Street Wise Mural Festival: September 26-27, 2025
Street Wise Arts announces the artist lineup and events for its seventh annual Street Wise Mural Festival, taking place September 26-27, 2025. The two-day festival includes the installation of eleven vibrant new murals across Boulder, Colorado, celebrating the power of public art to connect, inspire, and uplift the community.
Founded in 2019, Street Wise Mural Festival combines art with activism, using ARTivism to spark conversations about social justice and to bring communities together. “This festival was founded on the idea that art has significant power to enact change and to fuel collective resilience,” says Leah Brenner Clack, Founder and Executive Director of Street Wise Arts. “In times of struggle, joy becomes a form of resistance. Public art is not just decoration—it’s a declaration that our communities are alive, resilient, and unafraid to take up space.”
Street Wise Mural Festival selects community-inspired themes each year to challenge artists to interpret topics through their unique points of view. This year, ARTivists will reflect on the ways joy sparks resistance. As our communities navigate political, cultural, and social changes, art and artists play an important role in inspiring joy and resiliency. Public art especially is a gift to the community, sparking joy and serving as a collective reminder of our humanity. Our continued joy reveals how changing tides cannot stop our creativity, celebrations, and happiness. Street Wise Mural Festival will use joy and creativity as tools of resistance, bringing together our community in the process.
The ARTivist lineup includes Colorado-based artists Aerica Raven, Alyssa Mora, Bimmer T & Ratha Sok, CHA, Graham Carraway, Jorge Cuartas, Koko Bayer, Max Kauffman, Nonie Cruzado, and Paula Camacho. Additionally, Street Wise brings international artist It’s Mancho, who is based in Madrid, Spain. Artists will install ten murals in the Downtown Boulder area plus one mural in North Boulder.
In addition to the live painting of new murals, the Mural Festival features free events to engage the community in conversations related to the theme. Denver-based artist Moe Gram will moderate the Joy as Resistance Panel Discussion: ARTivism and Uplifting Communities, a conversation with several artists about their Street Wise murals and themes, activism, and community engagement. “Beyond resistance it’s also important for communities to feel rejuvenated by the spaces they engage in,” says Gram. “When we feel joy, we trigger feelings of hope and gratitude. These brief moments are the gateways and bridges to our resilience.”
Street Wise Arts hopes to inspire community members to create art themselves at workshops like Resistance Art Lab: Making Protest Signs with Koko Bayer. Participants will learn how to create 100% cardboard protest signs with wheatpaste and stencils, using art to encourage change and to make their voices heard. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of democracy, and creating protest signs together can be a joyful act of resistance,” states Bayer. “In 2020, after certain protest materials were banned, I designed a 100% cardboard sign and handle that is sturdy, light, and easy to hold. We had a fun workshop making them at Street Wise 2020. I’m thrilled to bring this workshop back this year. My own sign will say HOPE + ACTION = CHANGE, and I can’t wait to see the messages the community chooses to share.”
Street Wise Mural Festival is a free event for all ages. Walking and biking guided tours, artist panels and talks, workshops, art exhibitions, and additional community events will take place in conjunction with the installation and live painting of new murals. Street Wise will also continue to incorporate augmented reality and projection mapping to deepen storytelling and continue collaborations with digital artists. Visit our Festival Schedule for the event schedule and registration information.
Street Wise Arts encourages festival-goers to support local businesses with exclusive discounts and offers from Downtown Boulder businesses and restaurants, including Mountain Sun Pubs, Rosetta Hall, Postino, Mister Oso, Aviano Coffee, and Downtown Boulder Partnership. Attendees can gain access to these special offers by reserving free tickets to the Street Wise Mural Festival.
Street Wise Mural Festival is made possible by grant support from the Boulder Arts Commission (an agency of the Boulder City Council), Visit Boulder, Create Boulder, Community Foundation Boulder County, and Boulder County Arts Alliance. Sponsors include Shining Mountain Waldorf School, Wana Brands, and Conscience Bay Company.
2025 Festival Goals:
Install public artworks and execute programming that encourages conversations around social justice and community resiliency.
Support and empower a diverse group of artists.
Amplify how joy and creativity can fuel resistance in the face of an oppressive political landscape.
Inspire our community to come together in support of the arts and each other.
Power the Festival
Street Wise Mural Festival is more than a mural festival. It is a community-driven art movement! Our festival connects world-class artists with the public to bring to life incredible artworks that speak to important community issues. By donating to our festival, you’ll align with one of Boulder’s most inclusive and cutting edge cultural events.
Here’s what your donation supports:
The creation of impactful murals across the city
Artist stipends, plus equipment and supplies
Free, public events that inspire connection and conversation
