Client: BLINK

Overview

On a canvas created for ArtWorks’ 100th mural, “I Am Ezz” is an audio/visual anthem dedicated to Cincinnati legend, Ezzard Charles.

In 12 verses of spoken word layered atop a record from George Russell’s 1961 album, “Ezz-thetics”, “I Am Ezz” follows our unlikely hero on his epic journey from the Jim Crow South through Cincinnati’s West End to an against-all-odds rise as champion of the world—inside the ring and out.

Liberty Street & Republic Street
Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
October 13 – 16, 7:00pm – 11:00pm
BLINK 2022

I am Ezzard Charles.
I am humble, Southern beginnings.
I am the Great Migration, a dream for better days.
I am my mother, her mother, my great-grandmother.
I am the West End kid and a Community of love.
I am a son, a husband, a father, and friend.
I am my faith, my family, and my craft.
I am jazz and rhythm and style and soul.
I am a path, a beacon, a legacy of goodwill.
I am a fighter, the hard knocks, and the heart in your corner.
I am the Cincinnati Cobra.

Goals

The overall goal was to educate and celebrate our neighborhood hero Ezzard Charles, Heavyweight Champion of the World, who lived and trained in the West End, Over-the-Rhine community of Cincinnati.

Additional Information

“I Am Ezz” wouldn’t be possible without our families, friends, supporters and collaborators. We love you all! Ezzard Charles Family West End Neighborhood West End Community Council Seven Hills Community Houses Cincinnati Parks Foundation CHAATRIK Architecture & Urban Design John Hebenstreit Andrew VanSickle Jennifer Spieser Jaipal Singh Kailah Ware Mike Ruehlman Tia Brown Mike Brown ArtWorks MadTree Brewing And all the good folks at BLINK Cincinnati