Mural artists transform downtown Valparaiso into a canvas during the Valparaiso Creative Council’s first Mural Week

The public can watch Northwest Indiana artists paint massive murals in downtown Valpo. Felix “Flex” Maldonado will paint the Rocket Fizz building, Mitchell Schuring will paint the Ivy Boutique, and Gabriel Barajas will paint the new Birdie’s Cafe.

“The VCC has done mural projects before, but this is their first mural festival,” Maldonado said. “They wanted to do a mural festival.”

Shannon Barajas will host the “Valpo Kids Create Mural” at Valparaiso City Hall, which kids can register for. Sponsored by Everwise, the kids will add their markers to the mural at City Hall. It will later be displayed in the Jack Hines building, which houses the Rolling Stonebaker, where VCC’s “We Art Valpo” pop-up mural is currently on display.

The Valparaiso Creative Council has previously commissioned individual murals, including a 10-foot by 20-foot mural at Blockheads Beerworks that involved 4,000 students and is on display in the City Council Chambers.

“The Valparaiso Creative Council is committed to organized placemaking, whether it’s with murals, sculptures or local art and talent,” said Jessica Corral, director of the Valparaiso Creative Council. “The mural committee planned a mural festival like the one at Hammond and Miller. It’s a great way to showcase multiple artists on a monumental scale.”

Mural Week begins on Saturday, August 24th from 9am to 1pm in the east outdoor atrium of Valparaiso City Hall, 166 Lincolnway, Valparaiso. In case of rain or other inclement weather events, it will be postponed to August 31st.

The building owners donated their walls. The VCC sought out artists, selected local artists based on their suggestions, and determined which works would be featured on each building after discussing style and theme with each building owner.

The festival includes live music, artists, other creative activities, face painting and food trucks. Visitors to the inaugural festival can receive a map of the mural and a free empty spray can if they are among the first 500 visitors. People can purchase a graffiti coloring book and new merchandise from the Valparaiso Creative Council.

Visitors can visit eight different locations, including graffiti exhibitions at Roots Market Café and Lower Lincoln.

“There’s a wealth of things within walking distance,” she said. “It’s a celebration of live art and artists doing murals that are integrated into the community. It’s a different way to experience art. Our main mission is to promote art and organize events like this. We showcase and feature artists, make sure they get paid for their time and work, and give them a platform to be seen. It comes from the heart. We do this because we long for more art in the community. It makes the community happy and connects them.”

All murals will be completed by August 31st. Some artists may finish their work in as little as a few days. The hope is to encourage the public to interact with the artists as they create artwork.

“Often we don’t see a piece of art until it’s finished. This way we can experience the creative process,” she said. “It’s a great way to get questions answered and come back in an hour and see the progress and the process. You can see and understand more about the art. You have that experience and knowledge when you see something being created.”

The goal is to create artistic goals that people will want to post on Instagram.

“Each building will have a theme or idea,” she said. “Birdie’s Cafe will have a more classic 1920s to 1940s look. There will be a lot of variety and space for the artists to express their style and what they do best.”

The plan is to make this an annual event. In the coming years, the Valparaiso Creative Council is looking for more building owners to contribute walls, initially downtown and eventually throughout the city. It is also looking for more artists to participate in the coming years. The focus will be on local artists from Northwest Indiana, but the event will be open to artists from across the Midwest.

“There are only a limited number of muralists and we want to employ different people over time,” she said. “Our goal is to do three to four murals a year. We want to build on what we started in the heart of downtown and then expand outward. Some mural festivals have new murals painted in the same spots each year. We will paint on blank panels each year.”

It is part of the Valparaiso Creative Council’s overall mission to promote the arts in the community.

“The arts just create excitement, connection and meaning,” she said. “The more we interact with the arts, the more the community is steeped in the arts, the more we can express ourselves in unique ways. That’s the main point of the Valparaiso Creative Council. We want to create an opportunity to open up spaces that people forget about. There are so many ways to create something, whether it’s a mural, music, painting, a mosaic, mixed media or an assemblage. The more people are exposed to the arts, the more they will discover an inner version of themselves that they didn’t know existed and the hungrier they will be to create something themselves.”

Interested builders or artists can send an email to [email protected].

Families can register to have their children paint at https://forms.gle/9DNkcLBfKgnGRf9r6.

For more information, visit valpocreates.org.