For today’s meeting and convention planners, booking a venue is no longer just about square footage and seating charts; it is also about choosing an engaging destination. Attendees crave more than PowerPoint slides and coffee breaks; they want connection, culture, and a sense of place. That’s where creative placemaking becomes critical. Across the country, destinations are reimagining public spaces, leveraging local arts, culture, and design, transforming neighborhoods into vibrant, immersive extensions of the event experience. Whether it’s a mural-lined alley that becomes an open-air networking lounge or a historic plaza turned interactive performance space, these placemaking efforts are turning meetings into memorable journeys, giving planners bold new canvases to work with.
meetNKY, Northern Kentucky’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, and ArtsWave, an engine for the arts in the Greater Cincinnati region, have a unified creative placemaking vision to transform NKY’s public spaces into vibrant cultural destinations. The goal? To strengthen its cultural identity and sense of place, thereby making NKY even more attractive and appealing to meeting planners and groups.
“By showcasing our region's unique artistic and cultural assets, we're enhancing Northern Kentucky's appeal as a destination for visitors while creating meaningful experiences for residents,” said President and CEO of meetNKY, Julie Kirkpatrick.
The collaboration allows these two organizations to build on their longstanding investment in NKY, strategically leveraging NKY’s rich cultural tapestry to attract visitors, retain talent, and stimulate business growth. Creative placemaking not only supports individual artists and organizations but also acts as a catalyst for economic growth, fostering an even stronger sense of community to unify the entire region.
“Our shared goal is to recognize, amplify, and contribute to the rich narrative of NKY while creating thriving and inclusive spaces for residents and visitors,” said ArtsWave, NKY Creative Placemaking Director, Rachael Parker.
In fact, from the moment visitors arrive at CVG (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International) Airport, they are steeped in NKY’s cultural identity, thanks to the installation of a new Welcome Point mural. The mural is part of Elevate CVG, an ongoing program to boost operational efficiency, modernize facilities, and foster an intentional customer-centric experience.
The immersion continues at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. Here, Ukrainian-American artist Maya Hayuk’s “Kentucky Gateway,” which intertwines Kentucky’s rich quilting tradition with her own Ukrainian heritage, serves as both a literal and symbolic entrance to the Northern Kentucky region as well as to Kentucky as a whole.
“This quilt tradition is also reflected locally in the painted quilt designs found on many barns throughout Northern Kentucky that exist as part of the Kentucky Barn Quilt Trail,” said Jarrod Becker of BLDG Brands, the Covington-based creative consulting agency that curated the project.
The setting of the Convention Center, situated in the heart of a rapidly expanding business and entertainment district just across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge from downtown Cincinnati, further strengthens the character, unity, and arts-centric nature of the community.
The creative placemaking partnership also resulted in an expanded BLINK, a world-class art experience that brings three cities—Cincinnati, Covington, and, most recently, Newport—and two states—Ohio and Kentucky—into one unforgettable and diverse yet unified regional festival.
Additionally, it succeeded in bringing ArtsWave’s Truth and Innovation Showcase, held annually in Ohio, to NKY for the first time. The culmination of the Black and Brown Artist program is designed to support local BIPOC artists who interpret the themes of our times.
On a more grassroots level, Covington’s Scribble Park—a concrete canvas proclaiming the city’s official branding message, “Unapologetically Covington”—is a space dedicated to giving local street artists a place to exhibit their work in an outdoor art gallery.
“This space is intentional in its constant change,” said Covington Economic Development Director Tom West. “Artists are allowed to paint over other works. That keeps the ‘collection’ fresh as artists comment and respond to the community and the world as they grow and change.
“There can be nothing more authentic to a place than its people and artists expressing their ideas and creativity in the moment,” West added.
That authenticity is a key component in the meetNKY and ArtsWave creative placemaking partnership.
“As we look toward the future, NKY Creative Placemaking envisions NKY rising among America's most arts-vibrant communities,” said Parker. “A place where creative placemaking drives economic development, enhances quality of life, and creates a distinctive sense of place that resonates with residents and visitors alike.”
Ready to experience where a sense of place meets a successful event filled with creativity, plus a responsive team that can deliver? Slide into our email to get a conversation started, and let’s build a work of art together.
