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A giant sculpture will soon rise in Roselawn at the corner of Reading and Section roads as part of a citywide art installment. The 10-foot R sculpture, created by Annie Ruth, is the first installation of 16 giant-letter sculptures and an exclamation point that will appear in various places around Cincinnati, eventually spelling Black Lives Matter!

In a celebration of community, strength and diversity in Cincinnati, the work is part of local artist collective Black Art Speaks sculptural series. A dedication ceremony will take place in Roselawn on Thursday, May 2 at 11 a.m. when the R will be unveiled.

The works are inspired by two of Black Art Speaks own creations, Cincinnatis Black Lives Matter muraland Alandes Powell's poem "We Want What You Want.

Each of the giant letter installations will resemble about 70%

Photo: provided by Alandes Powell

Painting of the "R" sculpture in progress.

Ruth is a founding member of Black Art Speaks, as well as an internationally known artist. She is the project manager for many of the collectives installations and projects. Powell tells CityBeat that she plays a huge role in the organization.

Because of all [Ruth] does for Roselawn, for this community,how talented she is and the fact that she created the first letter that stands up is amazing to me, Powell says. So she continues to not just explode in her craft, but just for her community, and how much she loves Roselawn, how much

Photo: provided by Alandes Powell

The "R" sculpture before it was painted.

The next two sculptures slated for installation are A and !. The A will appear in Avondale near the end of May or the beginning of June; it represents the issue of gun violence, Powell says. The exclamation point will be installed in June in the West End of Cincinnati.

How can we have deeper dialogue using art and actually continue this conversation removing the noise of Black Lives Matter, but still making sure the movement is important? How do we take some of that political piece out of it and make people really understand our hearts?" Powell says. "So in Roselawn, just taking the R, knowing that it's about the bias of Black men and how important it is for them to see the beauty in themselves and for other people to be so inclined to see it as well, is just one piece of Black Lives Matter. So the vision and the hope is that we can have these courageous conversations and dialogue using the beauty of art to change us and change how people see us. It's an internal peace and external.

For more information about Black Art Speaks and its programming visit blackartspeaks.com.

Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Cincinnati's Black Lives Matter mural being painted.

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Cincinnati Artist Collective Creates Sculptural Series that Spells Out Black Lives Matter - Cincinnati CityBeat