The Blink art festival has already started the search for artists and light installations. Now, the door is open for other performers. Organizers are looking for musicians, bands, singers, buskers, dancers, actors and puppeteers for this October's four-night event.
The first Blink festival, in 2017, included musical performances ranging from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to rockabilly groups and hip-hop artists. There will be a variety of genres again this year.
Co-founder Andrew Salzbrun says the plan is to have 60 musical performances during Blink, plus roving acts. He says the idea of the entire event is "one more block of discovery," which encourages visitors to keep going from one installation to the next. "The strategy in employing buskers allows for guests to interact with touch points along the way as they go from one location to another," he says.
It's not just music that will be on the Blink stages. Salzbrun says there are plans to program shows by the larger performing companies. "We have a really large base of dancers, singers and actors that aren't just bands playing on stages. We want to give them a platform."
Applications are due by June 15. Salzbrun says there isn't a "tried-and-true methodology" to the selection of performers, but there are factors including capability, availability, cost and how an act flows. "We want it to be curated really well. While we won't be able to take everybody, there's a ton of slots available." He says there will probably be close to 100 acts booked total, up from around 80 in 2017.
Blink will run October 10-13, with exhibits, installations and performances from around Findlay Market to Covington. The first festival drew an estimated 1 million people over four nights.
