UC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Community art project pays tribute to the excellence of University of Cincinnati’s alumni
CHALLENGE
- Partner with The University of Cincinnati Alumni Association to mark its annual UC Alumni Celebration during Alumni Week with a unique tribute to the slate of honorees receiving the organization’s top alumni awards — the installation of a mural in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood featuring the honorees’ likenesses.
- Create a fresh, unique way to engage the UC community, keep the network well connected as well as celebrate the impact of UC alumni (honorees and award winners).



ACTIVATION
- In accordance with the UC Alumni Celebration theme “Paint the Town Red!” AGAR worked with the UC Alumni Association and UC grad and artist, Nicole Trimble, to create custom portraits and a mural of this year’s honorees. Each honoree created their own, unique, custom shade of red that was then used in the artwork.
- Phase 1: AGAR managed the first wave of communication to honorees with a “custom paint kit box” — the box included a letter about the project, black paint, white paint, 3 shades of red, paint mixing supplies, and an addressed return card. Honorees scanned a QR to watch a “how-to” video where they were guided through the paint mixing process. Once they had their own custom shade, they gave it a unique name, and mailed back a swatch.
- Phase 2: UC graduate and artist, Nicole Trimble, created unique portraits of each honoree in which their custom shade of red was used. These portraits were reproduced as fine art prints and put on display at a gallery adjacent to campus during the University’s Alumni Week.
- Phase 3: A mural portraying a collage of the honorees was painted by Trimble and her mural team at Bright Wall Collective in Cincinnati’s Over The Rhine neighborhood.
- Phase 4: Following the installation of the mural, honorees were sent frame portraits of the completed design, their own frames portrait, and a custom etched glass award commemorating the honor they had received.



RESULTS
- Press coverage; celebration and acknowledgement of the 2021 honorees and award winners.
- Drove awareness of UC alumni association and its overarching mission to the Cincinnati community and beyond.