Vancouver Mural Festival 2023 artist highlights and full street party schedule
Mark your calendar! We’re excited to share that our full event schedule is now available on our festival page, including the jam-packed four-day program for the Mount Pleasant Street Party on our final weekend, August 10-13.
“Every year, our team curates art, spaces and experiences that invite people to connect with each other and feel a sense of belonging. From collaborations between mural artists across Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods to fun events that highlight the diversity of local communities– this year’s festival program is tied by the theme of connection, inviting audiences to come together in celebration of public space,” said Natalia Lebedinskaia, VMF Creative Director.
The Vancouver Mural Festival will feature over 20 new murals across Metro Vancouver on August 4-13. This summer, new murals can be found in various Vancouver neighbourhoods and downtown; Richmond; Burnaby; and North Vancouver. The full list of murals and artists will be available in July.
Events will be taking place throughout the festival’s 10 days, including the massive Mount Pleasant Street Party during its final weekend, from August 10-13.
Check out the street party’s daily schedule on the Mount Pleasant Street Party page.
“For us, placemaking is the process of shaping public space to strengthen the connections between people and places. We take an art-driven approach to placemaking, working with artists and neighbourhood stakeholders to collectively reimagine public space as the heart of every community,” said Natalia.
With over 400 murals to date leaving an indelible mark upon the Metro Vancouver cityscape, the Vancouver Mural Festival’s open-air gallery breathes life into once-ordinary buildings, morphing them into veritable canvases. Mural fans can look forward to the works of prominent Canadian and international artists at this year’s festival.
Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist Jacquie Comrie is known for her dynamic exploration of colour science as the universal language of human emotion. She will be producing a monumental mural in Yaletown, commissioned by GWL Realty and sponsored by Yaletown BIA. Using colour, her vibrant body of work aims to improve the mental wellbeing and quality of life of all individuals, one wall at a time.
Musqueam artist Kelly Cannell will be producing a large mural at the entranceway of the BCIT Burnaby campus, commissioned by BCIT as part of their overall campus transformation. Known for her sophisticated contemporary Coast Salish style, her mural will depict the land, sea and sky of the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, portraying the Nations as proud keepers of the land and its surroundings.
Hawaii-born Polynesian artist JNasty will be painting Eihu Lane as the final installation of the West End Laneway Mural Series.
His mural will draw from his signature graffiti style, blending it with the ancient art of Polynesian tattoo to honour Hawaiian settler Eihu, who was one of the original settlers on Coal Harbour’s south shore, near Stanley Park. Eihu Lane, located between Alberni and Robson streets, runs from Burrard Street to west of Bute Street, and from Jervis to Chilco streets.
This mural is the last piece in a collaborative initiative between Vancouver Mural Festival and the West End BIA to beautify the streetscape by reflecting and sharing the neighbourhood’s diverse history through visual storytelling.
Free, all-ages and family-friendly, the Mount Pleasant Street Party returns on August 10 - 13, with five exciting zones to enjoy at the iconic City Centre Artist Lodge and surrounding streets. Daily programming features DJs, live music, food trucks, a beer garden, the City Centre Open Studios, an artisanal market, and more.
On August 12, at the 6th annual Holden Courage Memorial Graffiti Jam, street party attendees can witness graffiti artists freestyle paint a mural on Main Street and 5th Avenue in honour of Holden Courage, a local graffiti artist who passed away at the age of 21 in 2015. The project is funded by the Holden Courage Memorial Fund for Artists, which was created by Tara McGuire, Holden Courage’s mother.
As well, many artists at City Centre Artist Lodge will open their studios daily to street party attendees on August 10 - 13, as part of the City Centre Open Studios. Attendees can explore the innovative re-purposing of the former City Centre Motel as low-cost artist studio spaces managed by the Narrow Group.
City Centre Open Studios, happening daily during the Mount Pleasant Street Party, August 10 - 13
