Under Sandra’s leadership the A&D Percent for Art program has become one of the largest and most diverse collections of public art in the world.
Sandra is a recipient of the Gari Melchers Memorial Medal for furthering the profession of fine arts and was awarded the Fund for the City of New York’s Sloan Public Service Award in recognition of her work in the field of public art. She is co-author of New York’s Underground Art Museum, published by the Monacelli Press. Sandra is a practicing artist and holds degrees in Art and Arts Education, including an M.F.A. from Florida State University, an M.A. from the University of Mississippi, and a B.S. from Mississippi College. She has taught at Florida State University, the University of Mississippi, and the Department of Art and Arts Professions graduate program at New York University, and frequently speaks on the topic of art in transit.
Sandra Bloodworth
Director, MTA Arts & Design
Yvonne Monestier
Yvonne Monestier is an experienced arts professional with a demonstrated history of working in the private and public sectors. Currently serving as the Public Art Program Manager at Waterfront Toronto, Yvonne has demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering creativity and cultural engagement in the community. With previous roles as the Director of Fine Art & Strategic Partnerships at Waddington's Auctioneers and Appraisers in Toronto, as well as tenure as a Curator of Public Art at the City of Mississauga, Yvonne brings a comprehensive understanding of the art industry's various facets
Having completed a Master's degree in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York, Yvonne combines academic prowess with practical expertise. With a background in Political Science, English, and Fine Art History, Yvonne’s multidisciplinary approach informs her work in the curation and management of art collections. Known for her strategic vision and dedication to enriching public spaces with art, Yvonne is a valuable resource for anyone seeking guidance on art acquisition, collection management, and curation.
Yvonne Monestier
Public Art Program Manager, Waterfront Toronto
Stanis Smith
My specialty is the integration of art into airports. As an architect and an art lover, I believe in the power of art to enhance the passenger experience, and to change the way that people think about airports. Art has been the key contributor to the distinctive ‘sense of place” of the airports where I’ve worked, which include Vancouver and Ottawa in Canada, Santiago in Chile and Quito in Ecuador, Bermuda and Nassau in the Bahamas, and La Guardia and JFK in New York, where I’m currently involved with the art program for the new Terminal 6.
Stanis Smith
Principal, AIA FRAIC
BREAKFAST
Zolty, founder of BREAKFAST and a kinetic artist in Brooklyn, has spent two decades exploring the intersection of art, design, and technology. In 2009, he created BREAKFAST, a studio known for its computer-controlled kinetic artworks that narrate stories and engage with real-time web data. Celebrated at venues like the 2024 Venice Biennale and Christie's, BREAKFAST is at the forefront of the kinetic art movement.
BREAKFAST blends software, hardware, design, and art to create interactive experiences. Notable works include "Oceans" at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and the largest computer-driven artwork in the world, "The Pearl.” The studio has produced over 250 kinetic sculptures for prestigious collections worldwide, including Harvard University, Rockefeller Center, and Tiffany & Co.
Zolty
BREAKFAST
Bringing Cities to Life: Urban Revitalization and Public Art
Roger Ferris
Roger is passionate about creating artful, immersive experiences at the intersection of technology, art, and culture, and has spent 13 years leading the creative development of experiences and live events across multiple platforms and media. As Principal Creative Director for a state-of-the-art, award-winning, mixed-use public arts and entertainment district – the Discovery District in Dallas, TX – Roger has provided the vision and led the development of a broad and diverse library of immersive digital art and live event content. Roger has also led the development of fan experiences across an extensive portfolio of corporate sponsorships for some of the largest stadiums, major sports leagues, tournaments, and film festivals, as well as leading the creative development for immersive art and fan experiences for Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, Warner Bros. Animation, and DC Comics.
