Cincinnati native Javarri Lewis discovered his passion for art at a young age but never expected that passion to become his career. As a high schooler, Lewis constantly questioned the longevity of a career in the arts, finding the idea to be a financial risk. So, like many new graduates questioning their futures, Lewis followed a safer path, attending Ohio State University for a degree in pre-physical therapy.

After a couple years at Ohio State, Lewis kept going back to his creative side. He worked on graphic design or mixing music in his free time, discovering that art was something he had a true affection for. 

Lewis moved back to Cincinnati in April of 2017 and decided to look more into painting and canvas work. It first started out as a hobby for him, but it soon became a way of profit. He began selling his paintings to friends and family to earn money and to create more art. 

 “Just stuff that I can maybe have in my own home, but just ideas, you know, and that’s when people post up, people asking would you be interested in this? Like, would you be able to make one of these,” said Lewis. “And I’m like, oh, like, it’s cool, and it really kept sparking my interest in more.” 

When COVID-19 hit, Lewis received more opportunities to sell his work and transitioned to painting as a full-time career.

“You know, it’s where I was like, okay, if I’m gonna just paint, I might as well just do it now,” said Lewis.

He started to paint more, picking up opportunities and referrals to grow as an artist.

In many ways, Lewis’ return to Cincinnati was a critical turning point in his career. He returned to the very place and people that fostered his love for art. He often mentioned that family was a big part of his painting career.

“A lot of my family members they also were like basically in art. Like you know somebody did music or one of my other cousins could draw really well… I used to just absorb all that indirectly, not even thinking about it,” Lewis said.

Lewis credits his mother, LaDonnah Burns, as one of his main inspirations. 

He watched his mother perform growing up as a local singer and actress based out of New York. Burns watched Lewis grow up into the artist he is today, and she said that she first noticed Lewis’ talent for art when he was in fourth grade when he joined an art club at St. Francis DeSales School in Cincinnati. 

“I had no idea he was interested in art because I thought he loved basketball, but after seeing the paintings he created of certain famous people, random photos, as well as the different pottery pieces that he brought home– showed me everything I needed to know,” said Burns.  

She still has Lewis’ art pieces from the fourth grade. Years later, Burns was joyful when she discovered that she was one of the main artistic inspirations for Lewis.

She was at a loss for words. 

“This makes me feel special and proud to be his mom,” Burns said. 

Lewis loves community art that brings people together. Improving the community is a large passion of his along with his art. Lewis creates murals all across the downtown area, enhancing the look of the city. He also mentioned that he takes pride in bringing people together and telling stories through his work. 

Lewis’ creations inspire residents across the Over-the-Rhine (OTR) and Cincinnati area. 

“Javarri’s murals are very impactful to the OTR community because the community sees a familiarity in him and can very much relate. He has a humble personality, and he resonates with the community because he’s a part of it,” said Burns. “He beats the pavement of the community looking for inspiration to cultivate and uplift the community and families that live there, and he’s not only inspiring to the kids, [but also] adults of the community who aspire to be artists themselves one day.” 

“You get to meet the people who [are] actually going to live with these murals and paintings,” said Lewis. “That extra pride of being like, alright let’s keep elevating ourselves and the community through art,” said Lewis.

Lewis first experienced BLINK when he moved to OTR in April 2017, which was the first year of the event. BLINK is the nation’s largest public light and art event located in the Cincinnati area. At first, Lewis couldn’t explain his attraction to BLINK but recognized the event as a significant part of the development of Cincinnati’s art scene. He knew this was out of the ordinary for many cities, and he has been intrigued by it since then. Lewis explained that while he was a long-time admirer of BLINK, he never expected to become a contributing artist in the event.

In 2020, when the world shut down, Lewis was working and improving his art every day, and he says that’s when his art career took off. He was thinking of participating in something unofficial for BLINK that year to try and get his foot in the door, however, at that point in his life, Lewis was not given the chance to show who he was on a larger scale and to showcase an individual art project. He had only collaborated on projects through BLINK with other artists, but the best was still to come for Lewis.

Destinee Thomas, one of BLINK production partner Cincy Nice’s founders, discovered Lewis through his portraits.

“I reached out to him via Instagram about a quick turnaround commission to create a flier for Mayor Aftab [Pureval] and then Council Member David Mann for a pre-election town hall conversation on the creative economy. Then the rest is history,” said Thomas. “We’ve collaborated many times since, including partnering to present his first solo exhibition at Cincy Nice’s new small community gallery in Walnut Hills called Peebles Gallery.” 

Thomas has seen Lewis grow through the years they’ve worked together, both as a person and as an artist. 

“It’s his willingness to be vulnerable, lend a hand, keep learning and his overall curiosity. It’s inspiring to be around him and watch him continue to learn and shape his narrative and perspective on what he wants to share with the world,” Thomas said. 

A couple years later, Lewis finally got the chance to share his work on a larger scale, as he was selected as an official partner for BLINK 2024. 

“I submitted like a ton of ideas. I already knew y’all gonna pick so many. And there were like a lot of people [who] submitted, you know, almost 1,000 ideas got submitted,” Lewis said. 

Despite the wide pool of applicants, Lewis’ design– influenced by his work with Cincy Nice– was chosen as a select finalist for this year’s upcoming show.

He is collaborating with William Rankins Jr., a local muralist who lost his sight to a stroke in 2014, for his mural. Rankins is best known for his murals that are all across OTR. Lewis describes Rankins as “an icon in the Over-the-Rhine area.” 

Lewis knew of Rankins’ work as part of his everyday life in and around the city, but he never knew who did the murals until a National Public Radio (NPR) story about Rankins came out. After hearing the NPR story, Lewis had a great idea for his next project: honoring Rankins’ legacy. 

“I could actually make a mural of him, yeah, that was just a quick kind of thought, you know, or at least tell a part of the story,” Lewis said. 

After meeting with Rankins, he started planning the mural, a process which included hiring a photographer, selecting images and making preliminary sketches. The mural of Rankins falls in line with much of Lewis’ work, which takes inspiration from local legacies, family histories and personal stories.

“This is Javarri’s first solo mural. Having him tell a story about William Rankins Jr. that is rooted in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood will have a lasting impact. You can feel the care that he took in telling this story,” said Thomas. 

Cincy Nice works with Lewis because of the impact he presents to the community. It follows the mission statement of Cincy Nice, “First among equals comes culture, understood not just as art but as a way of life.” Thomas explained, “it’s about the power of art to bring us all together.” Lewis is a driving force behind their mission statement. 

Several of Lewis’ supporters find this collaboration to be a big step in his career. Lewis’ mother feels inspired and emotional by his work with BLINK. 

“It’s unbelievable and believable, it’s huge. I knew that once he was invited to be part of the BLINK action he would win because he has a passion and determination to bring his vision of art to life in any way he can,” Burns said. “If you give him a small glimmer of hope he will turn it into greatness.” 

Art is a way of life for Lewis.“We all declare ourselves as artists in some way shape or form, it’s the way in which you do things and that is really important,” Lewis said. Lewis believes everyone should have access to art, and the BLINK festival does just that. 

“It brings communities together, the city together, which is something I didn’t realize and how powerful that can be,” said Lewis. 

 Lewis’ mural can be spotted at the Film Center Apartment building near Findlay Market during  BLINK 2024, which is going on from Oct. 17-20.