Graffiti battle brewing. Artists taking over alley wall on Modesto’s Tenth Street

There’s plenty of “American Graffiti”-themed art peppering downtown Modesto. This weekend, graffiti art of an entirely different kind will take over a large wall off the main drag.

The Fasm Creative Battle brings a group of international artists to Modesto on Friday and Saturday as part of a two-day Mural Festival on Tenth Street. Established by Modesto artist Fasm — also known as Aaron Vickery — the event is being held in conjunction with the Downtown Modesto Partnership (DoMo) and its First Friday and Music in the Plaza series.

The battle pits seven artists as they create on the 130-foot-by-25-foot alley-facing wall outside the Chartreuse Muse Art Gallery for what will become a permanent art installation.

It’s a sizable wall that has become prime artistic real estate.

“We’ve had people approach us for that wall forever,” Chartreuse Muse manager Jennifer Price said. While none of the previous ideas had been appealing, Fasm’s plan was different. “We liked his idea, the idea that it would be artists from all over the world contributing to this space in Modesto.”

A small mural already has been added to a corner of the wall, painted by Fasm himself, Price said, as a sort of “warmup” to the competition.

The mission of the battle and festival is to encourage Modesto to become more “art-centric,” Fasm said.

“I want Modesto to just get more familiar with art so they can appreciate it more,” he said. “The value of art here is way down in my opinion compared to, obviously, a metropolitan area. (I’m) just trying to take steps to that goal of having art valued more here.”

The seven artists participating are Camer1 from San Francisco; Paydirt, Sacramento; Pilot, Texas; Souler, Guatemala; Royyal Dog, South Korea; Phat1, New Zealand; and Fluro, New Zealand.

“I know all of their work, and I know most of them personally,” Fasm said. “They’re all just super-talented artists that I’ve networked with and know they have good personalities and ... have enthusiasm for what they’re doing.”

While the two-day event officially launches at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7, the artists actually will arrive long before that, starting to paint just after 6:30 a.m., Fasm said.

Tenth Street will be closed from I Street through Tenth Street Plaza for the evening’s events that include the mural battle as well as DoMo’s First Friday vendors, family activities and Music in the Plaza program. On Saturday, Tenth Street will close from I to J streets as the Mural Festival runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with more live graffiti art exhibits, music by local band Sol Riddim, break dancers, vendors, food trucks, DJs, games for kids and a beer garden. Admission is free, and everything will be family friendly, Fasm said.

It will take the artists both days to finish their murals, he said, and judges will award cash prizes — $3,000 for first place, $700 for second and $300 for third.

Fasm hopes the event will help heighten the value of creative people in the community, which will in turn give young creatives a reason to stay in the region.

He’d also like to heighten another interest among Modestans — to “embrace some things that are quirky, and be OK with it.”

FASM CREATIVE BATTLE & MURAL FESTIVAL

WHEN: 6-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8

WHERE: Outside the Chartreuse Muse Gallery, 918 10th St., Modesto

ADMISSION: Free

ONLINE: domopartnership.org

This story was originally published September 5, 2018 at 2:00 PM.