RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – For the first time in five years, the RVA Street Festival is back, showcasing local artists’ work and giving back to the community.
The festival was held Friday, Sept. 16 through the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 18, with the full schedule of events, mural locations and artists who participated found here.
In 2020, the festival was supposed to showcase its fifth edition. However, it was canceled due to the pandemic. So now, The festival is back where it started in 2012 at the Haxall Canal in Richmond.
Richmond’s biggest outdoor art gallery has become one of the city’s most visited and photographed areas. For the festival, local artists, such as Naomi McCavitt, submit their applications to have their work viewed by the public.
“This is public art, it’s for everybody, so you hope they like it,” said McCavitt.
Her art company is called Thicket Design, and this is her first year at the festival.
Outside the canal walk, she is making an anatomical and botanical mural, symbolizing what she has felt over the past two years; that change is constant.
“The city has changed, all of our lives have changed, so I think I have been obsessed with the natural cycle of death, rebirth, and change,” McCavitt said.
The festival brings an abundance of different murals to the city of Richmond and supports local art. The festival raises money and awareness for the community and public school art, organizations, and initiatives. They support art groups such as ART 180, Art on Wheels, Studio 23, and Richmond Public Schools.
“Richmond is fortunate to have a lot of great talent. It has a lot of excellent artists, painters, and muralists, so you will see a lot of great work in the Canal,” McCavitt said.
