WASHINGTON (HUNS) — A wall was just a wall in Ward 6’s NoMa 10 years ago. Blank concrete surrounded the area with colors easy to ignore. Today, those same surfaces speak in color. An astronaut in a flower garden. A young girl reaching for the sun.
Layers of paint ripple like sound waves across underpasses and alleys. In a city where monuments are frozen in time, NoMa’s walls evolve — one brushstroke, one story, one year at a time.
NoMa has been celebrating its 10th annual mural festival over the past week. With 20 new public canvases and a week of art events, the NoMa in Color Mural Festival marks a major milestone for one of the district’s most visible cultural initiatives. The festival, organized by the NoMa Business Improvement District (NoMa BID) in partnership with WMATA’s Art in Transit program, has transformed more than 150 walls into a sprawling outdoor museum since 2015.
“Art is everywhere,” said Jesse Kirsch, the event’s coordinator of three years.
Kirsch, an artist with a background in graphic design, painted his own mural a few years ago. NoMa BID invited the art enthusiast back by to serve as the liaison between the muralists and the business district north of Massachusetts Avenue.
“Everyone goes to museums and galleries to look for art, but it’s a very accessible thing,” Kirsch said. “The murals show that.”
The festival is open to anyone, even if they have never painted a mural. More than 140 artists applied this year. After a summer spent narrowing the list down to about 20, which Kirsch says is the hardest part, the organization awarded each artist a $2,000 stipend for supplies, paint and other materials. The group features a mix of returning and first-time artists.
NoMa BID encourages artists to pay homage to D.C. in their own creative way. Murals appear throughout the area, including along the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
Among the artists featured this year is Nayila Moore, a Howard University alumna and California native.
Moore was introduced to art as a child in church. She was never fond of the children’s group. Her mother told her that if she wanted to attend the adult sermon, she would have to be quiet and find something to occupy herself. A pen and paper became her escape, and a love for art was born.
Moore’s piece pays homage to Alethia Tanner, a formerly enslaved Black woman from D.C. who was able to free many family members after gaining her own freedom. Moore aims to bring to life the joy she imagines Tanner felt with her family free, adding personal touches like stained-glass tiles inspired by her church to reflect her artistic roots.
Another muralist, Tammy Barnes, a Pennsylvania native, approached her wall as a reflection of D.C.’s Indigenous roots. Her piece honors the Nacotchtank (Anacostans) and Piscataway Peoples, the original inhabitants along the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.
“I would love for spectators of my work to know who used to live on this land and off this land where they are standing today,” Barnes said. “It’s important to honor them and highlight the displacement and violence they had to go through to lose their land. Their stories are important.”
Barnes also plans on giving a portion of her stipend to Native American LifeLines Inc. in Baltimore to help support their ancestors who are living today.
“It’s important for everyone to be represented and celebrated, and I hope my mural gives Black women that spotlight.”
Miles Johnson
For Miles Johnson, born and raised in D.C., the journey began in chemical engineering. However, with art in his blood — his grandmother was an oil painter — he always felt drawn to creativity. When he realized his passion for art could be just as fulfilling as engineering, he made the switch. Today, he is a full-time artist.
Johnson’s mural explores the theme of self-love through different forms of the same woman, embracing herself in the past, present and future. His piece celebrates the love that comes from celebrating all versions of yourself — the good and the bad.
“It’s important to honor Black women, especially in a community like D.C.’s,” Johnson explained. “We’re Chocolate City, and we have the largest wealth capital for Black people. I have a Black mom, Black grandma, and it’s very important for me to pay homage to that background.”
“Most of us don’t get a chance to document our life on film or have a big movie production to celebrate who we are,” he added. “But I think it’s important for everyone to be represented and celebrated, and I hope my mural gives Black women that spotlight.”
Now entering its second decade, NoMa in Color is showing no signs of slowing. As the city continues to grow and change, the NoMa Mural Festival remains one of the most visible symbols of transformation: a reminder that even in the busiest corners of Washington, there’s still space for color, creativity and connection.
Belaynesh Shiferaw covers Ward 6 for HUNewsService.com.
