Experience Chinatown 2025 Artist Application

 
 

Are you a Boston area artist looking to get more involved in the local arts community? Pao Arts Center invites you to create vibrant, one-of-a-kind murals for Chinatown businesses as part of our Experience Chinatown Arts Festival! Artists will be matched with local businesses to design a temporary mural. This year, we are asking artists to respond to the prompt, "Imagine a greener future for Chinatown."

Murals can be hand-painted or digitally designed and printed on vinyl. Installation will happen during the last two weeks of August, and the murals will stay on view throughout Chinatown until mid-October. 

This year, we’re also excited to introduce an artist cohort—a new way for participating mural artists to connect, share skills, and explore Chinatown’s history together. We welcome artists of all skill levels and backgrounds to apply! 

Experience Chinatown is Pao Art Center’s annual arts festival that celebrates the rich cultural fabric of Boston’s Chinatown. In 2020, Pao Arts Center began including murals as part of the Experience Chinatown festival with the goal of uplifting businesses and attracting visitors back to Chinatown during the height of the pandemic. Since then, these murals have become a signature part of the annual Experience Chinatown Arts Festival.

 

  • May 13 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM
    Experience Chinatown mural info session (recording) (download PDF)

    June 1 | 11:59 PM
    Application due

    June 6
    Artist notification

    Weeks of June 30 & July 7
    Mural site visits at businesses

    July 14:
    First draft due

    July 28
    Final artwork due (vinyl)

    August 1
    Final artwork due (painted)

    Weeks of August 18 & 25
    Installation dates

    August 30 - October 18
    Murals on view

All participating artists will receive an honorarium ranging from $500-$800 depending on the type of mural they wish to create. Budget and supplies will be discussed with selected artists during the artist notification process. 

Artists are expected to paint or install artwork within the allotted installation timeframe. Pao Arts Center will be able to provide some support for installation and deinstallation. 

To allow more artists to participate, those who created murals for Experience Chinatown in 2024 are not eligible this year. Please apply again next year!

Murals will be on view Saturday, August 30 - Friday, October 17, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Pao Arts Center Visual Arts Manager, Maia Erslev (they/them).