Roger Ferris
- Former Creative Director, AT&T Discovery District
Hyesun Jeong
Hyesun Jeong, PhD, Assoc. AIA, is a designer, researcher, and educator. Dr. Jeong's research primarily focuses on sustainable urbanism and cultural placemaking, bridging the fields of architecture and planning. Using a mixed method, her research investigates the relationship between the built environment and socio-cultural dynamics of ciCes associated with pedestrian mobility and street-level urban activities. Prior to joining Cincinnati, Dr. Jeong previously worked at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of tihicago. She obtained PhD in Architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and practiced at international design firms, including GoeKsch Partners (Chicago), Dominique Perrault Architecture (Paris), and POSCO Architects and Consultants (Seoul). Dr. Jeong's research has been published in top peer-reviewed journals, including Cities and Urban Affairs Review, and book chapters. Currently, she is working on her solo book, Creating Sustainable Cities from Pedestrian Urbanism under contract with Routledge. Dr. Jeong received the NaConal Endowment for the Arts' Research Grant award in 2024 and American Institute of Architect’s national Upjohn Grant Initiative award in 2022. Recently, she was also awarded the Society+Culture Fellowship award supported by the Office of Provost and Office of Research at the University of Cincinnati.
Hyesun Jeong
Co-Director, Simpson Center for the Urban Futures, University of Cincinnati
Home, submitted by Kasum Manifold
Roundtable: Future Frames: Conceptual Shifts In Public Art
Jose dos Santos
Jose dos Santos
Head of Design Americas, Signify
Matthew Geller
In his public art practice, Matthew uses materials from the everyday outdoor environment—anything from swings to canopies to pipes to water. The sculptures playfully riff on an industrial aesthetic in which beauty is partly driven by function and efficiency. Their success lies in their physical, experiential nature, allowing viewers to recognize their place within the artwork by fostering intimate moments within public areas. The sculpture becomes a destination, encouraging a sense of community around an unexpected object or location.
Matthew has also exhibited in museums in the United States and Europe and received fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Additionally, he has received grants from Creative Capital, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, and the Greenwall Foundation, among others.
Matthew Geller
Artist
Marjorie Guyon
Marjorie Guyon's work navigates the depths of history and time, intertwining the ancient with a vision for the future. She is the Conceptual Artist of the I Was Here project. This project is a series of public art and public history installations that serve as a mindful, reverent, and powerful
acknowledgment of American history. Through a synthesis of history, technology, humanities and the arts, the project explores the significance of memory, history, and ancestry. The project is an invitation to examine our history and bring a new understanding to the concept of Nation Building. Truly understanding our history is the gateway to creatively conceive how we can honor the Cofounders of our Country in a way that transforms how we see ourselves and each other.
Guyon’s signature is collage - intricately synthesizing elements, to form a new whole to utilize the power of art in public space. Her work has been compared to an archaeology of the soul, merging narrative, music, photography and painting to bring meaning and content into public space.
Marjorie Guyon
I Was Here
Roundtable: Alternative Sources for Public Art Funding
Alejandra Pelinka
Alejandra Pelinka has experience in leadership, development, and communications roles in arts, public, and nonprofit administration, with a strong background as an arts advocate and community builder. Alejandra has served as the City of Bloomington's first Director of Creative Placemaking since 2016. She works with the Creative Placemaking Commission and engages with diverse stakeholders across sectors to identify and implement art, culture, and design investments and projects that align with Creative Placemaking and City of Bloomington Strategic Plan goals. She currently volunteers on the Board of Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and as a member of the Prior Lake Arts and Culture Committee. Previously, as Executive Director of Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), she was responsible for general management of the organization and regionally acclaimed events, such as Art-A-Whirl®, the largest open studio tour in the country.
Alejandra Pelinka
Creative Placemaking Director, City of Bloomington
Phillip Dunlap
Phillip Dunlap is the Director of the Broward County Cultural Division and is responsible for leading the County’s Local Arts Agency with an annual budget of approximately $10 million. The Division’s primary functions include developing and strengthening arts and cultural organizations and individual artists through its grantmaking, public art, programming, and marketing initiatives.
Prior to taking the helm of the Division in 2019, he served as Director of Education and Community Engagement for Jazz St. Louis. Phillip currently teaches Arts Management at Nova Southeastern University and has taught previously at the University of Missouri St. Louis, Webster University, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He has served as a Cultural Envoy for the US Department of State and has taught and performed in Afghanistan, Guyana, and Thailand. He was recognized by the Missouri House of Representatives in 2018 for his service in the arts in Missouri.
