Halifax Mural Festival brings a pop of colour to the city

The Halifax Mural Festival made its return with parts of downtown becoming one giant canvas for artists from all over.

After a week of work, artists’ murals were finally displayed on Saturday for the big reveal day, bringing around 25 new murals to life.

The festival’s organizer says it gives artists a chance to connect and expand on their skills while bringing some life to the city.

“The mural festival is about getting a bunch of local artists and bringing artists from around the world to come and beautify our city,” said Michael Burt.

“It’s super hard to do a mural sometimes, they’re big, they’re expensive, you have to find a location, so for artists to build that portfolio and to do their own work is very rare so the mural festival is a chance for them to do that.”

The hotspots for new murals were Quinpool Road, Gottingen Street, and some spots on the Halifax Waterfront.

An artist is partly through his mural. (CTV/Jim Kvammen)The festival also brought lots of visitors downtown, helping local businesses draw in more potential customers.

“It’s just so important it bring so many people to the street, so much colour, and a really cool, awesome vibe. It makes people want to come see the art but it also makes people want to go into the businesses and buy products and services, it’s just amazing,” said executive director of the Quinpool Main Street District Association, Karla Nicolson.

Plenty of people were out on the streets of Halifax to get an up close view of the large art pieces.

“We came out today just specifically to check out all the murals,” said one couple who particularly enjoyed the mural on the Oxford Tap Room on Quinpool Road.

A new colourful mural is on the front of the Oxford Tap Room. (CTV/Jim Kvammen)Many artists enjoyed getting a chance to have their work shown in front of the public.

“It makes peoples days just to see something interesting, so being able to be a part of that has been, I think, a super beautiful thing,” said artist Maxwell Macauly.

Click here for a photo gallery of the Halifax Mural Festival. 

With files from CTV's Jim Kvammen. 

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.