Transforms the plaza into a living dance floor, using sculptural movement inspired by King Records to celebrate rhythm, spontaneity, and expression.
Honors King Records through a monolithic steel sculpture that celebrates Cincinnati’s fearless, genre-defying musical innovation, and lasting culture.
Celebrates Cincinnati’s musical legacy through a crown-like canopy of colorful movement that invites visitors to experience rhythm and connection.
Honors Cincinnati icon Bootsy Collins, whose bold sound, creativity, and unmistakable style transformed funk and continues to inspire musical culture.
Uncovering Space Walk by Charley Harper
For 28 years, "Space Walk" by Charley Harper was covered with drywall in Cincinnati's convention center.
As Mayor John Cranley put it at its 2015 unveiling, “we all made fashion mistakes in the ’80’s,” and 2 very large, commissioned works by well-known Cincinnati artist Charley Harper were entombed behind drywall at the Cincinnati Convention Center (later First Financial Center) in 1987. No doubt the black and vibrant primary colored ceramic mosaic work clashed with the teal and peach color scheme of the day.
The mural in two sections, each measuring 15 ft high and 30 ft wide, was Harper’s interpretation of the first space walk by Ohio native Neil Armstrong. They were installed in 1970 in the then new east lobby, over the entry doors to the main exhibit hall. According to Brett Harper, they are his dad’s only non-representational works besides some of his student pieces from his days at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
Space Walk in 1970 at the original Cincinnati Convention Center
As part of a $5 million Convention Center upgrade in 2015, the twin murals were carefully uncovered and meticulously restored.
Harper was one of Cincinnati’s first notable public artists. His murals and posters helped form the Queen City’s public art movement and love for murals. Harper attended and taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and later established a “minimal realism” style that would serve as inspiration to countless contemporary artists and art fans around the world.
In 1969, Harper was commissioned to create an abstract constellation made up of 30,000 tiles inspired by Neil Armstrong’s first historic steps on the moon. The mural was called “Space Walk.” The mural, estimated in 2015 to be worth $1 million and in good condition, is again available to be enjoyed at the convention center thanks to a partnership between the City of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Convention Center, and the Charley Harper Estate.