Denver's got a lot of street murals, and part of the fun is that the city's walls are always changing. While some works get tagged, fade over time or are painted over, new ones pop up almost every day.
Whether you're curious about the artists who color Denver's walls or are just looking for a safe way to experience art during the pandemic, we've rounded up some local maps, tours and lists to help you experience some of the city's best murals and street art.
Denver's best murals, as chosen by some of Denver's best muralists
Last year, we put together a series of walking, biking and driving tours of Denver murals, curated by local mural artists. Every week, a different artist shared with us their favorite murals around the city, plus their favorite places to stop for coffee or a drink while in the neighborhood. These free tours took us everywhere from the Art District on Santa Fe to Westminster.
Check out these walking tours:
Local muralist Olive Moya curated this tour of some murals in Denver.
Babe Walls founder Alexandrea Pangburn curated this tour.
Artist Moe Gram curated this walking tour of the Babe Walls Festival murals.
Check out these driving tours:
Street artist Koko Bayer curated this driving tour of Denver's murals.
Street artist Sandra Fettingis curated this tour that covers some distance.
Muralist Forrest J. Morrison put together this tour of Denver murals.
And if you're heading out on two wheels:
Muralists Jaime Molina and Pedro Barrios curated a biking tour of Denver's murals.
RiNo's own interactive mural map
The RiNo Art District recently launched an official interactive map of murals in the area. The site shows you where to find them and directs you to a bit of information about the artist behind each. The map also includes pins for local eateries, bars and galleries, so you can make a day of mural hopping. Because new murals are always popping up or being painted over, the art district plans to update the map over time.
Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project
This project launched to preserve the legacy of Chicano murals in Colorado in the face of threats like time, weather and gentrification. Director Lucha Martinez de Luna is the daughter of the celebrated local muralist Emanuel Martinez. Earlier this year, Martinez de Luna spoke to Denverite about her commitment to protecting these murals from damage or removal, as well as creating a public archive of murals created by Chicano/a artists so they can live on digitally.
Those efforts led to the creation of an interactive mural map, which pinpoints the locations of past and present Chicano/a murals, including details about their histories and the artists who created them. Martinez de Luna has now mapped out about 40 murals in Denver, and she plans to expand the project to other parts of Colorado.
Denver Urban Arts Fund murals
Denver Arts & Venues' Urban Arts Fund is a program that partners kids in the metro area with local artists to turn dilapidated walls into works of art. It's designed to prevent illicit graffiti and to provide creative opportunities for local youth. The initiative has led to the creation of hundreds of murals, many of which can be found on UAF's interactive mural map.
If you're looking for somewhere to start, Arts & Venues also curates several self-guided and virtual public art tours, including some highlighting pieces by women as well as Black and AAPI artists around Denver.
Denver Graffiti Tour
If you're looking for a more guided experience, this two-hour walking tour of RiNo's murals and street art might be for you. The tour leaves at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and introduces guests to some 25 to 35 murals in the RiNo area. Guides offer some history and context for both the murals and the rapidly changing neighborhood, including the history and future of the CRUSH Walls Festival, gentrification, women in art and political issues relevant to the Art District.
And if you want some wine to go with your walls, the Denver Graffiti Tour also offers a Saturday afternoon tour that stops at a local bar.
