Street graffiti is not the kind of art that you will commonly see in the city of Madison. James Gubbins, the owner of Momentum Art Tech Madison, noticed that his city didn’t have so much street art, so he decided that his mission would be to bring art to the streets.

On August 24, the very first mural art festival took place, bringing Gubbins’ mission closer to reality. The festival flaunted some 80 street artists’ works from all over the country.

The murals were painted on the walls along Monona Drive as well as on Madison’s east external walls of businesses such as the pet shop Reptile Rupter, Promega, and many others.

The work of Kristie Schilling was of utmost importance since she, as the CEO of MESBA (Monona East Side Business Alliance), backed James’ plans for the festival by recruiting business owners who’d offer their walls for this artistic event.

This art event made for an exceptional opportunity for artists to find places to express their creativity and embellish the city at the same time, according to Shilling’s words.

The festival was a huge success although this is its first year, largely as a result of the support coming from MESBA and Monona City.

The best thing about it is that even if you couldn’t be there on August 24, you can see the results in days to come. From Saturday, August 24, the map showing all the murals which were created at the festival will be available at Gubbins’ shop where he will also be hosting food, music, and live painting.

Since the Momentum Urban Arts Festival is all about gathering people around works of art, Gubbins already intends to expand this event to as many communities as possible in the years to come, hoping it will be as well-received as this year.