Walls throughout the city are getting a face lift this week as artists from around the world paint murals during the Free For all Walls Mural Project.
Between now and October 10 over 50 murals will be completed at locations between Riverside Drive, Tecumseh Road, Drouillard Road and Crawford Avenue.
"We're just trying to beautify the city and try to engage with it in a different way," said Daniel Bombardier, artist and festival producer.
The artists have travelled from Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Canada to donate their time to the festival.
"We don't tell them what to paint they just get to showcase their skills and kind of show off what they do. They love painting in public, they just love what they do and they're some of the most kind, generous, interesting people I've met," said Bombardier.
Bombardier has been hosting the festival since 2012 but this is the largest one to date. A full map of the murals being completed this year can be found online.
Bombardier indicated he is still looking for sponsors to help cover some of the expenses of this year's event.
"The artists, amazingly, are all donating their time and they're doing this for free but the sheer cost of it is still high. To get the paint, to get the scissor lifts, to fly them here, to get them a hotel and to show them a nice time in Windsor," said Bombardier.
He said you can't put a number on the kind of impact this kind of public art has on the city. But in artist time alone, the festival is providing about $1.3 million of public art.
"The legacy is un-quantifiable , what it does for neighbourhoods and communities, you can't even put a number on it," said Bombardier.
As part of the festival the Part Art Part Party event will be held at WindsorEats from 2 p.m. until midnight on Saturday. It will feature live art battles, an art exhibition, art demonstrations, vendors, DJs, and prizes.