The Vancouver Mural Festival has announced the first batch of artists who will be helping transform the city this August, and they include stars like Australia’s Fintan Magee, Japan’s ONEQ, Germany’s SatOne, and Argentina’s Medianeras.
Others taking part will be Alex Joukov, Carmen Chan, COOL COMBO ONE, Debra Sparrow, Eva Eskelinen, EXPEL, Fintan Magee, Jeska Slater, Kathy Ager, KC Hall, LUNAR, Olivia Di Liberto , Pablo Zamudio, Paintillio, Pamella Pinard, Sebastian Curi, SLATE, Sonny Green, Syd Danger, UNCLE O, and William Liao. More will be announced later.
Between August 1 and 10, more than 25 new murals are scheduled to hit city walls.
Magee has painted walls around his home country and as far afield as Hong Kong, Jakarta, Instanbul, and Ireland. His work tackles issues of our time, from global warming to the refugee crisis.
Venezuelan-born, Munich-based SatOne has a vastly different style, drawing from everything from futurism to classic graffiti writing.
Medianeras is a duo of women street artists, Vanesa Galdeano and Analí Chanquía, from Argentina–one of the hottest street-art centres in the world right now. Their work graces buildings from South America to Asia.
Meanwhile, Japan’s ONEQ draws on everything from manga to American illustration, in vivid, gorgeous hues and swirling lines.
For this year’s music programming, there will be two free stages at the Mount Pleasant Street Party on August 10 from noon to 7 p.m., plus the ticketed evening concert called The Park Show. The free, afternoon Street Party stages feature headliner, DJ NDN (cofounder of A Tribe Called Red), along with a line-up of local talent including Blonde Diamond, Haley Blais, Missy D & Friends, Tonye Aganaba, DJ Paisley Eva, Quarterback, Francis Arevalo, Sleepy Gonzalez, and Sam the Astronaut.
The August 10 street party takes over 14 city blocks on and around Main and Broadway, with live and interactive art, live music, a skate jam, dance Bbattles and workshops, food trucks, four family-friendly beer gardens, and a Public Disco Dance Party.