The National Mural Awards were announced May 2 and the winners include several artists who’ve painted murals in Great Falls.

The awards were created in 2023 to “recognize the best examples of mural art all over the nation.”

For the national awards, two past ArtsFest participants are among the winners:

• 1st place: Miles Toland and Joseph Toney (Toney was a 2023 downtown muralist)
• 2nd place: Osiris Rain and Emily Ding (Ding was a 2024 downtown muralist)

In the regional awards, Bublegum was named the second-place winner for Region 1, which includes New England and the mid-Atlantic. He was a 2025 downtown muralist.

Toney painted the horses on the side of Annie’s Tap House on the 100 block of Central Avenue.

Ding painted the snake on the side of the Odds and Ends antique shop at 123 Central Avenue.

Bublegum painted the kitten and spray paint can on the back of the Times Square building last summer.

Mural festival connecting art, community [2025]

Mural festival sparking conversations, bringing people together [2024]

Great Walls 2024: Photos

“It’s art, it’s really cool.” Mural festival brightens downtown [2023]

Mural festival fostering conversation, connection [2023]

Jenna Morello, who painted the leaves on the side of the Speaking Socially building in 2019 was named a National Mural Awards Region 2 winner in 2024.

Murals going up in downtown for ArtsFest MONTANA [2019]

“Take a stroll around any city in the country and you’ll see ordinary walls being transformed into incredible works of public art,” according to the National Mural Awards.

Since its inception, the awards have grown from awarding prizes for individual artists who excel in creating public art to include recognition of groups and organizations using murals to transform communities and revitalize neighborhoods.

The eighth annual ArtsFest, now dubbed Great Walls, is scheduled for the week of Aug. 16 in downtown Great Falls.

The festival is curated by Cameron Moberg, an internationally known muralist based in California, who started painting in Great Falls on the invitation of a friend in collaboration with NeighborWorks Great Falls in 2018.

Great Falls mural named among top 100 worldwide [2023]

That has since grown into an annual mural festival in downtown Great Falls with a group of artists from across the globe each August creating about 50 murals.

Murals spark conversations about public spaces, growth [2022]

Last summer, nine artists, including Moberg, are installing murals in the alley behind the Times Square building downtown.

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The festival is organized by the downtown Business Improvement District through their budget and tax increment financing funds, as well as sponsorships, grants and donations, including from NeighborWorks Great Falls. Local restaurants donate meals for the artists throughout the week and local property owners donate lodging for artists.

Organizers coordinate with downtown property owners to find walls to paint and they’re always looking for more walls for future festivals.

*Toney and Ding photos by Matt Ehnes, Bublegum photo by The Electric