POW! WOW! Worcester to add 29 murals

Courtesy/POW! WOW! Worcester The Spanish artist Sabek painted this mural, named Reversible, on the back of the Palladium.

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By Grant Welker

A second annual POW! WOW! Worcester art festival starting at the end of the month will add at least 29 more murals throughout the city, the group said Tuesday.

Among them will be the new ice rink and athletic facility under construction in the Canal District, the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The Worcester Railers HC, the hockey team that will use the center as a practice facility, are a major sponsor of the mural project.

Elm Park Community School will have 14 walls transformed into murals, pending fundraising goals being met, along with Worcester Arts Magnet, Rice Square and Canterbury Street Magnet Computer-Based schools. A fundraising goal for Elm Park is $50,000, with more than $41,000 already raised through Wednesday.

Others locations will be announced closer to the event, but the largest mural is already known: the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. Artists will cover one of the building's walls that measures 240 feet across by 33 feet high.

This year's festival will run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3. It will feature artists from the United States and nine other countries.

POW! WOW! Worcester says it wants to make the city a more culturally dynamic place by activating spaces through art. Last year's festival added murals to the Palladium, Mechanics Hall, DCU Center and throughout the city.