Street Art Festivals Return
Bradenton Herald reported Village of the Arts' new mural festival following recent removals, with 116+ views tracking the story. Meanwhile, New Plymouth's Get Up Street Art Festival is making its return. These festivals signal a resurgence in organized street art events after recent disruptions.
In Bradenton, the "WonderWall Mural Fest" on March 7, 2026, is a direct response to a state-mandated removal of public art in August 2025. The city, acting on a Florida Department of Transportation directive, pressure-washed and sand-blasted dozens of sidewalk murals and crosswalks to comply with a new state law, Senate Bill 1662. The removals across Florida were sweeping, erasing works that included Pride-themed crosswalks, Black History murals, and even art designed to improve school-zone safety. Facing the loss of millions in state funding, cities like Bradenton and Tampa complied, with some removals happening overnight without prior notice to the artists or community. The new festival, a partnership between the Village of the Arts and the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, will create five new, permanent large-scale murals on building walls, not pavement. This pivot to vertical surfaces is a creative answer to the state's crackdown on "asphalt art." One prominent new mural will replace a decades-old piece, symbolizing a new gateway to the arts district. Meanwhile, New Plymouth's Get Up Street Art Festival in New Zealand is marking its return for the first time in over a decade. The event was last held in 2015 and a planned revival was previously stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-six graffiti artists are transforming the city's central business district into a "living gallery." Event co-founder Cam "Oddjobs" Shennan has expanded the festival's scope to include workshops, live music, and a graffiti battle, aiming to celebrate the full breadth of street culture.
