Live art is back in town right now as the second annual Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival is happening in Salina.
The creation of eight murals is currently underway as artists from around the world work in various locations throughout downtown Salina.
Boom!, which began in 2022 by the Salina Kanvas Project and funded through private and crowd sourced donors, is an annual mural festival which has a goal to “bring in street artists and muralists from around the world to enhance the visual landscape of our city.”
Who are the artists participating in Boom! 2023?
This year, Boom! once again has a variety of street artists and muralists creating in several different styles about several unique subjects throughout Oct. 1 to Oct. 5.
Here’s a look at the individuals and teams of creators at the 2023 Boom! Festival:
- PichiAvo, from Valencia, Spain, a duo of artists named Pichi and Avo.
- Add Fuel, from Cascais, Portugal.
- El Mac, originally from Los Angeles.
- MadC, originally from Germany.
- Pat Perry, from Michigan.
- Queen Andrea, from New York City.
- Chris Stain, from Baltimore.
Back again this year documenting the festival in photography is Martha Cooper who has documented street and urban art for over 40 years.
For more information about each of these artists, including extended biographies and a map of where they will be creating their murals, visit the Boom! Salina website www.boomsalina.art
Events and celebrations for Boom! 2023 begin Friday
In addition to watching art happen live, Boom! is also hosting several events for the public to meet and hear from the artists as well as celebrate art downtown.
A First Friday Artist Panel with Boom! artists begins at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Salina Art Center, 242 S. Santa Fe Ave.
The First Friday festivities then move at 8 p.m. at Campbell Plaza, 126 S. Santa Fe Ave., next to Prickly Pear Grill and Cantina for The Jump Off!, a live music launch to the Boom! Finale weekend featuring Cash Hollistah and DJ Keith Scratch.
The Boom! Finale continues from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 at Campbell Plaza as well, with nine music artists performing different sets throughout the day. For a list of musicians and when they’ll be performing see the Finale’s event page on Facebook.