About Us
Street Wise Arts is a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization based in Colorado.
Our mission is to uplift artists and to build vibrant, resilient communities through public art projects, creative events, and hands-on education programs that beautify spaces and amplify cultural diversity and social justice.
Our core values include ensuring equitable access to the arts, supporting diverse artists of all ages and skill levels, and providing opportunities for the community to participate in public art programs.
Mural Festivals
Mission-Driven Mural Festivals
Street Wise Arts partners with municipalities to produce world-class mural festivals that serve as a catalyst for social equity and civic pride. We move beyond traditional "placemaking" to practice creative place-keeping—ensuring that festival programming centers equity and reflects the unique cultural fabric of your community. By co-creating an artist-centered ecosystem, we deliver more than just vibrant walls; we build a sustainable model for cultural tourism that prioritizes paid work for creatives and leaves behind a legacy of inclusive, long-lasting public landmarks.
Partner Programs
Collaborative Mural Commissions
At Street Wise Arts, we believe walls are more than boundaries—they are platforms for social change. We partner with mission-aligned institutions, organizations and businesses to co-create custom mural commissions that transform the urban landscape into a vibrant record of community identity. By bridging the gap between professional artists and local stakeholders, we facilitate a collaborative design process that honors intersectional stories and ensures every project is a long-lasting landmark of shared values and cultural pride.
Education Programs
Empowering the Next Generation of Creatives
Street Wise Arts collaborates with educational institutions to provide more than just art instruction; we provide a platform for agency and social expression. Our education programs prioritize schools and youth centers in historically underinvested neighborhoods, bringing professional artists into the classroom to mentor students. Through mural-making residencies and youth-led public art projects, we transform the educational environment into a collaborative laboratory where students see their own identities, cultures, and values reflected on the walls of their community.
Mural Tours
Street Art as Social Narrative: Guided Tours
Step behind the paint and into the stories that define our streets. Street Wise Arts tours offer more than a glimpse of Boulder’s vibrant walls—they provide an immersive look at the intersection of art and social justice. Led by expert docents, our walking and biking tours center the voices of historically underrepresented artists, exploring the cultural significance and community activism embedded in every mural.
These murals and our events take place on traditional unceded territories of the Cheyenne, Ute and Arapaho people as well as 48 additional Nations that called Colorado home. We ask that you join us in acknowledging the Cheyenne, Ute and Arapaho and all of the 48 nations, their communities, their elders, present day as well as future generations. We must commit to giving reparations financially and in the form of land back if we have the means. We must organize and commit to ally-ship. We must listen to and learn from Indigenous people, who lived sustainably with the land for thousands of years before colonization.
Street Wise Arts stands in solidarity with Black Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement. We vehemently oppose the ongoing brutality and murder of Black Americans by law enforcement. As an organization, we are committed to the well-being and safety of our community, especially those that have historically been marginalized. It is our goal to empower our community through celebrating our diverse experiences. We vow to create an inclusive and accessible platform for artistic expression and to amplify the voices of artists and activists through our events and opportunities. We are committed to work to dismantle white supremacy in our organization, in our community and in our country.
Street Wise Arts programs and operating costs is partially supported by the Boulder Arts Commission, an agency of the Boulder City Council, Colorado Creative Industries, the Boulder County Arts Alliance, Create Boulder, Visit Boulder and The Community Foundation of Boulder County.
