Richmond artists convene to bring life to downtown flood wall

Alex Trihias
Contributing Writer

From this past Friday through Sunday, the RVA Street Art Festival took Richmond and the flood wall downtown by storm with numerous artists from Richmond and all over the country alike, painting murals of all different tastes. On Saturday, vendors filled up the sidewalk along the Flood Wall selling knick-knacks such as jewelry, terrariums, dolls and wall décor.

Every artist that attended the festival came with eccentric mural ideas that represented each artist’s style. One group, ART 180, is a nonprofit after-school organization for students who want to express their creativity. Ten percent of the proceeds from alcohol sales at the event go to this organization, which was there to paint a mural of their own as well. They brought some of their high school students who excel in their artwork to work on a mural that featured a human heart.

“Part of what we’re about is creating change in the community and creating change in peoples’ lives, and the way that we do that is giving them a way to express themselves,” said Betsy Kelly, one of the directors of the ART 180 project.

“We have a section of this heart that we just customize ourselves, put a little us in it, and it comes together as a unity.  We’re going to have words all around it, both negative and positive, too,” said Joy, one of the ART 180 students.

The group recently held an exhibition on Monument Avenue, as well as a few murals in Church Hill and in the south side of Richmond.

Another artist who came out to the Street Art Festival focused more on an abstract look.

“We probably have another full day of work, but the focus is on line work, mark-making, the physical act of the layers and color, as well,” said artist Alex Brewer, known by the alias Hence. “I was invited by Ed Trask to come up and be a part of this. I’ve spent a little time in Richmond, and I saw the photographs of the wall, and I thought it was a great idea and love Richmond.”

One artist decided to paint an “abstract version of Mayo Island” in reference to a skateboarding area in that area. He was able to incorporate a pipeline in the wall filled with beverage cans into his artwork, adding even more creativity to the mural as a whole. The most popular mural, however, was the human dartboard created by Mark Jenkins. It was no question that Ed Trask had invited some of the most creative street artists to show off their talent.

The RVA Street Art Festival has left its mark in the Richmond area, adding to the artistic ambiance of the city –
and leaving only the question of whether it will be a recurring event in years to come.