Liqen

As the dust settles on this year’s WALLTHERAPY event, it’s always good to take a moment and reflect. It’s very easy to miss some really cool details when you are trying to make sure the artists get the right type of cap for their paint or keep everyone hydrated (it was a scorcher that week!)

A few quick stats (we’ll add more here as we find them!)

+ WALLTHERAPY consisted of some of the top street artists working today from countries as internationally diverse as Spain, Germany, South Africa, China, Belgium, and nationally from New York City, San Francisco, and our own beloved Rochester, NY.

+ These 8 internationally-known artists and 3 local artists completed a total of 16 murals throughout the city this year.

+ The artists used several hundred cans of spray paint to complete the murals in addition to several dozen gallons of paint.

+ We lost track of the gallons of water and gatorade we drank during those hot days!

+ Our block party drew over 300 local residents who got to watch the artists paint, ask them questions about their work, and see great DJs like DJ Ease and local bands like ThunderBody and Mikaela Davis for free (featuring some improvised dance routines from local dance troupe One Dance Co. and some visiting breakdancers!)

+ We were incredibly fortunate to have renowned photographer Martha Cooper join us for almost the entire week, documenting our event and the work of the artists. She gave us high marks on the event, and even collaborated with Case on a loving tribute to her beloved Kodak Girl (Did you know she recently released a book showcasing her amazing collection dedicated to Women Photographers?)

+ Almost every local media outlet covered the event, from CITY, to the front page of the Democrat & Chronicle, to a number of local news channels.

+ Our reach was well beyond Rochester, though, with coverage of our event showing up on such renowned art blogs like Juxtapoz Magazine, Arrested Motion, Vandalog, Street Art News, Savage Habbit, Complex Magazine, and even our own dedicated thread on Reddit started by a fan in England.

+ Scores of folks were sharing images via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

+ Speaking of Facebook, we averaged a reach of 30,000 to 50,000 people per week through shared stories and images.

+ This site alone drew unique visitors from from over 85 countries around the world.

+ Thanks to our handy PDF downloadable map, we ran into countless folks, art lovers and curious locals alike, who were visiting all of the murals and discovering new areas of the city they had never been to before. Some traveled by car, while others turned it into reason for a family bike tour. We’ve also been seeing an influx of visitors from outside Rochester who want to see these murals for themselves.

All of our visiting artists (including Martha!) all left incredibly impressed by our city and the people they got to meet and interact with and we look forward to having them come back!

From those of us who worked to put on this event, we want to wholeheartedly thank everyone who came out to see the art, talk with the artists, or just see what all the fuss was about. We have met so many new wonderful people thanks to being out in the streets, interacting with you all, and the positive feedback you gave us made it all worth it.

If you you have any thoughts you’d like to share, we’d love to hear it. Either contact us through the site or email us at walltherapyny@gmail.com