In 2023, Cincinnati celebrated the 50^th anniversary of its Pride Parade. What began in 1973 as a small protest of 75 people advocating for acceptance and legal rights in Fountain Square has now blossomed into a megaevent that draws hundreds of thousands of attendees and scores of corporate and organizational sponsors. The Queen City’s affirming embrace of its LGBTQ+ community and commemoration of one of its most noteworthy events provided ample reason for a celebration with an iconic visual statement: Cincinnati’s first Pride mural. The mural adorns an exterior wall at Queen City Radio, a popular Cincinnati watering hole.

Dustin Lewis, Cincinnati PRIDE’s director of programming, approached ArtWorks about developing an iconic Pride mural. ArtWorks put out a call to LGBTQ+ artists seeking a project designer and ultimately decided on Matthew Dayler, owner of Chroma Projects, to develop the mural’s vision. Dayler’s concept observes Pride’s evolution from a defiant protest into a celebratory event.

Under the direction of teaching artists Daniel Baker and Orion Inez, twelve ArtWorks’ Apprentices brought Dayler’s visual tribute to the LGBTQ+ community’s struggles and victories to life. Approximately twenty P&G associates also contributed to the completion of the mural, spending two days painting under the guidance of project staff and Apprentices.

Colleen Houston, ArtWorks’ CEO and creative director, characterized the mural as “a moment to inclusion.” Lewis aptly summarized the Pride mural’s tableau of love and community as conveying the message “There’s a place and space for you in our home.”