Vurvey Labs Named Official AI Partner of BLINK 2026, Introducing ‘Blinky’ to Bring AI Into the Festival Experience

New AI Brand Companion spotlights artists, creativity and the Cincinnati community to celebrate the magic of humanity.

CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Vurvey today announced its partnership with BLINK, becoming the festival’s first Official AI Partner for BLINK 2026. As part of the partnership, Vurvey introduces Blinky, a custom AI Brand Companion hosted on the BLINK website that will serve as the festival’s digital ambassador and collaboration partner. Designed specifically for BLINK, Blinky will help attendees discover artists and installations, navigate the festival and get answers to questions throughout the event. The partnership also reflects Vurvey’s commitment to investing in the Cincinnati community and building AI experiences around the people they serve, at a time when competitors are increasingly focused on automation.

At its core, BLINK is a celebration of artists, creativity and human perspectives. The partnership explores how AI can support that experience without replacing the people and ideas at the heart of it. Rather than simply providing another static festival guide, Blinky is designed to create a more conversational way for people to interact with BLINK, helping them discover what interests them, explore the work of artists and engage with the festival on their own terms. It puts AI into a cultural environment where curiosity, creativity and human connection are the point.

Vurvey will design, build and maintain Blinky throughout the 2026 festival engagement, from October 8 – October 11 in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The experience will feature a custom BLINK persona and conversation design, with the AI trained around the festival’s programming, brand voice and attendee experience. Vurvey will also build the BLINK Wayfinder, giving visitors an interactive way to discover artists and installations and find real-time information to help them navigate the festival.

The partnership is part of Vurvey Labs’ next chapter, celebrating the “magic of humanity.” Vurvey is bringing AI into a festival built around artists, individual expression and human creativity, to celebrate their work and what makes them human. Blinky is designed not just to deliver information, but to help people discover the unique perspectives, details and experiences that make BLINK human. Cincinnati Regional Chamber has agreed to participate in a co-authored case study following the festival, documenting what happens when AI is built with the people it serves.

“BLINK has always been about what happens when artists are given the tools, scale and freedom to make people see the world differently. AI is another tool in that evolution, but the human idea still has to be at the center of it. What excites me about Blinky is that we’re not using technology to replace creativity, we’re using it to help millions of people get closer to the artists, stories and ideas that make BLINK what it is. For a festival built around curiosity and discovery, that feels like a really natural experiment for us,” said Andrew Salzbrun, Co-Founder of BLINK.

“BLINK is thrilled to partner with Vurvey to create the Blinky Companion, harnessing new technology and innovative ideas to make BLINK more welcoming, accessible and engaging for everyone,” said Leslie Mooney, Vice President and Executive Director at BLINK.

The collaboration will create a real-world example of how AI can support culture, community and human connection while giving Vurvey and the Cincinnati Regional Chamber an opportunity to share those learnings with communities in Cincinnati and beyond.

***

About Vurvey Labs
Founded in 2021 by Chad Reynolds, Vurvey Labs exists to ground artificial intelligence in lived experience. Vurvey delivers a suite of co-creation tools that give design thinkers the superpower to build with the world.
Frontier intelligence celebrating the “magic of humanity” is at the heart of Vurvey’s approach. Unlike most AI systems trained on scraped data, Vurvey’s models are built from trillions of consented interviews with real people.
Trusted by leading brands including Unilever, Vans, Kenvue, and JPMorgan Chase, Vurvey Labs gives teams the ability to build with an endless fascination with people, mapping the perspectives of as many real people as possible to develop ideas that are sharper, more empathetic, and grounded in human experience rather than approximations of it.

About BLINK
Started in 2017, BLINK is a biennial celebration of public art and light that spans the urban core of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The massive four-day event features 80+ large-scale projection mappings against some of the city’s most iconic architecture, interactive light-based installations in its public spaces and expansive murals across its buildings, all by renowned local, national and international artists. The largest of its kind in the country, the festival’s mission is to nurture a sense of community, connection and inspiration through the medium of public art. In 2024, BLINK spanned 30+ city blocks, crossing the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky and was experienced by over 2 million people. BLINK is by the artists, for the people. Executive producing partners are the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, AGAR and the Haile Foundation. We welcome all to Cincinnati, Ohio to experience the magic and wonder of BLINK once again October 8-11, 2026.

Daniela Quesada
Reverve Agency
+ +1 210-322-6573
email us here

Media gallery