Downtown Orlando is about to look a lot more colorful. Starting Thursday, roughly 15 local, national, and international muralists will spend three days transforming building walls across downtown into large-scale public art, part of the third annual Orlando Mural Festival, a free event running from Thursday through Saturday.
The festival kicks off with an opening reception at CityArts on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., according to WKMG ClickOrlando. The gallery will feature studio work from muralists who took part in the previous two years of the festival, giving visitors a preview of the artists' range before the outdoor painting gets underway. CityArts and the Downtown Arts District organize the festival together, with the Downtown Development Board presenting it.
Fittingly, the reception happens inside a piece of Orlando history. CityArts is housed in the Rogers-Kiene Building, a Queen Anne-style structure built in 1886, according to the Downtown Arts District. The building is now the gallery's historic home.
Muralists Fan Out Across Downtown Blocks
Once the paint starts flying, artists will be working at addresses scattered across downtown and into Thornton Park, per the station's report. Jordan Jones is set up at 120 South Orange Avenue behind Gitto's Pizza, while Jonathan Massullo and Roxy Cousino are both painting at 27 East Robinson Street. Rebekah Unsworth has a wall at 317 North Orange Avenue, and Matthew Mederer is working at 400 Pittman Street.
Thornton Park gets its share of new murals too. Christian Stanley and Delia Miller are both painting at Thornton Park Pub on East Washington Street, Bridget Hartig is working at Lamb's Eat Ivy Salon nearby, and Andrew Spear is painting at Cavo's Bar and Kitchen. Spear is a well-known name in Central Florida public art circles, with prior work that includes murals at the Hideaway Bar and the Pulse nightclub memorial mural in Orlando's Mills 50 district, according to Bungalower. He relocated to Orlando from Boston and has since completed major corporate and local public art projects.
A Church Street Standout With National Reach
Over at 55 West Breezeway on Church Street, muralist Boy Kong is bringing national credentials to the block. The Orlando-native artist was featured in the Orlando Museum of Art's 2024 Florida Prize exhibit and has painted mural commissions for Nike, Google, and the University of Central Florida, according to WGCU News. Kong is known for fusing graffiti styles with Japanese Ukiyo-e aesthetics, a signature look that has helped build his reputation well beyond Central Florida.
Paid commissions like Kong's reflect how organizers have structured this year's open call. The Downtown Arts District and CityArts offered commissions ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 per mural for selected artists painting large-scale works, with applications free and open to local, national, and international artists through August 12, according to the Downtown Arts District.
Saturday's Block Party Brings the Street to Life
The festival wraps with an Art Party on Saturday, running from noon to 10 p.m. along redesigned Magnolia Avenue. The party includes art vendors, food vendors, live music, and live panel muralists and artists creating work throughout the day, per WKMG ClickOrlando's report. Ten additional pop-up murals will also go up during the celebration.
For those craving a spectacle, Saturday also features a live Mural Team Battle on Magnolia Avenue, where two artist teams compete in a fast-paced painting contest for attendee votes, alongside 20 artists painting panel murals, according to Artistry Magazine. Magnolia Avenue was recently redesigned.
Building on Two Years of Momentum
This year's festival adds six to eight new permanent building murals to downtown, building on eight permanent murals painted during the 2025 festival and one from its 2024 debut, per the same Artistry Magazine account. Festival executive director Barbara Hartley has noted that growing buy-in from property owners has built strong momentum for the program since it launched in 2024.
That momentum shows in the numbers. Last year's festival drew an estimated 10,000 people, according to the same Artistry Magazine account. The festival remains free to attend, and this year's opening reception also lines up with CityArts' monthly “3rd Thursday” gallery walk.
A Milestone Year for the Host Gallery
CityArts itself opened in 2006, according to the Downtown Arts District. The gallery originally opened on South Orange Avenue before relocating to its current historic home.
The mural festival brings art to downtown corridors. Earlier coverage also discussed Southern Fried Slam.
