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June 13, 2019

POW! WOW! Worcester back for fourth year

Photo | Matt Wright The POW! WOW! Worcester mural on the Palladium in downtown Worcester.
Photo | Matt Wright The POW! WOW! Worcester mural off the Exchange Street parking lot in downtown Worcester.
Photo | Courtesy The previous POW! WOW! Worcester on the Palladium.
Photo | Erika Sidor At the POW! WOW! murals behind the WCUW building in Worcester in 2017 are 40 Under Forty winners (from left) Joy Rachelle Murrieta, Heather Mangione, Abel Travis and Lindiana Semidei.
Photo | Erika Sidor 40 Under Forty winners Alexis Kelleher, Erin Jansky, Bonnie J. Walker and Tom Lubelczyk at the POW! WOW! Worcester mural at the Worcester Arts Magnet School.
Foto: Photo | Erika Sidor 2018 WBJ 40 Under Forty award winners (from left): Alexis Kelleher, Erin Jansky, Bonnie J. Walker and Tom Lubelczyk at another POW! WOW! mural at Worcester Arts Magnet School.

The POW! WOW! Worcester festival is coming back for its fourth year in August, looking to add to the 115 graffiti murals spray-painted on city walls since 2016 and develop its first interactive mural.

Artists and installation sites will be announced in early July, but the initial activities are kicking off June 17 with workshops and events leading up to the main festival Aug. 16-23.

“POW! WOW! Worcester continues to evolve each year in response to economic, cultural and societal shifts in the city,” said festival director Jessica Walsh, in a press release. “From stimulating walkability and improving public safety to engaging youth and encouraging civic pride, our committee felt it was important to bring more activation to the community over several weeks.”

For the first time this year, POW! WOW! will feature an interactive mural, to be put on the newly resurfaced Allen Court Alley in Downtown Worcester. Spanish muralist Spidertag -- a self-proclaimed Street Art Superhero -- will create a permanent interactive neon mural using flexible cables and other industrial resources. The battery operated mural will take nearly a week to complete. 

Spidertag’s mural will mark the beginning of the festivities. He will lead a youth workshop from 4-6 p.m. June 17 at the Worcester PopUp on 20 Franklin St. Students from the nonprofits Main Idea, Art Reach and Preservation Worcester will learn how to create small light-based sculptures simulating Spidertags own work. 

POW! WOW! Worcester has partnered with the Worcester Cultural Coalition, the Worcester Business Development Corp., The Grid and the Federal Square Condo Association to bring in Spidertag.

“This project marks a critical step for improving the condition of Allen Court,” said Craig Blais, WBDC president & CEO, in a press release. “The WBDC has committed to improving the streetscape of Allen Court, and I am thrilled that abutters and other stakeholders are contributing to aesthetic improvements."

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