The fourth annual Los Muros on Main featured muralists who transformed walls into stories. Five murals were added to the area near Midvale’s Historic Main Street, bringing the total to nearly 50, with another mural scheduled to be painted soon.

Live music, food trucks, a beer garden, games, local vendors and a chalk art display added to the event, drawing hundreds of people to downtown Midvale to celebrate art in the community.

Russian-born artist Denis Dendy painted his mural on the south side of The Dark Arts (7607 S. Main St.). His murals adorn walls all over Europe, but this is his first time painting in the United States.  

“This picture is about the connection and relationship between people, also the energy of life and how people share this energy,” Dendy said. “This girl is a symbol of the beginning of life. These hands care about life. This is about the life cycle, relationships and connections.”

Big Mountain Barbell (741 Smelter St.) provided a blank space for Caro Nilsson to work her magic. Based in Salt Lake, Nilsson painted “The Moon as a Slowly Ambling Witness, Over Amethyst Basin” as an ode to opposites, balance and grace.

On her Instagram page, she wrote about the mural, “Opposites across our hours, opposites walking loop-step with one another, opposites singing in perfect harmony, loud+soft, the way that silence feels. Full, humming, vibrating. Holding two very unlike things simultaneously: I think they call that grace.”

Artist Eddie Chaffer painted a double-sided mural on Midvale’s City Hall Plaza (7505 S. Holden St.). Their mural is a way to educate through public art by highlighting the fragility of Utah’s ecosystem. 

The wall on the north side of Nomadic Ink (7687 S. Main St.) is the location for Miles Toland’s latest creation, “Trust in Dreams.” The American artist described the mural as depicting the mysterious places our mind goes when we fall asleep and the act of dreaming. A crow on the east side of the painting is surrounded by a quote from Khalil Gibran, “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.”

Portuguese artist Mariana Duarte Santos painted the south side of Champion Fabrication (7420 S. 700 West), creating the first mural to be outside the Historic Main Street area. The large-scale mural is based on a historical photo, representing Midvale’s past. It’s in a location Midvale Mayor Dustin Gettell appreciates.

“The murals are like our kids,” Gettell said. “We don’t have a favorite. We love them all. But I like this one [at Champion Fabrication] because it’s off the beaten path a little bit. It ties into our community gathering area and the food truck park.”

Nowhere Tattoo (7626 S. Main St.) had a wall prepared for Spanish artist Asem Navarro, but the muralist was held up in customs and didn’t make it to Midvale in time for the festival. He is expected to complete the mural this summer. 

Gettel invites people across the valley to stop by Main Street to see all the murals in person and visit new merchants in the area, including Cactus & Tropicals, Rebel Paw and The Bambino pizzeria.

“That’s the great thing about the murals. If you couldn’t make it here today, they’re going to be here for at least a few years,” he said. “If you go to EngageMidvale.com, we have a list of the murals and it tells you a little bit about them and where they’re located. 

“We invite everyone to just come down at their leisure, take a stroll on Main Street and look at all the murals we have so far.” λ