Windsor’s mural festival gives new life to the city

By: Joelle Brassard and Saloni Chauhan 

Windsor was recently given a makeover when the Free for All Walls project came to town. 

Windsor held its first and largest public display of art of its kind when, from Oct. 3 to 10, muralists from around the world came together to paint the town. It was truly a sight to behold to see the 53 new murals take over the streets and breathe some life into the city. 

“It’s only the start of what artists are capable of doing for this area,” said Muralist David Creed. 

With amazing reception from the citizens of Windsor, this project has proven to be a local hit that’s sure to bring many people out to see this interesting display of art. 

Additionally, with installations all around different areas of the city, there’s an opportunity for everyone to get out and experience the murals for themselves. Murals bring beauty to urban areas while inspiring communities to see the beauty in their cities. The murals displayed over the course of this festival have transformed the area into something Windsorites can really be proud of. 

History of Street Art 

Street art is regarded as one of the largest art movements which is still growing in popularity and is growing as an art form. Appearing mainly in urban areas and public locations such as exterior walls of buildings, highway overpasses and bridges; street art often reflects on prevalent social and political issues as main themes in the art. The mediums most often used in street art include sprayed tags, stickers, murals, graffiti, prints and street instillations. 

Natural surfaces have been used for art dating back to prehistoric times with handprints and paintings depicting hunting scenes being found on cave walls. These pieces of art were thought to bring prosperity and unity to small human communities. 

Some of the earliest modern expressions of street art were found in graffiti on train cars and walls in the 1920s and 1930s in New York. These tags were done by gangs to mark controlled territory. This led to large murals being found in southern California’s cityscapes around the same time. 

The most well-documented origins of street art come from within Philidelphia and New York City. In the 1960s New York was on the verge of bankruptcy which led to large areas of boarded up budlings, vacant lots and construction sites which became a canvas for young artists in Spanish Harlem. 

The Impact of street art was really beginning to take effect in the 1970s and 1980s. It became a time where young people were responding to their socio-political environment and created a movement.  

The most respected and well-documented reporter on street art has been Martha Cooper. Beginning to document the scene in the 1970s through photographs, Cooper has been a large contributor to the movement, especially with the publication of her book “Subway Art” in the 1980s. 

The 1980s brought a time when street art began to be respected and renowned, with works making their way into galleries and museums. Artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat gave the scene credibility and took street art into the fine art world.  

Since its inception, street art has become a cultural phenomenon even with the practice still being illegal in many cities across the world. 

Festival information  

“Free for All Walls” is the largest public art project in Windsor’s history. 

Over 60 local and international muralists came together for one giant display of art which can be seen throughout Riverside Drive, Tecumseh Road, Drouillard Road and Crawford Avenue. 

The inception of the project started in 2012 by artist Daniel Bombardier. “Free for All Walls” is a large-scale public mural and art project which began in the downtown core of Windsor. 

Since the project began, they have undertaken and completed 45 murals. 

The project is not restricted just to the Windsor area. The “Free for All Walls” website is quoted as saying the focus for the project is to “affect one main area of the city to act as a foundation for the larger idea of the project.” 

September 2023 sees the return of the project with up to 30 new murals that will replace underutilized areas of the city which have been affected by vandalism, neglect or disrepair. They will also be putting them in high traffic areas of the city to reach a wide audience. 

According to the “Free for All Walls” website, each work is “geographically dependent, reflecting upon its individual site and specific community to maximize their impact.” 

“None of these murals were commissioned, so these artists did not make any money by coming here and spending their time doing this,” said Christie Denomme, Public Relations Specialist for the Free for All Walls project. “If we were to calculate and add up the total of the worth had we paid all these artists what they are worth to do the art that they installed in our city, in the last week just received over $1 million worth of street art for free.”  

The festival took place from Oct. 3 to the 10 with the main event being the “Part Art Part Party” which took place on Saturday Oct. 7 from 2 p.m.-12 a.m. at Windsor Eats. 

 The event included a live art battle, art exhibition, prizes, live music/DJ, live painting/ live art demonstrations and unique vendors. 

On the website www.freeforallwalls.com you can find a map with guides to all the murals that were created during the festival. 

“I just would really love to encourage the people of Windsor to go to freeforallwalls.com, look at the map that is on the website and use that map to go on a little self-guided tour and go and appreciate the work that a lot of these artists have done to make our city more,” said Denomme.  

The Artists  

One of the artists featured was David Creed who is a local muralist.  

“Not only was I one of the participating artists I also was fortunate enough to be able to help the artists during the festival, getting paint or coffee or whatever they needed,” said Creed. 

Creed said his time at the festival was very important for his growth as an artist. 

“I’ve been able to make connections beyond where I could have anywhere else and that was the most beautiful part for me,” said Creed. “A lot of the people seemed pretty 50/50 half were there to make art and half were there to meet a new family and grow opportunities. It truly nourished a lot of relationships that I believe will flourish into something down the road.”  

Another featured artist was Jeff Denomme, also known as Haunted Zoo, who did the mural on Sweet Revenge Bake Shop. 

“I have a certain style that I always paint, so when I was asked to participate, I was very eager to help out and make the city beautiful,” said Denomme.  “I got paired up with Sweet Revenge Bake Shop to paint a mural that matched their business.” 

Another featured artist in the festival was Fel3000ft who is a Detroit based muralist. 

“I think what inspired me to do the festival was probably the fact that Denial has been one of my friends for 20 years,” said Fel3000ft. “There was a moment about 10 years back when we were sitting in his studio space, and we had said that one day it would be amazing if we could do the whole city. So, when he called and told me about this event, I thought it was crazy that ten years later our idea came to life.”  

Fel3000ft painted the mural on the Accelerator building at 1421 Highland St. 

“I started painting in Detroit back in 1982. I was one of the first two artists that were doing graffiti and murals in the city. It was me and a fellow artist Shades,” said Fel3000ft. “I also had friends that moved into my neighbourhood from New York and they inspired me through pictures they brought back of the art in the city. I have just been painting in Detroit and all over the country ever since.”  

Fel3000ft spoke highly of Windsor and our local arts community. 

“All the responses I’ve received were extremely warm and welcoming, which made me want to come back and work in Windsor again. It now feels very much like a second home,” said Fel3000ft. 

Free for All Walls brings beauty to Windsor 

The Free for All Walls festival has brought new beauty and opportunity here to Windsor. From the 53 murals to the insurmountable networking connections made, this festival has changed Windsor’s street art scene for a lifetime. Take some time to visit these works of art on a local street near you.