SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Wide Open Walls 2019 officially kicked off on Thursday with a mural painting on the side of the California Automobile Museum.
Dozens of artists, supporters, city leaders and other elected officials attended the kick-off event for the Sacramento mural festival. Congresswoman Doris Matsui who was invited to speak at the event, said we need art now more than ever.
“Art has the power to captivate, heal, and bring us together, which is why it is critically important for us to bring art to all people,” Matsui said in a press release. “As the nation’s largest mural festival, Wide Open Walls transforms our city in a tapestry of the human spirit, and I applaud the program and this year’s artists for brightening our community and connecting more and more people to the arts.”
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Founder David Sobon announced that more than 55 artists will be taking part in this year’s 10-day mural festival. Wide Open Walls was originally created as a way to “activate” dull alleyways and buildings throughout the city. The artists this year will create another 40 murals across Sacramento.
The event has since produced more than 100 murals throughout downtown, midtown, oak park and North Sacramento since it started three years ago.
“Our sponsors are what makes it happen, our artists make it beautiful, and without the people coming to look at it, where would we be,” Sobon said. “I think we’re just very focused and very lucky that in fact, we have that much support from the community.”
Sacramento based artist Lin Fei Fei will be painting in the open-air festival for a second time this year. She is one of 11 painters who are spelling out California in a mural on the automobile museum that will be visible from Interstate 80.
“I think it’s amazing. I’ve never seen a festival like this,” Fei said. “You know the street art is so good and they make everybody feel like home.”
She is painting the letter F on the more than 10-foot by 10-foot block letter. It features a woman covered in a lotus and dragon. She wants the piece to inspire young women to be able to do anything, Fei said.
The festival is free and open to the public through August 18.
Lin Fei Fei has been showing up for Sacramento's art scene with murals for Wide Open Walls, and now, her most recent mural is a huge bunny on 6th Street in Downtown Sacramento. It’s part of her show “Not Your Bunny" and might change the way you view these fuzzy creatures. Fei's work will be up at WAL Public Market until May 1.