Mural festival brings bright, massive paintings to Vancouver streets
VANCOUVER — An east Vancouver neighbourhood has gotten increasingly colourful lately, but the people behind dozens of new murals in the area say the art is about more than beautifying empty walls.
More than 40 artists are painting about 35 permanent works on buildings near Main Street for the inaugural Vancouver Mural Festival.
There are massive pieces on century-old apartment buildings, whimsical doodle-like images on the front of a paint store and an intricate image of geometric wolves on the back of a coffee shop.
“We’re trying to get art out of galleries, and the bars and the studios, and into public space,” says David Vertesi, the festival’s executive director.