Outdoor Art Takes Center Stage in Winston-Salem

Art is everywhere in downtown Winston-Salem and exploration and adventure just got easier. Known as the City of Arts and Innovation, this nearby treasure boasts one of the region’s most exciting collections of outdoor art just waiting for you to come explore. Styles vary from stylized graffiti; to educational murals, vintage signs, free expression murals, pop art, commissioned public works, and even a day-to-night outdoor ARTivity on the Green nestled smack dab in the middle of downtown. You don’t need an art degree to enjoy it. You don’t need a ticket or guidebook or step-by-step instructions. All you need is you! This Start Anywhere, Stop Anytime Outdoor Art Tour gives you an idea of how much art downtown Winston-Salem offers you to explore. Spend a day camera in hand for a deep dive into our city. Or catch one or two before coffee, after lunch, in between dinner and a show.  Choose one of our art-centric downtown hotels to make a weekend (or family) project of it.

Start Anywhere, Stop Anytime Outdoor Art Tour Downtown Winston-Salem, NC

First and Main

Title: End Racism #BLM Street Art Location: 100 block of North Main Street at City Hall Artists: 18 local artists with the Women's Committee of Stagehands Local 635 Details: The Winston-Salem Community Mural Project is a collaborative, grassroots public art project inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Eighteen local artists along with the Women's Committee of Stagehands Local 635 helped create the mural. The overall mural project was organized by Rasheeda Shankle in partnership with The City of Winston-Salem, The Minister’s Conference Winston-Salem Vicinity, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, Triad Cultural Arts, Honorable Youth, and community leaders Joshua Mack, Chelsea Jones, Casey Jones, and Larry "LB the Poet" Barron.

Fourth and Main

Location: Kimpton Cardinal Hotel (401 North Main Street) Artists: Multiple artists Details: Multiple works representing 42 specific, local artistic references to North Carolina. Works on display throughout the lobby, restaurant, public gathering spaces, and in the architecture of the building itself.

Fourth and Trade

Title: La Luz de Diversidad (The Light in Diversity) Location: 400 block of North Trade and 4th Streets Artists: Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet with 12 middle school youth Details: The first and only Hispanic mural downtown. Commissioned by the Hispanic League of the Piedmont Triad, with support from the North Carolina Arts Council, The Winston-Salem Foundation, and Reynolds American. Students created panels at the bottom using traditional Aztec stencils and their own designs. The skylines of Winston and Salem can be seen in the background and the figures in the foreground are united in unity. Completed in 1999.

Fifth and Trade

Title: Mural with a Message Location: 520 North Trade Street (in the sloping alley leading to parking garage between Mast General Store and IMG building) Artist: "Big Al" Carter and two generations of students Details: 16-foot-tall, 48-foot-long public art project promoting health, education, and wellness. Centered on the theme “hugs are better than drugs.” Originally installed in 1991, then removed during renovation. Restored and reinstalled in 2014.

Sixth and Trade

Title: ARTIVA Mural Location: 560 Building at corner of Sixth and Trade Artist: Megan McKeithhan & students Details: One of the oldest murals in the Arts District, this colorful painting spans the side of Artworks Gallery. The mural was created in the late 1990s. Title: Unity Location: 616 North Trade Street on Tobacco Soho Building Artist: Nico Amortegui Title: Miller's Department Store Location: 616 North Trade Street on Tobacco Soho Building Artists: Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet with 75 participants to the Summer on Trade Concert Series Details: Depiction of Miller's Department Store circa 1930 with itinerant blues musician Blind Boy Fuller who made his living by following the Tobacco Markets from town to town. Others depicted are shop owners Mr. and Mrs. Miller, sons Richard and Nathan Miller, shop workers, the artist, and her husband. Title: Baller Location: 616 North Trade Street on Tobacco Soho Building Artist: Kendall Doub Title: Untitled (ART) Location: 600 block of North Trade at ArtConnections Gallery Artist: Hieronymus

