BY BEN JOHNSON
PHOTOS BY MEGAN FRIDAY
The fifth annual street art festival PRHBTN is back and with it comes world-renowned artists transforming Lexington’s blank walls into distinctive murals.
Along with murals, PRHBTN has a concert featuring local electronic DJs and an event focused on local street artists. The concert is at 9:30 p.m. on October 9 at Cosmic Charlie’s while the art event is 12-9 p.m. on October 10 with live painting, food and drinks in the Lexington Distillery District.
According to prhbtn.com, “PRHBTN is an annual celebration of art forms that have been criminalized, marginalized, and under-appreciated in the mainstream, featuring public murals alongside an exhibition of street art works in a space that complements the raw, powerful nature of the message and artistry of each piece.”
Through local funding, PRHBTN has commissioned artists from across the globe to alter Lexington’s landscape into something much more unique.
Brazilian Eduardo Kobra’s wildly popular Lincoln mural on the back of the Kentucky Theater from 2013’s PRHBTN is now an iconic image of Lexington.
But last year’s festival had some controversy when French artist MTO, famous for his giant works of celebrities and athletes, spray painted an enormous 75’ x 270’ mural on the Pepper Distillery Warehouse that some said glorified gang symbolism.
This year’s event brings street artists from Portugal, Italy and New York.
MrDheo and Pariz One, a collective from Portugal known as Armu-Yama, completed a mural on the back wall of The Chase Tap Room and Brewing Company at 266 Jefferson Street.
Another Portuguese artist, Odeith, spray painted a mural of Jazz great Louis Armstrong on the south wall of Lighthouse Ministries at 185 Elm Tree Lane.
The New York-based duo Sheryo and The Yok’s mural is in progress at Oneness Boutique at 431 Jersey Street.
And Italian artist HiTNES is finishing his mural on the LexPark Garage at 350 Short Street.
PRHBTN encourages the public to view in progress murals as the painters work and to buy prints on sale at the mural locations from the artists.
A celebration of Odeith’s Louis Armstrong mural will be Monday, October 12 at 6 p.m. at Lighthouse Ministries.
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