He holds a Bachelor of Music in jazz performance (piano), a Bachelor of Music in music theory/composition and a Master of Music in jazz performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Phillip Dunlap
Director, Broward County Cultural Division
Anton Morton
Activator, innovator and agitator are words with which Anton Morton identifies. He has made it a mission to be a change-leader across the industry by advocating for process change, operating a collaboration- forward creative practice and working to help other creatives succeed with him. The Principal and Co-Founder of Kasum Manifold builds multicultural teams to address site-specific projects, consults on and commissions creative projects and administers art services for organizations, governments and studios around the globe. Anton’s creative practice is rooted in his Native American cultural beliefs and desire for greater inclusion and equity across the cultures that define a shared human experience. Recent recognitions of his collaborative practice include an AIA High Design Honor, AGC-OK Best of the Best Build Award, CODA TOP 100 and personal recognition as one of CODAworx 2024 Creative Revolutionaries.
Anton R. T. Morton
Principal, KASUM MANIFOLD
Jennifer Brener Saey
Jennifer has helped clients create impactful spaces with art for 22 years. She is passionate about helping clients succeed by using art as part of the strategy to achieve their vision and attract their ideal market. She believes art creates spaces with unique identities that people love and visit again and again, bringing countless positive experiences that inspire and build community. Jennifer views her primary role today as Chief Relationship Builder with clients and within her team. Jennifer has built a culture at A+A deeply rooted in delivering excellence in client service and quality of work delivered. Developing and nurturing trust with clients, team members and artists has enabled Art + Artisans growth and success. Jennifer has led many large commercial projects across the country with clients who value integrating art to tell a story, convey their brand, build community, and engage people.
Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. In 2019 she was a finalist for Austin Business Journal's CEO of the Year, and a Bisnow honoree for Women Leading Commercial Real Estate in 2024.
Jennifer Brener Saey
Founder & CEO, Art+Artisans
Fenton Art Wall, submitted by Digital Ambiance
The Reimagined Museum
Gavin Downey
Gavin Downey is with Epson America where he leads the product management team responsible for high brightness projection. A seasoned product management, marketing, and sales executive, Downey began his career in the structured cabling industry. Drawn to markets being disrupted, he moved from networking infrastructure to the fast-evolving consumer technology industry. After product marketing roles in Dell Computer’s third-party mobile computing category, he led Belkin’s market leading mobile accessories division. A passionate believer in the power of technology and art to transform people’s lives, he’s worked tirelessly to support a wide array of causes and artists. Downey is a graduate of The Ohio State University, enjoys art, music, sailing, mountain biking, riding motorcycles and backcountry camping in the deserts of the southwest.
Gavin Downey
Vice President, EPSON
Darrin Alfred
Darrin Alfred is Curator of Architecture and Design at the Denver Art Museum (DAM). He oversees the Architecture and Design department’s exhibitions and programming, as well as an expanding collection of over 19,000 objects dating from the sixteenth century to the present.
Alfred’s curatorial projects at DAM include Biophilia: Nature Reimagined (2024), Gio Ponti: Designer of a Thousand Talents (2021); Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America (2018), organized with the Milwaukee Art Museum; Pattern Play: The Contemporary Designs of Jacqueline Groag (2013), recently presented at the Palm Springs Art Museum (2022); and The Psychedelic Experience: Rock Posters from the San Francisco Bay Area, 1965-71 (2009).
In October 2021, Alfred developed DAM’s new design galleries, featuring over 11,000 square feet of space designed by OMA New York. These galleries showcase the museum’s architecture and design collection through thematic presentations.
Previously, Alfred held positions in the Architecture and Design department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Alfred earned a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver and a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.
Darrin Alfred
Curator, Denver Art Museum
Amelia Falco
Amelia Falco leads projects as a Creative Director, with a focus on experiential retail. Prior to joining LP, she led creative on large retail, brand and experiential projects, including the Adidas 5th Avenue flagship store in New York City and Beijing, NBA Flagship Store, Nintendo Flagship renovation, and the Brookfield Luminaries installation at Brookfield Place. Amelia is a registered Architect in both Arizona and New York, and holds NCARB and LEED BD+C certifications. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona, where she was the recipient of the Kirby Lockard Scholarship.Thursday Opening Keynote
Amelia Falco
Creative Director, Local Projects
Tiffany Meesha Thompson
Tiffany Meesha Thompson, EMBA, delivers monumental public art initiatives worldwide. As the founding director of Petrichor Projects, she is renowned for curating and managing civic-scale public art projects from inception to completion, aligning the visions of international governments, contemporary art museums, private institutions, and stakeholders.
