Sunny Dayz Mural Festival To Brighten Tulsa's Pearl District This Weekend

More than two dozen murals are bringing color to a Tulsa neighborhood.

41 artists have been working on the pieces all week ahead of the Sunny Dayz Mural Festival on Saturday, September 9th in the Pearl District.

Bruna Petlla and Madison Roy drove 10 hours from New Orleans to have their work featured in the festival. "When we saw that there is a festival that is all about highlighting women and non-binary people, giving us a voice and space to be who we are, and showing that yes we can do anything we want and it is paid, we were like we are packing our bags and going," said Petlla.

Virginia Sitzes founded the Sunny Dayz Mural Festival two years ago with the intention of doing things differently. Each year it is held in a different city in Oklahoma, with Tulsa being this year's location.

"A lot of mural festivals either do not pay their artists or maybe only pay for lodging or paint, so we really care about paying our artists," Sitzes continued saying, "That helps set a new standard for mural festivals and helps artists themselves."

Artists that Roy said are often overlooked in the industry. "This being all women and like no men allowed is pretty awesome because most mural festivals are like 80 to 90% men and then there is a little pocket of women," she added.

Word about Sitzes' innovative approach spread as 494 applications came pouring in. She said over 100 of those were international artists and of the muralists chosen to participate, about two thirds are Oklahomans. Those who are not said they want to make a good impression.

"We probably had at least 10 different designs that we worked through trying to figure out what do we want to contribute to Sunny Dayz, to Tulsa, and to this neighborhood specifically," Roy added. "There is a lot of pressure because you want it to be the right fit."

Sunny Dayz Mural Festival is Saturday from 12 to 8 p.m. at 325 S Quincy Ave. Along with the 25 new murals, the festival will feature live music and performances, food trucks, activities and a vendor market. The event is free and Sitzes said there will also be a community wall that anyone can paint on.

CLICK HERE for more information about the festival.