FLINT, MI-- The Flint Public Art Project has surpassed its goal of bringing 50 new murals to Flint and is setting its sights on completing 100 murals by the end of the year.

The murals, more than 55 so far, are setting the scene for the city’s Free City Mural Festival. Flint’s first-ever international mural festival kicks off on Oct. 7 and wraps up Oct. 12. The project has brought in artists from around the world to paint the city’s walls.

“We have been overwhelmed by seeing the joy and excitement this project has brought to our community,” Joe Schipani, Flint Public Art Project director, said. “The great reaction we got from the community makes us want to push harder and do more.”

Fifteen murals will be installed throughout the week of the festival, according to Schipani. On the last day of the festival, Oct. 12, there will be live art projects, bike tours of the murals and food trucks.

The project has raised $1,805 of its $15,000 goal and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is matching every dollar donated to support artists painting the city. The average cost of painting a mural in Flint is $4,000. That cost includes sponsoring artists and purchasing the appropriate supplies.

A lot of time and effort has been put into planning the festival by a volunteer staff, Schipani said. Planning involves securing walls in the city, locating artists to paint the murals and acquiring funding to support travel, and sponsorship of artists, supplies and vendors.

Over 40 artists have been hosted by Schipani throughout the summer.

“The success of this project has been unbelievable. We are getting a very strong and powerful reaction from the public,” Schipani previously said. " This is a sure sign we are going in the right direction."

Schipani’s initial intentions were to get people to start noticing Flint for its public art, not its water.

16 Artists from New Orleans add to Flint's ongoing mural project

Using his connections with CoLabs, Schipani has brought England muralists Nomad Clan, Argentine artists Seba Cener, Simo Vibart and Magda Love, Texas artist Emily Ding and Brazilian artist Binho Ribeiro. New Orleans artists Courtney “Ceaux” Buckley, Jay McKay and Sasha Kopfler were also in town last week painting murals. The project also enlisted the talents of local artists like Kevin “Scraps” Burdick

Love painted a mural in Civic Park at 1333 Dayton Place on June 28. Flint’s greatest feature are its people, Love said, and they are pushing forward, trying to have an impact.

“When I paint in a place where people have been through a lot of stuff it just reminds me of the resiliency of human beings,” Love said. “It’s really inspiring. There is a sense of pride where people still want where they’re from to be the best place.”

CoLabs is a collective of artists “who want to make the world a better place or just to celebrate a community like Flint,” Melissa “Zippy” Downing, CoLabs founder, previously said.

Downing met Schipani in early 2017 while working on a project in Flint with Indecline, another art collective.

“In places like Flint, these murals really stick out,” Downing previously said.

Once all 100 murals are completed, Schipani said he intends on producing a hardcover book about Flint’s murals. Find more information on the project’s campaign and donating here.