POW! WOW! DC
POW! WOW! DC is an annual mural festival with artists from around the world bringing large-scale art to the NoMa neighborhood in DC
The POW! WOW! DC mural festival takes place in the NoMa neighborhood over 10 days in early May each year. POW! WOW! began in Hawaii and is named for the impact art has on people (POW!) and the reaction you have when viewing art (WOW!). It’s a celebration of the power of art to create community and improve our neighborhoods. The international mural festival came to DC in 2016 and has been held annually since then, growing each year to include more artists and events. In 2019, the POW! WOW! DC festival included 16 artists – eight from the DC area and eight from other parts of the United States and other countries.
The artists bring different styles and approaches, resulting in a variety of murals with something that will appeal to everyone. For some artists, this is their first chance to create a large scale piece, and working alongside other muralists is an opportunity to learn from their experience. Property owners who offer space to the festival have no input on the mural that gets placed on their walls. Artists agree to three guidelines – no nudity, no violence, and no politics – but are otherwise given full creative freedom. Some murals will become a permanent part of the neighborhood. Others are ephemeral, painted on buildings that are scheduled to be demolished or covered by future building projects.
The 900 foot stretch of murals on the Metropolitan Branch Trail between New York Avenue and R Street NE is a partnership with the WMATA Art in Transit program. This highly visible retaining wall between metro’s red line and a popular walking and biking path has became known as the “locals’ wall.” Local artists are assigned sections of this wall for their murals, giving them a chance to get to know each other and strengthening the local art community. The agreement with WMATA requires the murals to be painted over and covered with new murals each year, keeping this area fresh and interesting, and giving new local artists a chance to participate in the festival.
Walking tours are held throughout the festival. Attendees get to see the murals in progress, meet the artists, and learn more about the festival. Some of the murals are in fenced-off lots that will not be accessible outside of the festival, so checking them out on a walking tour is the best way to get a good look at these works of art. Each year, the festival organizers seem to add more walking tours, so there’s more than likely one that will fit into your schedule.
If you can’t make it to one of the official tours, you can take a self-guided tour using the Google map on the POW! WOW! DC website. The pins on the map will take you to the location of each new mural and give you the name of the artist. After four years, more than 60 murals have been painted in this neighborhood as part of the POW! WOW! DC mural festival, and many others have been added as part of other projects. It can sometimes be challenging to figure out which mural near the pin on the map is the one connected to the most recent festival. Many will have a yard sign nearby with the festival logo and artist’s name, but these often disappear as time goes on. It would be helpful if the festival organizers included additional information for each pin on the map like street address, Instagram handle of the artist, and a photo of each mural.
I look forward to POW! WOW! DC every year and seeing what new artists and murals will add color this section of DC. It’s a great example of how DC is so much more than history and politics – it has a thriving arts scene that celebrates creativity and community. Whether you join one of the walking tours or explore on your own, put on some comfortable shoes and check out POW! WOW! DC.
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Address
The POW! WOW! DC murals are located throughout the NoMa neighborhood.
Metro Station
- NoMa-Gallaudet U (RD)
- Union Station (RD)
Directions
The 2019 mural map is shown below, but visit the festival website each year to find the latest POW! WOW! DC map.
Cost
Free
Hours
Open 24 hours but best in the daylight
Length of Adventure
1-2 hours
