Nine murals by eight artists will take over walls around South St. Anthony Park this summer as part of this year’s Chroma Zone Mural and Art Festival.
The festival, now in its sixth year, has brought 62 murals by 72 artists to buildings around the Creative Enterprise Zone district since 2019, organizers say.
The monthslong mural festival begins next week when Mariela Ajras, who painted the mother-and-child portrait mural on The Wycliff building during the inaugural 2019 event, will paint two additional related murals at the same site to form a triptych. Other artists will paint on staggered time frames throughout the summer, culminating in a finale weekend in September.
Here are this year’s muralists. The specific dates and locations they’ll be painting are yet to be announced.
This year’s artists
Marlela Ajras: From Argentina — and with a psychology background — her work focuses on gender and memory.
Biafra Inc: This muralist and screen printer from the Twin Cities has been creating personal, political and punk-inspired art since the mid-2000s.
Mike Davis: The co-owner of local studio Burlesque of North America, he helped launch first a mural festival in St. Louis and then, in 2019, the Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival. (Ever heard of it?)
Xena Goldman: A Minneapolis-based muralist who spent a decade as an educator, she channels experiences with neurodivergence and sensory processing difficulties into murals inspired by comic-art styles.
Cadex Herrera: Originally from Belize and now a fine-art teacher at Creative Arts Secondary School in St. Paul, he teaches a variety of media and himself works on large-scale public art.
Pablo Kalaka: Born in Chile but now based in Minneapolis — by way of Venezuela and Spain — he’s painted murals in nearly a dozen countries over the past two decades, including about 20 in the Twin Cities.
Christina Vang: A Hmong-American illustrator and painter, she pivoted in 2016 from a decade-long career in advertising to focus on creating accessible, cultural public art with a social justice focus.
Anna Charney: Based in her hometown of Denver, she creates contemporary, abstract and colorful paintings and murals inspired by mathematical patterns found in nature.
Event schedule:
• Monday, June 2: Artist talk with Mariela Ajras, focusing on Latin American women muralists. 7 to 8 p.m. at NewStudio Gallery (2303 Wycliff St.). Free; refreshments provided.
• Thursday, Sept. 18: Panel discussion and Q&A with select 2025 muralists. 7 to 8 p.m. at Bang Brewing (2320 Capp Road). Free; food and beverage available for purchase.
• Friday, Sept. 19: Outdoor Art Block Party, with a makers’ market, community meal and a Lego mural activity with Brian Kelley of Young Builders & Designers. 6 to 8 p.m. at the parking lot at 2370 Territorial Road.
• Saturday, Sept. 20: Guided bike and bus tours of the murals. Hourlong bike tour (bring your own bike) begins at 10 a.m. at Raymond and University avenues, but the exact location is TBD. Hourlong bus tours run periodically between 1 and 4 p.m. in both English and Spanish, with pickup/dropoffs at The Dubliner (2162 W. University Ave.), Dual Citizen Brewing Co. (725 Raymond Ave.) & The Wycliff (2327 Wycliff St.); exact timing is TBD.
Find more details online at chromazone.net.
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