COVINGTON, Ky. — BLINK 2022 is quickly approaching, and preparations are underway in Covington and Cincinnati. This immersive art experience is expected to be one of the biggest tourist attraction events of the year for the area. 

Mother of God Church in Covington is pretty enough to look at on its own. That’s before renowned Italian projection artist Alessio Cassaro completely transforms it for his “In the Middle” exhibit.

Artists are putting together the art installations for the festival, which is coming back to Covington and Cincinnati for the first time since 2019. It debuted in 2017.

Executive Director Justin Brookhart said it will expand the footprint on the Kentucky side.

“We really wanted to try to connect that Mainstrasse area to more of the downtown, up to the Roebling Point area, and up to the Roebling Bridge,” he said.

It’s an event Brookhart said is meant to be explored and discovered.

From Oct. 13 to the 16, people will get to experience street art, projection mapping and light-based installations spanning 30 city blocks between both sides of the Ohio River.

Though it’s a free event, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber found BLINK 2019 had an overall economic impact of a little over $86 million.

“We’re anticipating a similar if not larger economic impact this year. Because there’s been kind of a pent up anticipation for the event,” Brookhart said. “There’s nowhere else in the United States that’s doing an event like blink. And so the people here, I think, are proud of it.”

The goal is to celebrate the cultural diversity and uniqueness of the region, as well as its architectural significance. Creating a world class immersive art experience takes a lot of work. Brookhart said he’s expecting it will pay off in a big way.

Free public transportation will be offered during BLINK.

A street closure map will be released later this week.