The Cincinnati Art Museum is lighting up its courtyard walls again this winter, bringing back its holiday projection show for a second year with a new theme built around one of the city's most beloved artists. This time the show is called Charley Harper's Wild Wonderland, a nod to the museum's current retrospective on the midcentury illustrator known for his bold, geometric wildlife designs.
According to Cincinnati CityBeat, the free show is projected along three outdoor walls in the museum's Alice Bimel Courtyard, turning the space into a sweep of Harper's signature style after dark. The outlet reports the program runs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 to 8:45 p.m., with the Charley Harper's Wild Wonderland theme directly tied to the museum's ongoing retrospective of his career.
Not every night is included. CityBeat notes the 2026 schedule excludes Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, 18, 24, 25 and 31, skipping around Thanksgiving and the heart of the Christmas and New Year's holidays. As with the museum itself, admission to CAM Nights & Holiday Lights is free, per the same report.
Last Year's Version Looked a Little Different
This isn't the museum's first run at an after-dark projection show. The Cincinnati Art Museum says its 2025 edition, presented in partnership with BLINK, ran Fridays from Dec. 5 through Dec. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. and featured a holiday-themed projection show in the same Alice Bimel Courtyard. A separate press release from the museum described that program running on Thursdays and Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m., so the exact weekly cadence of last year's event has been described two different ways across the museum's own materials.
Cincinnati-based motion designer and three-time BLINK artist Chaske Haverkos designed that 2025 projection show, the museum says. General admission to the museum and museum parking were both free during last year's run as well, matching this year's no-cost approach to the experience.
A Bigger Harper Project Is Already on the Horizon
This year's design work comes from Lightborne, which produced Charley Harper's Wild Wonderland for the museum. The same studio was also behind a separate, larger undertaking: Lightborne created Harper Alive, an immersive animation and music experience centered on Charley and Edie Harper, for Mercantile Immersive during BLINK 2026. That experience was unveiled Oct. 8 and ran through the BLINK weekend, closing Oct. 11, according to Movers & Makers.
The outlet also reports that an even larger Charley and Edie Harper immersive experience is planned to launch at Mercantile Immersive in March 2027, suggesting the Cincinnati art scene's embrace of Harper's work is far from finished. For now, though, the free courtyard show at the art museum gives locals a low-key way to take in his style on a weeknight stroll through Eden Park this winter.
