The vivid appearance of Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood already paints the city with a colorful brush, but more art has never hurt anyone — or any city.

The DENVER WALLS festival returns to the bombastic neighborhood for a second straight year, marking various buildings and businesses with murals painted by both worldwide and local artists.

“Our mission is to create sustainable economic growth for creative communities by empowering artists on the street, but also artists in many forms,” Ally Grimm, founder and creative director of DENVER WALLS, said. “We focus predominantly on street art because it really is an accessible form of art to the community. It’s out in the public and creates an opportunity to share stories and share narratives that never get locked behind doors.”

Seventeen artists — including multiple from Colorado and others from across the world — painted murals on 13 walls and businesses throughout the neighborhood over a span of a week.

The artists were not strapped by ideas or scope, with each being able to come up with their own design after the walls were chosen.

The festival received more than 1,200 artist applicants this year, with Grimm and others narrowing that list down to help show what Denver art, and street art, is truly about.

“We make sure that the lineup is representational, both of the stories and the backgrounds of the artist, but also representational of style,” Grimm said. “We want everyone in the district to be able to walk up to a piece of art and say, ‘This one really speaks to me. This one feels like it connects with me.’”

International artists include Telmo Miel from the Netherlands and Murone from Spain. Denver artists include Kendall Kippley, Anna Charney, Birdcap and others.

The free festival then begins for the public between Thursday and Saturday, with projection mapping on Friday and a celebratory party from 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday at RiNo Art Park.

Denver began participating in WORLDWIDE WALLS in 2023 — a series of international mural festivals created in 2010 that bring towering street art to the likes of Honolulu, Seoul and Washington, D.C. — after Grimm witnessed one of the festivals in Washington D.C.

WORLDWIDE WALLS is the largest mural festival in the world, according to Grimm, with Denver becoming the 25th city on the roster.

Grimm, with the help of RiNo Art District Executive Director Charity Von Guinness, planned the inaugural event in 2023, with the event seeing great success and beautiful pieces. There was no way it couldn’t continue on.

“Our community just deserved an event that really put artists on a pedestal,” Grimm said. “We really just are about uplifting our community and helping folks within Denver celebrate the value of street art.”

“I’m really happy to see an event like this in Denver and am super grateful to be a part of it,” JD Pruitt, a local Denver artist, said while painting his wall with deep purple spirals on Thursday. “We definitely have some amazing artists.”

The new art — spanning all colors, styles and design — towers over the neighborhood, helping inspire creativity and continue the art-based tradition that has made the RiNo area so special to both Denverites and national art lovers.

“When spaces play it safe and don’t take risks in the arts, it gets really easy to have a homogenous way of thinking,” Grimm said. “Murals, because they are seen every day, really help people kind of create new ideas, maybe change the way they look at things. Beyond that, it’s really important for place making. Murals actually add to a sense of safety in a community, especially for kids that are walking home alone for folks that are out by themselves.”

Grimm added that the murals can act as landmarks, creating safety and working as locators for those traveling through the area.

Is RiNo a national art center? 

Denverites probably know the RiNo neighborhood for its vibrant art, budding breweries and colorful aesthetic. But is the art district a national art mecca? Are events like the mural festival boosting its name amongst the worldwide art community?

Some think it’s already there.

“RiNo today looks very different than the RiNo in 2005,” Alye Sharp, executive director of programs and partnership for RiNo Art District, said of the neighborhood organization’s creation in 2005, nearly 20 years ago.

“I think we’re already on the brink of that,” Sharp said of the district being renowned across the country. “Internationally, I really do think we can make a name for ourselves. People are starting to make pilgrimages down to the RiNo Art District to see their favorite piece.”

Sharp added that the area is becoming a hub of technology and innovation, as well.

For example, COZ — a software development company — teamed up with DENVER WALLS this year to create bronze plaques for each mural. The plaques are embedded with NFI technology, allowing for people to scan them with their smartphones to read information and receive exclusive offers.

Though the RiNo Art District doesn’t know how much exact foot traffic the festival brings to the area, they are tracking it and will have concrete numbers this year, according to Sharp.

“Because there is so much here, especially with the graffiti scene being so huge here, Denver is nationally recognized,” Grimm said, adding she hears from artists throughout the country asking about what’s going on in the RiNo area.

“But I don’t think we quite have the notoriety of a Wynwood quite yet,” Grimm said, pointing to the Wynwood art district in Miami, Florida.

“That’s the mission,” Grimm said, hoping to surpass areas like Wynwood. “RiNo is already such a tourist attraction. The art creates such an impact, but there’s always that little bit of competitiveness of wanting more and wanting to be the greatest.”

To Grimm, the festival and its competitive wages and resources provided to the artists involved, will help push the area to new heights — even higher than the hulking murals throughout the district.

“At the end of the day, if you don’t take care of the artists in your city, they’re going to leave. We really want to retain the creatives that live in our city so we can build sustainable growth over time,” Grimm said.

“I’ve done a couple of other mural festivals in the past. The crew and organizers of this event are the absolute best. They’ve been so on top of it,” Pruitt said.

A list of the artists and mural locations can be found at DenverWalls.com.