See Amarillo’s HOODOO Mural Festival Lineup

HOODOO Art Foundation, an Amarillo-based nonprofit public art project, has announced the lineup for its annual Hoodoo Mural Festival.

The inaugural festival, which launched in 2019, was organized by Andrew and Lauren Hall through the nonprofit Center City of Amarillo in collaboration with the Amarillo Cultural District. It featured six murals, some created by local artists and others by nationally renowned artists, installed in the city’s downtown. At the time, Center City Executive Director Beth Duke told the Amarillo Globe-News that the festival took its name from a type of rock formation that is formed by wind and water erosion. 

Ms. Duke explained, “Hoodoo is sculptural art formed by nature, and we thought, isn’t it great to call our festival the Hoodoo Mural Festival to really give it a sense of place that it belongs here in Amarillo.”

Mr. Hall told Glasstire that HOODOO Art Foundation applied for its nonprofit status in 2020 and received it in 2021, after a short delay due to the COVID19 pandemic. The festival’s website notes that the mission of the organization is to create “a walkable, drivable art gallery showcasing and spotlighting underrepresented and student artists.”

Regarding the growth of the festival over the last few years, Mr. Hall explained, “The first year… we didn’t know what we were doing, but had a lot of fun doing it. But the event itself didn’t really take off until 2021, when I connected with a childhood friend, Will Krause. He lives in Austin and works for SXSW. He has also produced festivals such as Euphoria in Austin. He really helped us take our parking lot party and pushed us to turn it into a true festival event. This will be the third year for us to be in the same location, at 6th (Route 66) and Polk.”

From its modest beginnings, the festival has grown to include 14 muralists and an array of live music performances. This year’s muralists include Trav & Emjay, Alli Koch, Jeremy Biggers, JEKS, Ariel Parrow, Jon Revett, Blank Spaces, Britt Johnson, Carlos Barboza, Dan Black, FeeBee, Malcolm Byers, and Matt Tumlinson. Musicians include LP Giobbi, Kaelin Ellis, Giacomo Turra, Cody Jasper, DJ Cassandra, and more. 

For the first time, the festival will include repainting some of the original walls that were created in 2019. Last year HOODOO began a community wall project where 10 local artists applied to create murals. Mr. Hall noted that the goal is for the community wall to be a “revolving outdoor gallery that we will repaint each year.” Additionally, this year HOODOO has constructed five three-sided structures where temporary murals will be painted.

The HOODOO Mural Festival will take place on Saturday, September 30, starting at 3:00 p.m. Though VIP tickets are sold out, general admission tickets are still available. Learn more and purchase tickets at the HOODOO website.