Fifth and Cherry

Multiple Commissioned Works, including Wall Mural, Maya Angelou, Art-O-Mat Art Vending Machine Location: Interior Public Lobby, Benton Convention Center Artists: Various Details: Artist information and complete descriptions available here [gallery size="medium" columns="6" ids="4257,4258,4259,4263,4260,4261"] Location: Side of Small Batch Beer Co. (241 West Fifth Street) Artist: Laura Lashley

Sixth and Cherry

Title: SEED Location: 209 West Sixth Street Alleyway Artist: Hieronymus

 Fifth and Liberty

Title: Mural Reboot Location: 534 North Liberty Street Artists: Erik Marks, Elijah Kimball, Jesca Jaymes, Fredo Felix, Freddy Garcia, Jeff Beck, Jaeson Pitt, Joshua Washington, Aaron P. Friende, John Slater, and Wren Wilson. Details: A video-game-inspired mural painted on the side of Reboot Arcade Bar. Completed in 2019.

Sixth and Liberty

Title: Mural Wall at ARTivity Art Park Location: 630 North Liberty Street Artists: Multiple, evolving — artwork is changed every six months to a year.

Title: Looking Back, The History of the Black Press Location: 600 block of Liberty Street at the Chronicle Building Artists: Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet & seven student apprentices Details: Honoring the legacy of the Black press in Winston-Salem, specifically through The Chronicle. Sponsored by the ARTIVA Program of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. The mural features various editors and their newspapers beginning as early as the 1700s through the 1960s. Includes longtime Chronicle publisher Ernie Pitt alongside Frederick Douglass. Completed 1998.

Seventh and Liberty

Title: ARTivity on the Green Location: 630 North Liberty Street Details: A colorful art-themed park with bold metal towers and a collaborative mural created by area artists. It was conceived as an Art For Art’s Sake (AFAS) project and designed by the STITCH Design Shop. Completed in 2015.

Seventh and Trade

Title: Merge Location: 700 block of North Trade and 7th Street Artist: Laura Lashley Title: Deep Sea Art Location: Hoots Satellite (701 Trade Street NW) Artist: JEKS

Eighth and Trade

Title: Untitled (Fiddlin' Fish) Location: Fiddlin' Fish Brewing Company (772 Trade Street NW) Artist: Hieronymus

Industry Hill

Title: Synergy Location: 901 North Trade Street Artist: Georgie Nakima Details: Mural promoting togetherness, positivity, and the power of personal contribution to the greater wellbeing of our shared community. Location: Wise Man Brewing Co. (826 Angelo Bros Avenue)

Innovation Quarter

Title: Winston Strong Location: Long Branch Trail near Research Parkway in the Innovation Quarter Artist: Jessica Singerman Details: 50-foot long mural along the biking/hiking /walking path known as the Long Branch Trail. The trail, which was opened in 2018, runs from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, through the Innovation Quarter, and under Salem Parkway (421) to Salem Creek Greenway. Title: The Wall Location: Bailey Park (445 Patterson Avenue) Artist: Laura Lashley Details: Completed in 2005, the nearly 100-foot long mandala artwork was the first commissioned mural in Innovation Quarter. Title: Depot Street Renaissance Mural Location: Seventh Street between Research Parkway and Vine Street Artist: Leo Rucker Details: Educational mural identifying the historical significance, economic impact, and cultural legacy of one of the first prestigious Black neighborhoods in Winston-Salem. Extensive descriptions and detail of each panel of the mural are available here. Sponsored by Inmar Intelligence.

Old Salem and Main

Title: The Mickey Coffee Pot Location: In the grassy island at the intersection of Old Salem Road and Main Street Artists: Julius and Samuel Mickey Details: One of the oldest landmarks, the city’s giant tin coffee pot was built in 1858 by two tinsmiths loving to promote their business on South Main Street. At over 7 feet tall, the coffee pot was an attention-getting promotion that survived multiple traffic accidents, relocations, and even a political skirmish or two. The pot is considered to be a symbol of hospitality and has become the unofficial icon of the city.

Peters Creek Parkway (a short drive from downtown)

Location: 3110 Sides Road (water tower) *Catch a glimpse from Peters Creek Parkway Artists: Daas Details: A 50-foot tall water tank mural of an American river otter--a species found along the Yadkin River in Forsyth County. Completed in 2018.