Thompson's commitment to the transformative power of public art is evident in projects like Michael Jones McKean’s The Rainbow, which creates colossal rainbows from recycled water to ignite public imagination about water recycling. She collaborated on Al Masar, a 135 km sustainable urban park masterplan in Saudi Arabia, integrating cycling, civic destinations, mobility, water recycling, and public art. Thompson’s work also supported the realization of the Peace Plaza for the Mayo Clinic and City of Rochester, developed artist residencies for hospitality firms worldwide, steered Mauritius' first contemporary art pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
Recent projects have centered around public art initiatives in ecology and emerging technologies, aiming to foster radical approaches toward sustainability. Her groundbreaking work, engaging contemporary art museums to curate public art initiatives, has nurtured innovative funding strategies for cultural institutions.
Tiffany Thompson
Founding Director, Petrichor Projects
How We Did It
Brian Duffy
Let’s Glow SF illuminated downtown San Francisco with high-tech Panasonic projectors and lasers, transforming the facades of five iconic buildings, including the Ferry Building and Salesforce Tower, into canvases for large-scale art concepts. Organized by the Downtown SF Partnership and supported by sponsors like Amazon, this free outdoor festival attracted residents and visitors with captivating light shows, festive treats, and entertainment.
Brian Duffy, Strategic Account Manager at Panasonic Connect, played a crucial role in integrating cutting-edge projection technology into Let’s Glow SF, enhancing the visual experience and showcasing the potential of high-tech displays in public art.
Brian Duffy
Strategic Account Manager, Panasonic Connect
Sean Mason
Let’s Glow SF illuminated downtown San Francisco with high-tech Panasonic projectors and lasers, transforming the facades of five iconic buildings, including the Ferry Building and Salesforce Tower, into canvases for large-scale art concepts. Organized by the Downtown SF Partnership and supported by sponsors like Amazon, this free outdoor festival attracted residents and visitors with captivating light shows, festive treats, and entertainment.
Sean Mason, Chief Creative Officer of A3 Visual, spearheaded the creative direction for Let’s Glow SF. His expertise in visual storytelling and large-scale art installations helped bring the festival's ambitious artistic vision to life, captivating audiences and highlighting the power of creative innovation.
Sean Mason
Chief Creative Officer, A3 Visual
Robb Pope
Robb Pope founded Digital Ambiance after 5 years of concert touring as a lighting designer and video engineer. Recognizing the growing market for innovative lighting projection and interactive installations he put together a team of artists and engineers to design and build the architectural lighting installations Digital Ambiance is now known for. Using a combination of immersive technologies, parametric design, and cutting-edge design principles Digital Ambiance is pushing the boundaries of what it means to create architectural lighting and new media installations.
Robb Pope
Principal, Digital Ambience
Josh Desousa
Josh is a co-founder of the award-winning multi-disciplinary studio, Hou de Sousa, a New York based team focused on building innovative installations and large-scale sculptures. Examples of which have included projects for private clients such as Adobe and Google as well as a broad range of arts organizations, BIDs, municipal governments, and public entities such as the Kansas City International Airport and the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. Prior to co-founding Hou de Sousa, Josh received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell, Master of Architecture from Harvard, and worked at firms such as Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM). Josh taught in the architecture and interior design departments of Parsons School of Design for a number of years, frequently serves as a guest critic at universities such as Cornell and Syracuse, and has lectured at events held by The Architectural League of New York and The National Building Museum.
Josh Desousa
Hou de Sousa
Spotlight: Monuments As Collective Memories
Shane Allbritton
As co-founders of RE:site, Shane and Norman explore notions of community, identity, and narrative in the context of public space. Drawing on a site’s cultural landscape, they create work that resonates with local or historical meaning, making unseen connections between themes and ideas. Their practice combines divergent aesthetics with interpretive design and fine art backgrounds. RE:site creates public art, memorials, and commemorative spaces that connect past and present by inviting the public to share in experiential moments, prompting collaborative viewership, curiosity, discovery, and dialogue.
