Downtown Richmond Street Art

What started as a way to bring people together has turned into one of RVA's main (and largest) attractions. After only seven short years, Richmond is at 150 murals and counting, has had over 50 national and international artists and a new coffee table book that documents the street art explosion RVA has seen and immortalizes this creative movement throughout the city.

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Find out why The Huffington Post listed Richmond as one of "The 17 Lesser-Known Cities You Should Visit For Its Street Art," and plan your visit to downtown Richmond to see these murals for yourself and hit all of the art destinations in between!

The RVA Street Art Festival returned at the spot where it all began, the Power Plant building along the Haxall Canal to celebrate its tenth anniversary in September 2022. In the last ten years, Richmond’s biggest outdoor art gallery has become one of the City’s most visited and photographed spots; last fall, the Festival brought another fresh dose of color and creativity to downtown Richmond. The annual festival celebrates the growth of street art in Richmond over the last decade and highlight the growth of the culinary, brewing, and arts communities in RVA. The festival directs proceeds from the event to support Richmond Public Schools’ Arts Programs.

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The inaugural RVA Street Art Festival took place April 14, 2012, and brought together more than a dozen national street artists, who created an outdoor gallery along Richmond’s James River Power Plant Building and Riverfront Canal Walk. The artists created gigantic works of art in the form of 18' x 32' murals.

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The goal was to show the creative power of street art, liven up public spaces throughout the city and attract people and tourists to the outdoor art gallery, as well as showcase the Canal Walk and Shockoe neighborhood.

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The festival was produced by Ed Trask and Jon Baliles, in association with Venture Richmond and Altria.

Mending Walls is a public art project that brings together public artists from different cultures to create murals that address where we are now in society and how we can move forward through understanding and collaboration. Mending Walls pairs up artists of different backgrounds to create unique connections and give them an opportunity to tell their story collaboratively in an effort to express healing through connection. In this moment, we all are searching for more understanding and this project hopes to serve as a tool that will fuel connection through storytelling. The hope of Mending Walls RVA is to bring about healing through public art while adding meaningful conversation to the Black Lives Matter Movement.

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Interested in donating your wall, buying merchandise to support Mending Walls, or follow along with the project? Visit the Mending Walls RVA website for more information!

Murals of Richmond is a 222-page hardcover coffee-table book documenting the explosion of public art in Richmond over the past decade. Featuring nearly 300 full-color photographs and nearly 70 interviews with artists from around the world who have painted in Richmond, this book is a testament to the transformative power of publicly accessible art. Murals of Richmond was edited by Richmond-based artist, muralist, and writer Mickael Broth.

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If you’re looking to explore RVA's street art by foot and need to find a place to park in downtown Richmond, or need to figure out the best way to travel in and around the city, look no further than our Parking and Transportation Guide to Downtown Richmond.