Gina recently brought her mural design for the Newport Flood Wall on Dave Cowens Drive to completion for the city's 225th Anniversary! This mural, entitled "Education Empowers", tells the story of the Southgate Street School; the original building stands today and is now the home of the Newport History Museum. It was the first and only school for Black children in Newport immediately following the Civil War. The 19-panel wall will eventually become a chronological timeline of Newport's rich history.

Why did you choose to study at NKU SOTA?

I chose NKU's Visual Arts program first and foremost because of its professors. I researched their personal artwork and found a diverse array of styles unified by their respective excellence. I believed that these artists and teachers could expand my perspective and lead me towards a path that would elevate my own unique skill set, which is exactly what happened. I am eternally grateful for Kevin Muente, JeeEun Lee, Marc Leone, and Steven Finke.

Tyler Reed (BA Visual Communication Design, 2014) was accepted into the Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund — a program extended to give relief to creatives during the pandemic. Reed will be spending the month of August creating while using a beta version of Adobe Illustrator for iPad. Adobe selects creators for the program who are, “passionate about creating personally fulfilling work, sharing their journeys, and activating fellow creatives to craft the careers they want by empowering them with knowledge.” Tyler is the creative mind behind the Rude Pets Club — a series of humorously illustrated creature characters. Reed was also interviewed about his work by Cincinnati Refined in May, and appeared on CincyLifestyle in June. In addition to his RPC work, Reed is an illustrator for Brill Creative.