Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei are celebrating a decade-long partnership by focusing on the transformative power of art with the theme of “Art: A Catalyst for Change” for their 2025 festival.
This year’s festival will take place July 20-26, and feature a dozen aspiring and established artists as well as a week’s worth of live painting sessions, artist talks and community events that are all free and open to the public.
“Public art occupies a unique space in our cities and our society. It asks us ‘what is art?,’ and reminds us it’s more than colors on a canvas,” said Blair Cohn, executive director of Creative Class Collective, the nonprofit producer of Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei, in a public statement. “It’s an escape, a chance to explore perspectives, and make a bridge among our communities. But above all, public art is a powerful force that unifies and inspires.”
The plans for this year’s murals include:
- Brian Peterson, the artist behind several Kobe Bryant murals throughout Los Angeles, will create the tallest mural in Long Beach Walls’ history, which will adorn the side of the Marriott Long Beach Downtown (measuring 86 feet high and 30 feet wide).
- Dozens of elementary students will team up with actor, artist and storybook author Brady Smith, to paint a vibrant mural at Lowell Elementary.
- Angie Crabtree will lead a youth-focused mural at Renaissance High School and debut her first solo museum show in Long Beach, “Garden of Eve,” at the Long Beach Museum of Art.
- Venezuelan-American artist Eric Michael, known for juxtaposing birds or flowers with bold shapes and subtle gradients, and Guatemalan-American artist Steve Martinez, whose work deals with the discourse between the symbolic and the realistic within daily urban life, will collaborate on bridging cultural narratives with community storytelling.
In the festival’s history, over 130 artists have helped create over 140 murals throughout Long Beach, in an effort to transform the city into a walkable gallery across 40 square miles. The lasting impact includes nourishing artists, displaying civic pride and engaging youth and community volunteers to pursue meaningful artistic passions.
“This festival has become a movement,” said Cassandra Leeman, regional director of Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei, in a public statement. “While we celebrate a decade of impact, we’re already preparing the walls for the future. There is so much still for this event to do in our communities, especially with the Olympics coming our way. We are excited to paint a new future for our city and ensure art has a central place within it.”
To commemorate 10 years of the festival, Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei are planning to release a limited-edition retrospective book in 2026 that will include interviews with past artists, essays from community leaders, behind-the-scenes photos and archival documentation of the murals. This release will pay tribute to the festival’s commitment to public art as an agent of connection, equity, economy and change.
Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei’s 2025 festival programming includes the following events:
- Thursday, July 24 and Friday, July 25 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, July 26 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei x Thinkspace Gallery: View artworks from local and international artists as well as exclusive prints and merch during the “Stand Strong” exhibition at The Edison Theatre (213 E. Broadway).
- Thursday, July 24 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei Welcome Ceremony: This event, hosted by the Long Beach CVB and the Long Beach Convention Center at 289 E. Seaside Way, will preview the festivities for this year’s festival.
- Thursday, July 24 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. – Moonlight Mash Bike Mural Tour: Starting at GoActiveLB Hub downtown (223 E. First St., Long Beach) and finishing with a hangout at ISM Brewery on the Promenade (210 E. Third St., Unit A).
- Friday, July 25 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei Night Market: Check out live music, food vendors and a tailored lineup of artists, makers and creators at the Long Beach Civic Center (411 W. Ocean Blvd.)
- Saturday, July 26 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. – Thinkspace Art Exhibition + Artist Talk and Closing Celebration: The “Stand Strong: exhibition will close with an artist talk and a party at The Edison Theatre (213 E. Broadway).
“Long Beach Walls has become a cornerstone of our city’s cultural identity. For ten years, it has brought together artists and residents to create something lasting,” said Mayor Rex Richardson in a public statement. “These murals reflect our values, our diversity, and our vision for the future. This festival enhances the beauty of our neighborhoods, strengthens our civic pride, supports our creative economy, and puts Long Beach on the map as a leading arts and culture destination both in California and beyond.”
To learn more about Long Beach Walls and Art Renzei, visit longbeachwalls.com and artrenzei.com
