Columbia College's new street art festival, Wabash Arts Corridor Big Walls, is set to drastically change the look and feel of the South Loop. The initiative takes place May 1–13, when 18 artists from around the world and in Chicago will transform the Wabash Arts Corridor with huge murals. Once completed, the area will have one of the densest concentrations of public art in the U.S., according to a press release.

In addition to lots of great artwork going up around town, a public conference will take place from 6–10pm on Thursday, May 5. Chicago's own Ruben Aguirre and Collin van der Sluijs from the Netherlands will be on-hand to talk about the project during the event. The festival culminates with Columbia College's annual Manifest Urban Arts Festival from noon–9pm on Friday, May 13.

Whether or not you attend the festival, you won't miss out completely—these murals are here to stay. And if the past work of the artists is any indication, the South Loop is about to get a lot more vibrant.

Expect murals from these artists:

Ricky Lee Gordon (South Africa)

A photo posted by Ricky Lee Gordon (@rickyleegordon) on Aug 3, 2015 at 11:07am PDT

Eduardo Kobra (Brazil)

A photo posted by Eduardo Kobra (@kobrastreetart) on Jan 31, 2016 at 3:26pm PST

Marina Zumi (Argentina)

A photo posted by Marina Zumi (@marinazumi) on Apr 7, 2016 at 5:29pm PDT

Collin van der Sluijs (Netherlands)

A photo posted by Collin van der Sluijs (@collinvandersluijs) on Mar 17, 2016 at 11:42am PDT

Ozmo (Italy)

A photo posted by Ozmo (@ozmone) on Oct 18, 2014 at 8:22pm PDT

And Chicago artists:

Don't Fret

A photo posted by Dont Fret (@dontfretart) on Apr 1, 2016 at 2:37pm PDT

Amuse 126

A photo posted by @amuse.126 on Apr 11, 2016 at 7:20am PDT

Lady Lucx

A photo posted by LADY•LUCX (@ladylucx) on Sep 4, 2013 at 9:22am PDT

Czr Prz

A photo posted by Czr Prz (@no_vwlz) on Mar 10, 2016 at 11:42am PST

Tararchy

A photo posted by tararchy (@tararchy) on Mar 5, 2016 at 11:24am PST

Ruben Aguirre

A photo posted by Rubén Aguirre (@likes_1) on Aug 26, 2015 at 3:00pm PDT

Justus Roe

A photo posted by Justus Roe (@justusroe) on Apr 21, 2016 at 10:04am PDT

Find the new mural locations with this map:

Share the story