After a Year Delay, This International Mural Fest Is Officially Coming to RiNo

Last year, Denver muralist Ally Grimm, aka A.L. Grime, joined forces with World Wide Walls — then known as Pow! Wow! — to bring its international mural festival to the Mile High City under the name Denver Walls in September 2022. She'd painted for the festival's 2021 iteration in her hometown of Washington, D.C., and was encouraged to share the event with Denver, which she thought had a more diverse array of artists and styles. But the festival never materialized, given a lack of funding and "extenuating circumstances," she said at the time.

But now the writing's on the wall: The RiNo Art District is partnering with Denver Walls to host the renowned mural festival in RiNo for ten days in 2023, from September 22 through October 3. The nonprofit district will be the presenting sponsor and creative partner, and Denver will join the ranks of eighteen cities that have hosted a World Wide Walls event; others include Honolulu, Seoul and Tokyo.

"Denver is increasingly drawing an incredible concentration of diverse creative talent, and RiNo is the epicenter of that artistic community,” says RiNo Art District Executive Director Charity Von Guinness in an announcement. “In supporting and collaborating on the inaugural DENVER WALLS event, this presents an incredible opportunity to align our visions of empowerment, honor and access through thoughtful collaboration, representation and the integration of new technologies. We share a desire to elevate conversation around the power and purpose of public realm art — as a vehicle for substantive change and political action. Together RiNo Art District and DENVER WALLS look to make evident the essential place art and artists hold in our collective progress."

RiNo had been looking for an annual mural event since 2021, when it cut ties with Crush Walls, the mural festival it partnered with in 2010. In its place, the nonprofit created a year-round mural series, the RiNo Mural Program, and also held an Art RiNo mural festival in September 2022. Now it's replacing that with Denver Walls, which will be the art district's major event for this year, with the goal of having it continue in that role for years to come.

As Grimm originally planned, Denver Walls will showcase fifteen to eighteen local and international artists slapping paint on twelve to fifteen walls around the RiNo Art District. There will also be related programs and public events, mostly during the weekend of September 29, as well as an emphasis on the connection between the arts and digital innovations.

“Denver is home to a vibrant street-art scene, but we also have such a strong entrepreneurial tech culture, so this felt like the most authentic way to tell our story on a global stage,” Grimm says. “Street art has never been defined by a single medium or form of expression — it's graffiti, murals, photography, fashion, culture and so much more. We see that definition expanding to include art in the digital space, and we’re excited for people to explore the possibilities at Denver Walls.”

Grimm, who moved to Denver in 2018 for its burgeoning art scene, is known for her work in virtual and augmented reality as well as NFTs (her mural at NFT stalwart IRL Gallery is minted as an NFT), and the festival will reflect that passion with augmented reality installations.

“Denver Walls aims to bring high-impact, future-leaning art to the Denver community and put our city on the map as the next major art mecca of the United States,” says Grimm. “I see artists as real-time historians, the narrators of today's voice — the guides of culture and innovation. By bringing art back to our streets and celebrating diversity and individuality both in the arts and in our communities, we seek to broaden the spectrum of arts and culture in Denver. With Denver Walls, we’re going to set an example for how we can honor artists as more than just a commodity. We are a necessity, the force that drives culture forward, so let's call in our creatives to push Denver into the future.”

According to the announcement from the RiNo Art District, which is holding its annual meeting today: "Digital opportunities at this year's festival will include an augmented reality scavenger hunt where participants can find POAPs (Proof of Attendance Protocol tokens) to serve as mementos of their DENVER WALLS experience, a virtual sculpture garden that can be accessed via a web-based platform, and exclusive global merchandise drops featuring designs from the participating artists."

Those artists will be announced in the coming months; in the meantime, Denver Walls is accepting applications for walls and sponsorships. Learn more at denverwalls.com.