See murals painted live during 2023 Boom! Street Art and Mural Festival in downtown Salina

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·2 min read

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."

MadC, an artist from Germany, works on her contribution to the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival in the parking lot east of Campbell Plaza. Eight total murals are currently being created throughout downtown Salina as part of the festival.
MadC, an artist from Germany, works on her contribution to the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival in the parking lot east of Campbell Plaza. Eight total murals are currently being created throughout downtown Salina as part of the festival.

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.

Chris Stain takes a quick break from painting his piece, titled "Keep 'em Rollin'" as of Monday. The mural, located on the east side of North Santa Fe Avenue, is part of the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival taking place in downtown Salina.
Chris Stain takes a quick break from painting his piece, titled "Keep 'em Rollin'" as of Monday. The mural, located on the east side of North Santa Fe Avenue, is part of the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival taking place in downtown Salina.

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.

Artist duo PichiAvo, from Valencia, Spain, work on the north wall of a building on North Santa Fe Avenue. PichiAvo are two of nine artists working on murals in downtown Salina as part of the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival.
Artist duo PichiAvo, from Valencia, Spain, work on the north wall of a building on North Santa Fe Avenue. PichiAvo are two of nine artists working on murals in downtown Salina as part of the 2023 Boom! Salina Street Art and Mural Festival.

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.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Watch live street art being made during Salina's Boom! mural festival