Shane and Norman are passionate about helping communities honor difficult histories and recover the voices of those who struggled for justice, freedom, and human dignity. They often engage the community as part of the creative process through workshops, interviews, and oral histories. They take a multidisciplinary approach to site-specific projects by collaborating with experts from various fields and using diverse materials, styles, and modalities. RE:site’s body of work includes monuments, commemoratives, suspended artwork, interactive play structures for playgrounds, light sculptures, and technology-based work.
Shane Allbritton
RE:site
Norman Lee
As co-founders of RE:site, Shane and Norman explore notions of community, identity, and narrative in the context of public space. Drawing on a site’s cultural landscape, they create work that resonates with local or historical meaning, making unseen connections between themes and ideas. Their practice combines divergent aesthetics with interpretive design and fine art backgrounds. RE:site creates public art, memorials, and commemorative spaces that connect past and present by inviting the public to share in experiential moments, prompting collaborative viewership, curiosity, discovery, and dialogue.
Shane and Norman are passionate about helping communities honor difficult histories and recover the voices of those who struggled for justice, freedom, and human dignity. They often engage the community as part of the creative process through workshops, interviews, and oral histories. They take a multidisciplinary approach to site-specific projects by collaborating with experts from various fields and using diverse materials, styles, and modalities. RE:site’s body of work includes monuments, commemoratives, suspended artwork, interactive play structures for playgrounds, light sculptures, and technology-based work.
Norman Lee
RE:site
Gordon Huether
Gordon Huether was born in Rochester, NY in 1959, to German immigrant parents. Having dual citizenship in Germany and the U.S., Huether has spent much time traveling between both countries. Huether learned art composition and appreciation at an early age from his father. In the course of his initial artistic explorations, Huether was resolved to create a lasting impact on the world around him through the creation of large-scale works of art. He took a deliberate step towards this goal in 1987 when Huether founded his studio in Napa, California.
In 1989 Huether was awarded his first public art commission for the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute. Given the opportunity to collaborate with a building design and construction team allowed Gordon to realize what he envisioned, providing a significant step for him. His careful consideration of an installation in context to the space and its users has led to many major public art awards around the globe.
Past projects have included installations for private corporations, airports, transportation centers, parking garages, hotels, universities, hospitals, recreation centers, civic buildings, libraries, and museums.
Gordon Huether
Principal, Gordon Huether Studio
Rebeca Méndez
Rebeca Méndez is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and educator examining reciprocal relationships and environmental justice in a multi-species world amid climate change, mass extinction, and a ravaging extractivist society. Solo exhibitions include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Anchorage Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Nevada Art Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Oaxaca. Group exhibitions: 1st Gangwon International Triennale 2021, 55th Venice Biennial, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, El Paso Museum of Art, and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Recognition includes a California Community Foundation Fellowship; The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency; CODAaward in Public Spaces; inclusion into the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the National Design Award in Communication Design. Tucson’s January 8th Memorial, a permanent public artwork in collaboration with Chee/Salette, was showcased on the PBS NewsHour, Art and Culture Series CANVAS. She earned a BFA, an MFA, and received the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Art Center College of Design. Méndez is a tenured professor in the Department of Design Media Arts and founder and director of the Counterforce Lab at UCLA.
Rebeca Mendez
Artist
Felicia Filer
Felicia Filer is the public art director for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. She directs the commission and fulfillment of over 230 permanent municipal public art projects throughout the city. Additionally, she directs the administration and management of the city’s public and private one percent for art programs, the city art collection, murals program, the former Community Redevelopment Agency’s art program, and city design review services. She is currently co-directing the administration and management of the Memorial to the Victims of the 1871 Chinese Massacre project and is directing the citywide Covid-19 Memorial community engagement and evaluation process. She co-created and launched the city’s first online virtual public art exhibition Reimagine Public Art Volumes.1 & 2 as part of a new Covid-19 Emergency Relief Program that provided temporary financial support to over 330 individual artists across the city. In Summer 2016 Filer co-produced the city’s inaugural Public Art Triennial, CURRENT: LA Water, and in Fall 2019 the second edition CURRENT: LA Food, each one commissioning 15 original, temporary public art installations and over 150 public programs and events at 15 outdoor locations.
