BALTIMORE — Painting a 23 foot tall by 53 foot wide wall requires equipment both big and small.
It means standing on ladders or going up in a crane. It means standing in brush, in various temperatures, working on uneven surfaces to make sure every crevice is perfectly painted.
But for three Baltimore muralists, there's no job they'd rather do. And when the job is painting the side of an iconic Baltimore building, the Lexington Market, the cool factor goes way up.
"Its so cool!" said Jess Langley, one of the artists working on the mural. "We wanted to feel like we were adding to the landscape and realizing why we love Baltimore so much."
Langley, along with Saba Hamidi and Jaz Erenberg, are the co-organizers of Brush Mural Fest, a festival celebrating these giant works of art and the creators behind them.
"This is the first time in a long time that Baltimore has had mural festival but it is the first time ever that it is a hyper-local festival, that is for Baltimore artists only," said Hamidi.
"We think that public art is really impactful when the community is involved," said Erenberg. "But also murals that are painted by local artists tend to last longer and are welcomed more."
Nine artists are painting five murals across the city, including two at Lexington Market. Emerging artists are paired with veteran muralists to gain experience.
"If you don’t have a mural to show, you don’t have a portfolio, you can’t paint on a mural job. So we’re trying to bridge that gap for emerging muralists, which we’re calling our rising starts," said Erenberg.
There are events each day from October 16-20, leading up to the big event on October 21 at Lexington Market plaza. It will all take place under the mural being painted by Erenberg, Hamidi and Langley that reads "Evolution is Progress is Growth."
"I feel like we’re constantly evolving into something better," said Langley.
The event on Saturday goes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. All of the participating artists will be there, along with live music and artist vendors. For details about the events leading up to the big celebration, click here.
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