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Street Art Contest Coming to Galesburg

T.J. Carson
The alley behind the Galesburg Civic Art Center is where the first "Battle in the Alley" will take place.

A new event from the Galesburg Civic Art Center aims to liven up an area of the city that is neglected.  The organization will host its first ever street art contest Saturday, July 18 in the alley behind the art center. The event is being called “Battle for the Alley.”

Tuesday Cetin, Director of the Civic Art Center, said street artists from the Quad Cities, Peoria, Aledo, and other areas will participate.

The contest will award a Best in Show and a People’s Choice winner. 

Cetin said the main objective is to breathe colorful life into alleys in Galesburg.

“The alley is so dark and dreary and especially at night, it’s a scary place. And (we) just want to turn it into something that is cool and maybe cut through, instead of an eyesore for the downtown area,” Cetin said.

Cetin said street art is a genre that is not widely-known in the area. She said it’s different from graffiti.

“It’s usually very quick. It’s usually a thematic thing so that artists are conveying ideas or messages or things that are a little more deeper than the typical graffiti art,” Cetin said.

Cetin said the art will not actually go on the buildings.  She said it will be done on masonite, which will be given a clear coat and then hung on the buildings.

Registration to participate in the event ended early this month.

Cetin said the rain date for the event will be August 13th.