Felicia Filer
Director, Los Angeles Public Art Division
Meet the BLINK! artists:
George Berlin
George Berlin believes that deepening connections between people and the places they love is an incredible use of creativity. His studio’s unforgettable multi-sensory experiences build on emotion to create wondrous worlds that bring people together through music, projection mapping, light art, and live performance.
George is an award-winning director with a standout style enjoyed around the world- celebrating home and togetherness with an epic love story projected in Sydney, igniting Art on theMart with the fiery passion of Frida Kahlo, lighting up Colorado Springs with a permanent projection mural on the wonder of nature, performing his visuals with a live orchestra in Chicago and debuting a global series of stories on learning to love the Earth are just a few of the ways he delights audiences.
You can see his art live with a projection mapping story featured at BLINK! Cincinnati this week on the YWCA Building.
George Berlin
Artist
Alan Hayes
This is Loop is the collaborative artistic partnership of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes.
Based in their Somerset studio they have established a reputation for creating large scale experiential installations. With nearly three decades combined practice focussing on utilising reflections and illusion at the intersection of technology, science and art this has created a common theme throughout their visually impactful architectural style work. They have a track record in creating both large-scale site-specific work as well as touring installations and have successfully done this in both the UK and internationally.
Alan Hayes
This is loop
Harriet Lumby
This is Loop is the collaborative artistic partnership of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes.
Based in their Somerset studio they have established a reputation for creating large scale experiential installations. With nearly three decades combined practice focussing on utilising reflections and illusion at the intersection of technology, science and art this has created a common theme throughout their visually impactful architectural style work. They have a track record in creating both large-scale site-specific work as well as touring installations and have successfully done this in both the UK and internationally.
Harriet Lumby
This is loop
Gee Horton
Gee Horton, a renowned artist, will unveil his "Coming of Age" mural series at Blink! 2024. These monumental murals, each spanning over 40 feet, will adorn Vine Street in the heart of Cincinnati's historic Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood, just north of downtown, known for its rich history and 19th-century Italianate architecture.
Horton's series explores African American adolescence and the preservation of innocence, merging contemporary visuals and hip-hop iconography to celebrate the Black experience and youth vulnerability. Through his teenage nephew and niece's eyes, Horton captures the formative years, cultural influences, and dualities of being young and Black in America. His murals strategically embed into OTR’s evolving narrative, especially north of Liberty Street.
As viewers journey southbound on Vine Street, they will be captivated by a succession of intentional works, each weaving a consistent thread through similar murals. The repetition of these vibrant pieces serves as a visual echo, inviting the audience to bear witness to modern artistic expressions seamlessly blending with the ever-shifting landscape of the neighborhood.
Gee Horton, a self-taught artist based in Cincinnati, Ohio, creates captivating photorealistic drawings that delve into the complexities of the human form, drawing from his personal experiences. His art has been featured in murals and TV shows like HBO's Insecure. Horton's achievements include winning an Emmy for his short-form content and being named a 2023 40 Under 40 awardee by the Cincinnati Business Courier, with his works housed in esteemed collections including The Mercantile Library and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Gee Horton
Artist
Meredith Winner
Meredith Winner is a California-based art curator and producer with a profound dedication to the arts spanning over 15 years. As the Co-Founder and COO of Building 180, Meredith drives the agency’s mission to inspire change through impactful art installations and supports artists in maintaining sustainable careers.
Meredith’s global impact includes producing public art installations and designing bespoke interiors worldwide. In 2020, she co-founded Paint the Void, a transformative public mural project managed under the fiscal sponsorship of Intersection for the Arts. Through this initiative, Meredith orchestrated the creation of over 230 murals on boarded-up storefronts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a passion for nurturing emerging talent, Meredith developed and served as Program Director for two Bay Area Artist-in-Residence Programs. Currently she engages as the Artist Liaison for the Bombay Beach Biennale, enhancing collaborative efforts within the artistic community. An artist herself, Meredith holds a BFA in sculpture with a minor in Art History from Cornell University.
Meredith Winner
Building 180
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CODAsummit is presented by CODAworx, the global online community that celebrates design projects featuring commissioned artworks.