At a press conference Wednesday, ArtsWave kicked off its 2022 fundraising campaign and as a part of that announced the winner of their Connector Design Contest.
The last time a crowd this size gathered to show off a new design was when the Cincinnati Bell Connector was first revealed!
For the past month, ArtsWave has called on local artists to come out and design a new wrap for the Cincinnati Bell Connector. They then got 20 designs that the public voted on.
Brent Billingsley’s design won with 8,000 votes!
His design shows three-year-old children with different skin colors finding joy in their shared humanity. The work speaks to the importance of the arts in connecting us, despite real or perceived differences. Billingsley is known for often involving community members and youth, in particular, in the execution of an artistic vision.
The inside of this streetcar will feature a moving display of Billingsly’s art, typically focusing on portraits.
It will be on display through March 4th during the normal hours of the streetcar schedule.
“This looks absolutely phenomenal, you don’t realize how big it is until you see it up close,” Billingsley said. “It just speaks to what I do, they should just keep this up forever!”
