International Artists Named For Downtown Fort Smith Murals Festival

The Unexpected Project on Thursday (Aug. 13) announced eight popular international urban and street artists for the line up of the inaugural Festival of Murals set for Sept. 3-12 in downtown Fort Smith. The artists range in geography includes from Ireland to Belgium to Brazil.

The festival is set for Sept. 6-13 in downtown Fort Smith, with several events to coincide with large murals painted or applied to several downtown buildings. The first year of the event is being pitched as “The Unexpected Project” by Steve Clark, owner of Propak Logistics, and a CBID member and active supporter of the murals effort. The project is part of 64.6 Downtown, an organization formed in January to promote downtown Fort Smith.

Charlotte Dutoit, an art curator from France and owner of the JustKids artist network, is working with the group to select artists and areas in downtown Fort Smith for the inaugural event. JustKids collaborates with cities, groups and others to create large scale art events, gallery shows and design spaces with a global network of artists, curators, designers and art consultants on an international scale.

“We are lucky as Fort Smith has some huge and beautiful buildings. It’s a fantastic playground for us and the history of the downtown as a true Western city is highly inspiring for the artists,” Dutoit said in a statement.

John McIntosh is leading the murals project. His team for the effort is Claire Kolberg, festival coordinator; Don Lee, head of the art department at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith; Galen Hunter with Fort Smith-based MAHG Architects; and Jim Perry with Fort Smith-based ArcBest. Also involved is Rom Levy with StreetArtNews and a partner with Dutoit on the project.

“The Unexpected is an opportunity to bring art to the Fort Smith community, and to engage the community on a meaningful level,” Kolberg said. “Downtown Fort Smith could be poised to become the largest outdoor art gallery in the state.”

The festival will kick off Sept. 3 with a print show entitled “Printology” at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith new Windgate Arts and Design Building. Curated by JUSTKIDS, and sponsored by the UAFS Foundation, this retrospective exhibition will feature some iconic works from the most renowned artists from the Urban Scene such as Banksy, Invader and Shepard Fairey. The exhibition runs through the end of October.

During the week and in between 10-square blocks, a series of downtown historic buildings will be painted and the public is invited to witness the process as the internationally renowned artists complete their murals.

Read more about the artists and see examples of their work as well as a schedule surrounding The Unexpected Project at this link from our content partner, The City Wire.