The ViBe Creative District, both a neighborhood and nonprofit in Virginia Beach, continues to solidify its 15-block span as a place that fosters art and community with its first street art festival this month.
Fifteen artists will paint their own neighborhood identifier in the district from May 30 to June 2, a weekend that coincides with the Jackalope Festival and Point Break Reggae Festival.
Executive Director Kate Pittman said the event is “where the pedestrian and the road traffic meet the local artist community … it’s that element of surprise.”
The open-call application process encouraged artists of all different backgrounds and experience levels to apply.
“It’s a very competitive process, but it’s a very fair process,” Pittman said. Just as the application for artists was accessible, so too is the street art peppered throughout the neighborhood — dubbed by Pittman as “a museum without walls.”
If the artist records audio or video content, the link is included in the ViBe’s Google Mural Map, which directs pedestrians to each sculpture in a 1.5 mile loop. Their mapping system, viewed over 26,000 times around the world, is available year-round.
Here’s an early look at some of the artists who will be adding their original work to the Mural Map this year:
Cherilyn Colbert, Virginia Beach, Va.
When Cherilyn Colbert moved to Virginia Beach over a decade ago, she distinctly remembers the seagulls, which now appear in all of her Virginia Beach-specific work.
“They’re looking at the viewer, looking at each other…there’s a little personality in them,” she said about the mural she plans to paint as part of the ViBe mural festival.
Colbert, who taught graphic design at Old Dominion University describes the piece as silly and joyful, like “what it feels like to be at the beach,” she said.
“Street art is often an expression of place, culture and community,” Colbert wrote in her artist statement. “There’s definitely this nice energy created in the ViBe during a festival with people milling about and everyone having a good time.”
Stephanie Leyden, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Stephanie Leyden brings her signature “Animals in Aviators” series to Virginia Beach with a mural that invites fun photo-ops where “people, pets, and children can come and enjoy while making memories on Virginia Beach.”
“I love talking to people while I’m painting and getting to meet total strangers in the community and leave a little piece of myself in the area,” said Leyden, who lives in Florida.
The three dogs show different facets of Virginia Beach living — the German Shepherd for the military, the Foxhound as Virginia’s state dog and the French Bulldog as one of the most common dog breeds in Virginia Beach.
Richard Howard, Chesapeake, Va.
A Chesapeake native, Richard Howard is one of the first-time muralists in the festival’s lineup. During the day, he works with a concrete company to build up Hampton Roads; on the weekend, he helps make it beautiful.
“I see Norfolk Southern pass by with constant artwork,” Howard wrote. “That inspires me. The language and the tags used. The colors. They all flash by like a heavy rolling gallery, shaking the ground.”
“I see the local art and the murals down at the oceanfront,” he said about his abstract and poppy style. “The whole culture has shaped my art.”
Pam Nicol, Virginia Beach, Va.
Returning for her third year painting murals in the ViBe district, Pam Nicol’s newest whimsical and beachy mural draws “a lot of inspiration from our city [with] nods to local landmarks and things that people do here in Virginia Beach.”
“It’s been a lot of fun,” she said. “I love being out there and being able to meet people and have people stop and ask me about my work. It's a great way to interact with everyone”
Rachael Blake, Virginia Beach, Va.
Having seen the ViBe district bloom over the years, Rachael Blake said she is “so honored to represent Virginia Beach” in the upcoming festival.
“Street art is truly magical and a gift to the community,” she wrote.
Whereas museums might feel inaccessible to some people, “street art is open to everyone,” Blake said.
“Maybe you are driving, or just walking by and that piece catches your eye, suddenly feelings and thoughts are activated…There is so much power in that.”
The floral design speaks to spring, her favorite season.
“Everything is blooming,” she said. “We are surrounded by so much beauty.”
She hopes to evoke that same inspiration in passersby in the ViBe.
The ViBe District’s Street Art Festival runs May 30-June 2 in Virginia Beach’s ViBe Creative District. Most events are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free parking is available at the Virginia Beach Convention Center at 19th Street and Parks Avenue; other city lots will be open but may charge special event prices due to other weekend festivals.
