Eureka Street Art Festival comes to a close

If you’ve seen a cool mural in Eureka, it might have been because of the Eureka Street Art Festival. The festival assisted with bringing more than 100 murals to life over the last seven years. 

“We can’t take credit for all the murals in Eureka. One of the really nice things about the festival is I think we have continued to create a culture of public art here, and so during the seven years that the festival has been running, we have painted a lot of murals. But also I think that we’ve helped inspire more murals in Eureka in General”, says Jenna Catsos, one of the founders and organizers of the Eureka Street Art Festival. 

The locations of the murals are a collaborative effort between artists, organizers, and businesses. Catsos, who owns Pen and Pine art studios, partnered with Lima’s Pharmacy on Harrison for their own unique look. 

“My style is very botanical focused. I am an illustrator, which means I really prioritize lines and style over realism. My murals are in no way realistic. I’m not going for photo realism here. I’m going for a very specific look. And I am super inspired by plants for this mural. Specifically, I was working with Lima’s pharmacy and they are interested in wellness as kind of a big picture, and I’m interested in botanicals.This unique canvas with lots of windows and other things, and how I could create a piece that works with that, while also keeping wellness and the pharmacy’s  interests in mind”, she said. 

Just because the street art festival is over doesn’t mean Eureka Murals are.

“We feel very proud of what we’ve done. And we’re gonna pause for a little while. But this doesn’t mean that people need to stop painting murals and getting murals in Eureka”, Catsos says. 

Mural artists are paid through donations, but the organizers of the Street Art Fesitval were volunteers and said it was time to bring things to a close. 

You can find a backlog of local artists who have participated on their website and contact them if you want a mural here: https://www.eurekastreetartfestival.com/_files/ugd/f7f232_dde5abe96fa14edab8c71341d1710ee2.pdf

Story by Tucker Caraway