Colorful creations: Halifax Mural Festival brightens up the city

Halifax will look a whole lot brighter over the summer as dozens of artists use the city as their canvas.

The Halifax Mural Festival has returned for its fourth year, transforming blank walls throughout the city into open-air art galleries.

“This all started to brighten our neighbourhood as well to give artists a chance to do and realize their own work on the walls,” said organizer Michael Burt.

The festival will include 45 artists along the waterfront and Quinpool Road.

Michael says the festival helps give some of the bare and neglected parts of the city a new look, but it also opens opportunities for the artists to explore their art freely.

“The main point is to beautify our city and bring some color to derelict spaces, but also for the artists, to really give artists the chance to do their own work,” he said.

“A lot of the time, especially murals, they’re large and people have a big say in what’s going to happen, but with this we give them free range to do their own thing and hopefully get more of that work.”

“I’ve always been into doing art, specifically graffiti art, and then my love of doing canvases and using spray paint kind of came together in one thing and that’s doing big murals,” said artist Daniel Burt.

Daniel adds he’s glad to have an opportunity for his work to get recognized.

“Halifax has a really tight-knit community and rich history of arts and artists, it’s (the mural) right next to NSCAD school here, so just being able to put my art up in a spot that has a ton of artists going by it every day is kind of cool,” he said.

The festival will end with a “big reveal” party on Saturday.

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