Edmonton's Rust Magic mural festival winning recognition in world of street art
'It was a challenge to get walls ... a lot of meetings and cold calls. Now people are offering walls'
Edmonton's outdoor mural festival is fast gaining recognition in the world of street art.
"Cities all around the world have been seeing the value of street art," said Trevor Peters, co-founder of Rust Magic International Street Mural Festival.
"The artists have a lot of followers on social [media] and the word is spreading like fire. There's a lot of people outside of Edmonton getting to know Rust Magic."
When Rust Magic launched three years ago, the festival was not an easy sell.
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"It was a challenge to get walls when we first started, a lot of meetings and cold calls," said co-founder Annaliza Toledo. "Now people are offering walls."
Almost 50 murals scattered around Whyte Avenue, downtown and the 124 Street neighbourhood, have been completed since 2016.
About 20 more from local muralists as well as artists from Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Barcelona, London and Melbourne will be painted this year between Aug. 1 and 10.
Edmonton muralist Jill Stanton said Rust Magic is putting Edmonton on the mural map.
"It's such a great festival and the city is on fire right now. People are starting to wake up to Edmonton as far as our public art goes."
This year, Stanton's canvas will be the empty wall of a liquor store in the 124th Street neighbourhood.
Peters and Toledo started the festival in 2016 to pay homage to the graffiti culture of the 1990s with the festival taking its name from the Rust Magic brand of spray paint that graffiti artists often use.
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Part of the philosophy of Rust Magic is to encourage young artists, Toledo said.
"Giving these artists the space to do their first mural, doing a mentorship and giving them confidence to know they can take this on as a profession has been really rewarding," she said.
