PRESS
Sofia Ramirez works on her mural 2021 * Photo by Shanna Maxcy
Tour Street Wise Boulder’s 31 new murals via e-bike with local DJ, The Vibrarian
Boulder Daily Camera - Fall 2021
“Since its inception, the festival has always been rooted in “Artivism” — a concept dedicated to not simply beautifying a number of surfaces, but also sparking conversation with subject matter that points to various topics of social justice, environmental issues and more.”
Street Wise Arts Festival Opens This Weekend
KGNU Dot Org Feature- September 2021
“If you’re looking for a way to combine the arts, the outdoors and leisure time, the Street Wise Arts Festival opens this weekend and stretches into next week. KGNU’s Stacie Johnson got the details from Leah Brenner Clack, Founder and Executive Director of Street Wise Arts.”
Mural Marathoning in Northern Colorado and Beyond
Colorado.com - Spring 2021
While it's true Colorado has an abundance of natural beauty, its urban landscapes are sprayed colorful with seemingly endless murals. Discover northern Colorado’s best works and get to know the stories and people that inspired these designs. You'll start your road trip in Lafayette, then meander across the region.
Photo by Peter Kowalchuk
Art and Activism Combine at the Second Annual Street Wise Mural Festival in Boulder
303 Magazine - August 2020
“What distinguishes Street Wise as a mural festival, aside from the otherwise lack of murals in Boulder, is its ethos. The purpose of the festival is to amplify the voices of artists who are driven by social activism and to use murals as a tool for connection. Clack explained that “creating a safe, diverse and culturally aware mural festival in Boulder is a source of hope, pride and strength. I’m very proud at the scope of partnerships, sponsors and overall community support for this year’s festival, it’s gone beyond what I could have hoped for.””
Cori Anderson for 303 Magazine
Photo by Taty Sharpton
Takin’ it to the streets
Boulder Weekly -September 2020
Street Wise Boulder set to feature the work of more than 30 artists for the second iteration of the mural festival
“Street Wise Boulder is back, Sept. 7-13, for its second year, bringing muralists (and 3D artists) from around Colorado and as far away as New York to paint engaging works in public spaces around the city.
With a bit of help, Leah Brenner Clack, executive director of Street Wise, had the unenviable challenge of choosing 35 artists from the more than 250 who applied. For some, this will be their first commissioned street art project. For others, their hundredth. But each artist comes with a desire to unite communities, facilitate difficult conversations and give voice to forgotten (or untold) narratives. We thought it best to let the artists speak for themselves.
Below are Q&As with some of the participating artists. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.”
Caitlin Rockett for the Boulder Weekly
Photo by Taty Sharpton
Street Wise mural fest gears up for second year with focus on the underrepresented, unheard
The Daily Camera - September 2020
“On Sept. 7, the event returns — even more ambitious than before — with creatives painting more than 9,000 square feet of space throughout Boulder. At the root of Street Wise has always been a desire to not only please the eyes of passersby, but also to call attention to relevant environmental and human rights issues. Activism is at Street Wise’s core and this year the murals beautifying Boulder will focus on spotlighting the underrepresented and unheard.
We caught up with festival founder and curator Leah Brenner Clack to find out what’s in store for the festival’s second installment, how the various closures due to the pandemic are actually helping to call attention to public art and what community support is needed now to ensure the successful return of the week-long festival.”
Kalene McCort for the Daily Camera
Photo by B Goodell / Unboxed Photography (contact artist for use)
TRENDS Podcast: Art and Culture During COVID-19 – An Industry Decimated by the Pandemic
KGNU Radio - August 2020
“Creative industries represent about 5% of Boulder County’s total employment. There has been a growth in creative jobs in the past decade and the city of Boulder has increased funding for the arts. Many are also calling for increasing diversity in arts and culture in the area, both for artists and for audiences. Many artists themselves often cannot afford to live in Boulder and this is especially true for artists of color. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the focus completely.”
”Local arts organizations are also working on reflecting the activism that is happening in society. The Dairy Arts Center is participating in what’s being called “artivism” by displaying a mural on its outside wall recently created by artist Thomas Evans, professionally known as Detour. Detour and artist Hiero Veiga started the Spray Their Name campaign to create public art commemorating people murdered by the police — George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain.
“We really just started doing one mural and that mural was a George Floyd and it was for the protest and it was a way of using street art to really just talk about what was happening around us. And then it ventured into another mural and another mural and another street art mural,” said Evans.”
A Guide to Boulder’s Murals
Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau - September 2020
“Street Wise Boulder: 54 Vibrant Murals
Street Wise Boulder launched in 2019 and installed 15 new murals around Boulder. In 2020, 39 artists painted murals all over the city, each within the theme of "ARTivism." These murals are superb and a great place to start your own self-guided mural tour of Boulder.”