What’s happening: More than 150 local and regional artists are set to descend upon the Broad Avenue Arts District this October, and organizers of the 2022 Paint Memphis Festival want the general public to join in on the fun. A one-day community painting event is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, in the district. And on Friday, Oct. 7, more than 100 of the participating artists will take part in a district-wide arts exhibition, with local businesses acting as galleries for the event.

An artist’s rendering of a future mural in the Broad Avenue Arts District.
What it is: The 2022 Paint Memphis Festival is being touted by organizers as the largest collaborative mural art event in all of Tennessee. The community is invited out to help paint and learn about the mural process as large-scale murals are applied along the sides of several participating businesses. There will also be more than 50 vendors and food trucks, a children’s hands-on makers space, live performances, and a schedule of demonstrations and workshops. The latter list includes a hands-on mural workshop by Zulu Artist and a skateboarding workshop by Society Memphis.

An artist’s rendering of a future mural in the Broad Avenue Arts District.What they’re saying: “Expanding on Broad Avenue’s clever redevelopment tagline, ‘A New Face for an Old Broad,’ our festival artists are giving a colorful facelift to several of the buildings on Hollywood, Broad, Bingham, and Scott Streets,” says Karen B. Golightly, Executive Director and Founder of Paint Memphis. “We want the  public to be part of this artistic endeavor, to meet the artists and take part in enhancing the neighborhood, during a day of work (for us), art appreciation, learning, and entertainment.”

Public input: The nonprofit Paint Memphis organization has conducted door-to-door and online surveys to gauge the community’s interest in the murals, and promises that all of the artworks will be family- and community-friendly. There will be “no nudity, no profanity, no drug or gang imagery, nothing political, and most importantly, no zombies,” Golightly says.

Visit Paint Memphis online HERE for up-to-date information about the 2022 Paint Memphis Festival.