Murals in Motion at CVG
When you step off a plane in a new city, first impressions matter. Some airports are content with sterile walls and muted signage. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) has chosen something different. Just in time for World Tourism Day, the airport has unveiled Pearls Before Swine, a striking mural that turns the terminal’s Welcome Point into a cultural landmark in its own right.
Created by artists Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch, the mural features 26 silhouettes of iconic people and places that define the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky story. Bootsy Collins grooves next to Harriet Beecher Stowe. Pete Rose shares space with Doris Day and the Tyler Davidson Fountain. Cincinnatus stands as a symbol of civic virtue. Each cut-out reveals photo fragments, digital textures, and glimpses of the city’s grit: rust, peeling paint, vines on brick. The contrast of grit and glamour gives travelers a layered story to unpack the more they look.
Art That Welcomes and Teaches
For visitors arriving at CVG, this mural is more than decoration. It is a visual syllabus on the region’s cultural heritage. A traveler unfamiliar with Cincinnati’s deep musical history learns about the Isley Brothers and Sudan Archives. A quick glance introduces Ezzard Charles, the “Cincinnati Cobra,” and Vera-Ellen, the Hollywood dancer. Even Steven Spielberg’s hometown connection finds a place through a silhouette of E.T. The mural is designed to be immediate, bold, and rewarding with repeat encounters.
Across from Pearls Before Swine are two mosaics from the artists’ Work/Surface series. Made from laser-cut Formica laminate, the mosaics honor Cincinnati’s industrial interiors and workforce diversity. The medium itself carries local significance: Formica was invented in Cincinnati, making it an authentic material choice. The series pays homage to Winold Reiss’s Industrial Murals, originally installed at Union Terminal in the 1930s, tying today’s creative placemaking to nearly a century of public art tradition.
Placemaking Through Travel
The mural is a direct product of the Northern Kentucky Creative Placemaking Initiative, a partnership between ArtsWave and meetNKY. Their work puts artists at the center of community growth, showcasing culture in public spaces while driving economic impact. This initiative has funded murals, performances, and installations throughout Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties. By making public art part of everyday life, it enhances both local pride and visitor experience.
For CVG, this is also strategy. Airports are often the first and last spaces travelers see. By installing a mural that embodies local history and creativity, CVG is telling visitors they have landed somewhere with a strong sense of self. The mural acts as an invitation to explore: see Bootsy in silhouette at the airport, then go listen to his music at the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame. Spot Pete Rose’s profile in vinyl, then make your way to Great American Ball Park to understand why baseball lives in the city’s DNA.
Tourism That Begins at the Gate
The timing of the unveiling on World Tourism Day is symbolic. Tourism is not just about hotels and attractions. It is about storytelling through place. Pearls Before Swine embodies that philosophy, letting visitors experience Cincinnati’s texture before they even reach baggage claim. Like Amsterdam’s Schiphol with its Rijksmuseum outpost or San Francisco International Airport’s SFO Museum, CVG is positioning itself as a cultural gateway, not just a transit hub.
Larry Krauter, CVG’s chief executive officer, described the work as a mural that “literally refreshes itself” each time it is viewed. That quality makes it ideal for an airport, where people pass through repeatedly, often distracted and rushed. Each journey offers a new chance to notice another detail, another story, another thread in Cincinnati’s fabric.
Why It Matters for Travelers
For the travel-minded, this mural is more than background. It is a primer on what makes Cincinnati distinctive. It suggests an itinerary before you have even left the terminal. It turns waiting space into cultural space. And it aligns with a growing movement to use public art as a driver of tourism, placemaking, and civic pride.
So when you pass through CVG, take a moment at the Welcome Point. Look closely at the silhouettes. Recognize the icons, the grit, the history, and the artistry. In doing so, you will not just be starting a trip. You will be stepping into the Cincinnati story.