Photo by Asia Morris. Artist Yoskay Yamamoto working on his temporary wall on Ocean Boulevard.
UPDATE | A few more updates regarding Pow! Wow! Long Beach (PWLB) 2017 have been announced today, including the schedule of events to take place between July 16 and 22, and an additional artist that has been added to the mix.
Yoskay Yamamoto, who collaborated on a mural with artists Andrew Hem and Edwin Ushiro for last year’s PWLB at Steelhead Coffee, has already begun painting the temporary walls bordering City Hall and the Main Library along Ocean Boulevard. The project was commissioned by the City of Long Beach and has been deemed an honorary addition to this summer’s PWLB festivities.
Yamamoto estimates it will take him about two more weeks to complete the mile-long mural, and welcomes all those curious to stop by and experience the process.
The Pow! Wow! School of Music will also be conducting their own program, to feature student performances throughout the week.
More updates include the calendar of events. See below for the full schedule:
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Pow! Wow! Pop-Up Shop Grand Opening at MADE by Millworks
The Pow! Wow! pop-up shop at MADE by Millworks will celebrate its grand opening with music by POW! WOW! School of music, food and drinks. Exclusive Pow! Wow! Long Beach merchandise will be available for purchase throughout the entire week.
MADE by Millworks is located at 240 Pine Avenue.
TUESDAY, JULY 18, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Pivot Presents: Jeff Staple 1-2-1 with Adele Renault
Jeff Staple will discuss the career and work with artist, Adele Renault.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online here or via the Pow! Wow! Long Beach App.
The Art Theatre is located at 2025 East 4th Street.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Pivot AND Olukai Presents: A Talk with Tatiana Suarez, moderated by Sarah Bennett
Popular street artist Tatiana Suarez will discuss her career with contributing writer for LA Times, LA Weekly and KCET, Sarah Bennett.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online here or via the Pow! Wow! Long Beach App.
MOLAA is located at 628 Alamitos Avenue.
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 5:30PM-9:30PM
The CVB Presents: Party at The Cove
An all ages event presented by the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau will host music, food, and more.
Guests must RSVP via Pow! Wow! Long Beach here.
The Cove is located at 300 East Ocean Boulevard.
SATURDAY, JULY 22, 10:00AM-8:00PM
Olukai Presents: Art Battle hosted by Mike Giant
An all ages event at The Varden Hotel that will feature live art, DJs and refreshments.
The Varden is located at 335 Pacific Avenue.
For more information on Pow! Wow! Long Beach visit the website here.
PREVIOUSLY: Full Roster of Local, International Artists Announced for Pow! Wow! Long Beach 2017
Photo by Asia Morris from Pow! Wow! Long Beach 2015.
6/23/17 at 5:12PM | If you’ve been keeping up with Pow! Wow! Long Beach, you’ll have noticed the slow leak of Instagram posts announcing the participating artists for this year. The full roster, now available on the website, is an eclectic array of local, national and international artists, all set to land in Long Beach come July 16 for the start of the festival.
Arguably the week-long artistic adventure that is Pow! Wow! Long Beach may best be portrayed through the excitement of those that are newest to the scene. While street art veterans like Apexer and Mike Giant are surely looking forward to showing off their skills, there’s an excited nervousness perhaps felt more strongly by those looking to prove themselves this year. Not to mention, it’s exciting for the fans to show their support and root for these burgeoning creatives as they tackle their largest walls yet.
Photo courtesy of Bodeck Hernandez of his mural-in-progress for the Cambodia Town Mural Project.
Two of these “rookie” Pow! Wow! artists include city residents Bodeck Hernandez and Noelle Martinez, who are both ready to show off their hard work and talent on the international stage Pow! Wow! provides, right here in Long Beach.
“I’ve been a fan of Pow! Wow! since its inception and I’m just honored and humbled to be a part of it here in Long Beach,” Hernandez told the Post. “Learning new techniques, meeting new people (artists and fans alike) and thinking about a new image and its site-specific impact on the community is something I really look forward to.”
Born in the Philippines in 1986, Hernandez and his family migrated to Long Beach in 2001. His first large-scale outdoor mural is the one he’s currently working on in Cambodia Town for the Arts Council for Long Beach’s Cambodia Town Mural Project, so he’ll be starting his Pow! Wow! mural with the lessons from his first and latest mural in mind.
“I feel like my outdoor work lately has been very conscious of the local audience that will see it everyday,” he continued. “I’m looking forward to not letting them down and hopefully brightening up their day on their way to work.”
