KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Port KC is set to welcome 100 street artists and muralists from Kansas City and around the world to paint more than 60,000 square feet of concrete levee wall along the Missouri Riverfront on May 22-24, 2026, for the MO River Murals Fest.
Each group of artists will be painting a 40-foot segment of the wall to create a mural of their choosing. Kansas City’s riverfront beautification goes global, and this free event allows everyone an opportunity to experience and celebrate the arrival of new artwork over Memorial Day weekend. Onsite activities for the MO River Murals Fest will include food trucks, music and more.
“Kansas City is an arts city, and this will be one of the largest mural projects in America,” said Jon Stephens, President and CEO of Port KC. “With the eyes of the world focused on Kansas City like never before, there will soon be more than 1.1 miles of murals along the Port KC riverfront trail connecting Berkley Riverfront to the historic West Bottoms.”
Street artists will be working on their murals from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23 and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 24. There will be a special evening of entertainment on Saturday, May 23 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Hickory Union Moto which is located at 10 S. James St., Kansas City, Kansas 66118. The event will feature DJ sets from Joc Max and DJ Ataxic. There will also be screenings of two short films, Enter the ScribbleVerse – The Work of Donald “Scribe” Ross and a recent project from Escapist Skateboarding. This event is free and open to the public.
Port KC works with Spray KC to find artists for this collaborative project. For this year’s lineup, Evolution curated and recruited street artists throughout the Kansas City region, across the country and from around the world. Given the international attention that Kansas City will be receiving in the coming weeks, Port KC decided to go big with its vision of freshening up more than a mile of riverfront from the Town of Kansas Bridge (located north of 2nd and Main in the River Market) to the West Bottoms.
Public parking for the event will be in the City Market. Crossing the Town of Kansas Bridge down the stairs to the trail is the quickest and easiest way to access the MO River Murals Fest site. For anyone with accessibility concerns, carts will be available for ADA tours of the event.
The MO River Murals Fest couldn’t happen without support. The event is a recipient of Kansas City’s Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund. Sponsorships are still available to support the MO River Murals Fest.
Scribe, a well-known Kansas City street artist, paints a mural at a previous MO River Murals Fest along Kansas City’s riverfront.
About Port KC
Port KC is a port authority for the state of Missouri that uses its granted abilities to run local ports and grow Kansas City’s economy through advancing transportation, logistics and revitalization. For more information, please visit portkc.com.
About Spray KC
Spray KC is an organization that works to inspire people. From students in schools to attendees of community festivals and people driving by beautiful but once blighted buildings, its goal is to give small glimpses of inspiration and joy to people through art around Kansas City. For additional information, be sure to visit spraykc.com.