Photograph by Mike James
Cincinnati being an art city poses a potential problem when selective showcases like BLINK come around—with the plethora of talented artists in the city, many aren’t going to make the cut and get celebrated the way they also deserve. That’s where the BLONK app comes in.
“The concept for BLONK started after my application for BLINK 2022 was denied, and I decided to illuminate my mural ‘Welcome to Jaffa’ anyway,” says Palestinian-American muralist and developer Jason Al Ghussein. “And I realized two things. First, my rogue exhibition wasn’t going to be published in any of the official BLINK literature, so people wouldn’t know where to find it. Second, BLINK itself didn’t have an official app. A close friend of mine and I decided to launch a rogue app, scrape the official BLINK exhibitions into it, put my artwork alongside everything else, and distribute the application for free.”
BLONK returned for 2024 when even more “rogue” installations (such as Al Ghussein’s second rejected mural “Focus on Love”) got added and for 2026, you can find the many exhibitions and events being offered by Cincinnati Art Week. The app doesn’t seek to replace BLINK or its programming, but rather to expand what the weekend has to offer and provide a platform for independent artists to share their works and get their voices heard.
The free-to-download guide also offers users interactive maps, live music and event schedules organized by day, the ability to favorite and save installations, “seen” tracking to mark off what they’ve already experienced, event reminder push notifications, walking directions, offline maps, and community submissions. At the end of the day, Alghussein emphasizes that the importance of BLONK lies in providing platforms for creators whose works are often considered less conducive to a mainstream showcase.
“Artists themselves should have the freedom to decide what subjects are illuminated,” says Al Ghussein.“The artistic and creative community has an obligation to speak up and speak out against injustice. When people are suffering, when civilians are being killed, when entire communities are being destroyed, artists should not be expected to remain silent simply because a subject might be considered controversial or inconvenient. Art has always been a way for people to confront power, document injustice and demand that the world pay attention. BLONK is about protecting that freedom.”
