Mural Mania kicks off in South Bend this weekend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- For the third straight year, Downtown South Bend is hosting its Mural Mania event by having artists create five unique murals around the city over the course of five days. 

"During the festival, artists will be live painting murals in locations across South Bend," organizers said. "Everyone is encouraged to come watch the artists paint and say hello during this five-day celebration of public art."

According to the event's website, the organizer of Mural Mania is Alex Ann Allen, a self-taught multidisciplinary muralist living and working in South Bend.

"The primary focus behind her work is portraiture and large-scale murals influenced by futuristic perspective grids," the page says. "Her passion and dedication lies in creating public art that brings communities together and helps beautify neighborhoods. A few well-known public works in South Bend include: The Vortex on the side of Jiffy Lube, The Gerbera Daisies on the side of Kodachrome Coffee, and the twin geometric murals on the sides of Eddy Street Apartments."

The artists involved in this year's murals are Oscar Joyo, Taylord, Nico Cathcart, Efren-ER, Max Sansing, Camer1sf, and Britt Paints a Lot. 

"Enjoy the artistic atmosphere while supporting our local businesses! Engage with the artists and learn something new about the public art installations," said organizers. "Artists aren't on a specific timeline, but you can usually expect them to be painting throughout the day."