Artists from all over the world will leave their mark on the buildings of Edmonton as the Rust Magic International Street Mural Festival kicks off Thursday.
During the event, large scale art will pop up on the city’s walls in the areas of 124 Street, Old Strathcona and downtown.
Annaliza Toledo, a co-founder of Rust Magic, said choosing locations for the pieces comes down to having them seen.
“We like to place them in obviously high visibility areas where a lot of people in the community can see them and enjoy them all the time."
The Peter Robertson Gallery on 124 Street is one of the buildings that will have its sides updated, including a wall that is already home to a mural.
The artwork, done by Canadian painter Chris Friesen, pre-dates the gallery opening. Toledo notes they were sure to contact him before covering it up.
“With this, we obviously had to give him a call and ask for permission to see if he’d be OK with us freshening it up and we got his blessing."
Peter Robertson, the owner of the gallery, said there will be new work from Friesen around the city, as he will be attending the festival this year.
“It was kind of a trade-off. A nice opportunity for him to do something that he’s excited about as well."
He also added his interest in having graffiti artist Amuse 126 put his stamp on the gallery.
“He’s going to be painting the west wall as well as the east wall and the parking garage area, so a very large scale mural and we’re really excited about Amuse’s work here.”
The Peter Robertson Gallery will also host a showing with a selection of artists involved in the festival as well as a wrap up party on Aug. 9.
The festival runs from Aug. 1-10.
Rust Magic tickets are available online.
