COVINGTON, Ky. — As preparations continue for BLINK 2026, students at Northern Kentucky University's School of the Arts are developing an interactive light installation that explores how bridges and public transportation connect communities across the Tri-State.
The project, created in partnership with TANK, is titled "Beyond the Bridge." The installation will transform a TANK bus into an immersive art experience highlighting the role of the region's iconic bridges and transit routes in bringing people together.
Students have spent months designing the display while balancing their regular coursework, according to Candice Van Loverengeis, NKU's program head of art and design.
WATCH: WCPO 9 News gets behind-the-scenes preview of NKU's 2026 Covington BLINK installation
"They're doing this all in addition to their regular classwork, which is just how creatives normally work; they're normally working on multiple projects at one time," Van Loverengeis said.
The installation will include interactive elements that allow visitors to see themselves and other participants projected across different areas of the exhibit.
"The pier [part of the display] will have a window where the people on the other side will be projected on this side and then on that end, the people on the pier end will be projected onto the window of the bus," NKU student Savannah Cook said.
Other components of the display are designed to visually represent TANK's transit network and its relationship to the region's bridges.
"[The lights on the side] are meant to represent the TANK routes, so we will be having moving lines across it to represent the buses moving," Cook said. "And over on this side we have the bridge and these lines will be kind of moving toward the bridge, showing how the bridge and the routes work together to connect people."
For the students involved, the project provides an opportunity to move beyond classroom assignments and create artwork for one of the region's largest public art events.
"It's really getting them ready to move from classroom application and learning to growing and producing real artwork where hopefully millions of people will get to view it," Van Loverengeis said.
BLINK, held every two years across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, draws millions of visitors and showcases large-scale light, art and projection-mapping installations throughout the region.
You can find more information about BLINK 2026 in Covington by clicking the link here.
