Detroit murals fest included in best by Smithsonian magazine The festival returns September 13-22

Sarah Rahal | The Detroit News

Detroit — Having produced more than 125 murals in three years, the city's beloved Eastern Market has been a canvas for Detroit's art scene and is being recognized among the world's best.

Approaching it's fourth year, the city's annual Murals in the Market festival was recently named one of the best mural festivals by Smithsonian Magazine. The magazine touts Eastern Market for being the densest collection of street art in all of Detroit.

The festival, which invites local and world-renowned artists to create large-scale outdoor murals, returns on Sept. 13. This year, the festival is expanding from nine to 10 days of painting and programming, and now spans two Saturdays for the first time. The festival will add a block party to its events like discussion panels and cultural tours.

"This year, the festival is gaining another day, going from nine to 10, and is adding a family reunion-style block party to kick off the painting," according to the magazine article. "There will also be new art-walk maps this year that will lead visitors on a tour of all the murals, past and present."

That a new pocket-sized map, created by 1xRun and Eastern Market Corporation, documents each mural, which attendees can pick up at Eastern Market businesses.

With the creation of these murals, each area has seen a significant visual impact on the surrounding neighborhood as well as increased traffic, economic development and safety, according to the muralsinthemarket.com website.

Murals in the Market also hosts or features artists dinners, meet and greet opportunities, site-specific installations, block parties and nighttime events that coordinate with Eastern Market After Dark, a night-time party within its sheds.

View the murals at muralsinthemarket.com/murals

Mural festivals around the world also recognized include:

Upfest; Bristol, United Kingdom

Graffiato Street Art Festival; Taupo, New Zealand

MURAL Festival; Montreal, Canada

Stencibility; Tartu, Estonia

Wonderwalls, Australia

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_