Michael Thompson helped paint a 224-foot-wide mural inside CVG airport in Hebron. He exhibited a 16-by-9-foot canvas at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. He landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list at age 25.
He got his start at Thomas More University.
Thompson, a Richmond, Kentucky, native who graduated summa cum laude from Thomas More in 2021, will celebrate the grand opening of his newest mural at the university's Biology Field Station on Saturday, July 25, from 3 to 9 p.m. The university is also hosting "Raisin' Hellbenders on the River: Concert for Conservation," named for the Eastern hellbender salamander, a threatened species native to the region's waterways. The event features live music, lab tours, and food trucks, according to the NKyTribune.
"I get to be at a place I really love and have that creative autonomy," Thompson told the NKyTribune.
Thompson didn't arrive at Thomas More planning to be a muralist. He started as an International Studies major before shifting into the arts, and the nonprofit 1001 Colors (then called ArtWorks) hired him to oversee youth apprentices in Cincinnati right after graduation in the summer of 2021.
That job led to his first major public project: "All Along the Control Tower," a mural at CVG airport in Hebron measuring 224 feet wide and 19 feet tall. Thompson served as a teaching artist alongside lead muralist Christian Dallas and fellow teaching artist Thomas Osorio, with 12 apprentices ages 15 to 20 helping paint the piece between October and December 2021, according to Dallas's project page. The mural depicts Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky landmarks including the Boone County Courthouse, local farming scenes, and the Roebling Bridge.
From there, Thompson's career accelerated. His painting "Sanctuaries" showed at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2022. His 16-by-9-foot work "Murmurations," featuring a lighting track tracing the flight patterns of starling birds, exhibited at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in 2023. He gave a TEDx Talk at the University of Cincinnati and has served as artist-in-residence at five institutions, including the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center.
Thompson is also color-blind. He told Spectrum News 1 in July 2023 that the trait influences his use of high contrast and complementary tones in his large-scale work.
Forbes named Thompson to its 30 Under 30 Local Cincinnati list in 2024, citing his studio's more than 15 murals across the Midwest and $160,000 in funding from organizations including TABLE, ArtsWave, and the Ohio Arts Council. The Cincinnati-based nonprofit that launched his career, 1001 Colors, is running its 30th summer apprentice program with 105 young people this year.
"Having a career in the arts is like going to an internship; it won't look like your peers. Be resourceful in how you're constructing your creativity," Thompson told the NKyTribune.
Coming up
- Saturday, July 25: Grand opening of Thompson's Biology Field Station mural and "Raisin' Hellbenders on the River: Concert for Conservation" at Thomas More University Biology Field Station, 3–9 p.m. Live music, lab tours, and food trucks.