Photo by Andrick Aviles. Noelle Martinez during Paint Phoenix 2016.
Raised in Phoenix, Arizona and a current Long Beach resident as of last year, artist Noelle Martinez will be painting her second large-scale mural, her first for Pow! Wow! Long Beach.
Martinez is no stranger to the inner workings of the festival, having volunteered to help the artists of the very first Pow! Wow! Long Beach in 2015, worked as an intern for Pow! Wow! Hawaii and was hired on as a crew member for Pow! Wow! Long Beach 2016. One of the most prolific and hard working young artists out there, 27-year-old Martinez has assisted the likes of Aaron De La Cruz, FAFI, Benjie Escobar and more. She’s just at the start of her own career and is looking forward to having her own wall in July.
“Some will say and think I’ve made it, but this is only the beginning,” Martinez said. “I will take with me to the wall what every artist I’ve worked for always reminds me: to have fun and remember that we’re painting and doing what we love. In a sense it’s a game and, of course, the race is on once Monday hits, but I’m gonna do my best to enjoy it from beginning to end, even the ups and downs.”
The participating artists this year are as follows:
Long Beach
Ryan Milner
Dave Van Patten
Sparc
Nate Frizzell
Bodeck Hernandez
The Draculas
Noelle Martinez
Ezra One
National
Mike Giant (Boulder, CO)
Kevin Lyons (Brooklyn, NY)
Andrew Schoultz (San Francisco, CA)
Nosego (Philadelphia, PA)
Apexer (San Francisco, CA)
Tatiana Suarez (Miami, FL)
BlueTheGreat (Los Angeles, CA)
TRAV MSK (Visalia, CA)
International
Adele Renault (Amsterdam)
Niels Shoe Meulman (Amsterdam)
Dulk (Valencia)
Mina Hamada (Barcelona)
For more information on each of the artists, check out the webpage here.
PREVIOUSLY: Pow! Wow! Long Beach Announces Official Dates for Third Summer Street Art Festival
Pow! Wow! Long Beach mural created in 2016. Photos by Asia Morris.
5/30/17 at 6:12PM | Pow! Wow! Long Beach will officially return for its third consecutive summer, it was announced today. Be prepared to experience another round of murals being painted Sunday, July 16 through Saturday, July 22 by some of the most talented street artists both local and, presumably, from around the world.
“One thing that will be very different will be how we activate each wall and during the week,” new Pow! Wow! Long Beach Director Dani Concepcion told the Post. “We plan to give Long Beach a week-long event where they will be fully immersed in street art and the culture that surrounds it. Our goal is to create anticipation every year, with hopes that every year you will experience something new.”
In 2015, the festival made its mark in Long Beach with murals painted by internationally and regionally acclaimed artists such as James Jean, the Low Bros, Tristan Eaton and Jeff Soto. While most of the art has been concentrated in Long Beach’s downtown area, with a few outliers last year, Pow! Wow! Long Beach 2017 will have murals in every district, Concepcion said.
In its first year, Pow! Wow! Long Beach brought on one local artist, Jeff McMillan, and a slew of outside talent, while the summer of 2016 saw an increase in artists from Long Beach beautifying city walls.
“We are keeping our lips sealed for now, but we will be announcing artists really soon via @powwowlongbeach!” Concepcion said. “One thing I will say is that, the locals will be very happy.”
Alongside visual art, Pow! Wow! School of Music also brought talented youth musicians and mentors together to create and learn from each other, culminating in a performance at the end of the educational experience.
Pow! Wow! Long Beach mural created in 2015.
As Pow! Wow! Long Beach grew in popularity and sparked the interest of more residents, a community meeting was held before its second summer. In 2016, the festival brought even more international talent to the area from Portugal, Spain and France.
As the new director of the Long Beach leg of the globally acclaimed street art festival, Concepcion said she’s not going to take her position lightly.
“Personally, being the new kid in town is always a difficult pill to swallow,” she said. “Being from New York, you don’t get too many opportunities to make such a big splash. So I am not taking this opportunity lightly. We actually get to use the city of Long Beach as a canvas. That’s a huge deal. It’s a lot of work but we have a great team and amazing sponsors here in Long Beach!”
Visit our tag “POW! WOW! Q&A Sessions” to find out more about the individual artists who have brought their unique perspectives and imagery to the city, both through Pow! Wow! Long Beach and the coinciding Long Beach Museum of Art exhibit series Vitality and Verve.
For updates, visit Pow! Wow! Long Beach’s Instagram @powwowlongbeach.