The Vancouver Mural Festival held its first event of the summer on June 24, in a block party that brought community members and artists together at a Strathcona street corner to admire new works by local and international artists. If you didn't make it out, or you're looking for more background on the people who worked to transform the space, scroll through to listen to the artists explain their pieces. 

Tristesse Seeliger unveiled her first-ever mural at the event—and she took two weeks off from teaching high school to paint it. Given her day job as an educator, it's no surprise to learn that the beautiful pastels and seemingly random geometric shapes aren't just aesthetics. As Seeliger explains, the piece is actually explores the artistic potential of circular geometry. 

Lauren Brevner also tried her hand at mural painting for the first time, but that didn't stop her from using the opportunity to expand her artistic catalogue. Brevner often draws from her Japanese background in her artwork, but for this piece, she integrated elements from all parts of her cultural roots—the piece presents a colour scheme that references her Trinidadian side, an Egyptian woman in honour of her grandmother, and a Japanese phoenix. 

Renowned street artist MURoNE visited from Spain to adorn a challenging structure with an interactive piece of art that covers the building's stairs and concrete overhangs, so that "more than just seeing it like a mural, you can get inside it."

Stace Forand, typically known as a tattoo artist, expanded his canvas considerably to participate in this year's festival. 

The artists of AA Crew—Dedos, Tars, and Virus—have been working together for about 20 years now, and their pleasantly nostalgic piece features Transformers and youthful, cartoonish flourishes. Says Dedos, "We're not trying to promote anything. Just have fun."

If you missed the event, not to worry, the murals are here to stay and can be admired any time of day at Campbell and Cordova streets. More artwork and festivities are yet to come as the Vancouver Mural Festival gears up to run its main scheduled programming from August 7 to12. 

More information on upcoming festival events can be found here.