Essex County Land Bank | Walls Between Waters

2026 ARTSCAPES: WALLS BETWEEN WATERS Mural Festival

Presented by the Essex County Land Bank & North Country Rural Development Coalition

ABOUT THE 2026 FESTIVAL

Festival Date: June 6, 2026
Location: Downtown Ticonderoga, NY

The Essex County Land Bank and the North Country Rural Development Coalition (NRDC) are partnering with the community to bring public art to Essex County, NY. Walls Between Waters returns on June 6, 2026, with the main mural festival once again in downtown Ticonderoga, near the Land Bank’s headquarters.

We will also install 2-3 murals in other Essex County communities where the Land Bank owns property, has completed homes, or is actively investing in revitalization. Murals will be installed from May – June 2026, and a large street festival event will be held along Montcalm Street in downtown Ticonderoga, NY on June 6, 2026.

Visit the Public Meeting with the Public Art Consultant to learn more about the 2026 Walls Between Waters event. Join us on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 6:00PM at the Ti Arts Gallery, 119 Montcalm Street, Ticonderoga, NY

Wall Between Waters About The Project

ATTENTION: ESSEX COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS

Property owners within Essex County are encouraged to apply to host a mural or other public art. If you own a building or property in Essex County with a public-facing wall or nearby space in need of investment — apply to host a mural or other public art installation!

This is a creative placemaking initiative designed to:
● Remediate blight
● Encourage reinvestment in vacant and underutilized spaces
● Support the creation of new housing opportunities
● Use public art to attract new residents and businesses across Essex County

APPLY NOW TO HOST A PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION ON YOUR PROPERTY

MURAL ARTIST APPLICATION

Essex County Land Bank and NRDC are seeking qualified artists for six more large-scale mural projects.

The second Walls Between Waters festival will be held in downtown Ticonderoga in June 2026. The event finale will be on June 6, 2026. Applications closed December 2025.

MURAL APPRENTICE PROGRAM OVERVIEW

In 2026 The Essex County Land Bank, in partnership with the North Country Rural Development Coalition (NRDC), will work with the community to program the Walls Between Waters mural festival for the second year! The festival aims to transform spaces near blighted, vacant, and abandoned properties through public art installations. This new public art will foster community pride and encourage economic revitalization.

The project will focus on the creation of six murals in Essex County, accompanied by a community festival. Essex County Land Bank and NRDC will hire qualified artists to install six large-scale mural projects. Walls Between Waters festival will be held in downtown Ticonderoga, NY and downtown Jay, NY in the first week of June 2026. In 2026, three murals will be installed in Ticonderoga in May-June 2026, one mural will be installed in Jay, NY in May-June 2026, and two murals will be installed in Ticonderoga in July 2026. The murals will all be unveiled on the same day, with celebrations and events taking place throughout the duration of the festival to recognize the artists, apprentices, and the community.

The Walls Between Waters Mural Apprentice Program is meant to offer local artists an opportunity to garner valuable experience installing large-scale murals. This is an excellent resume builder for an aspiring muralist and a great way for a professional artist to get involved in this community initiative! Volunteer apprentices will be paired with experienced muralists and asked to help assist in the mural installation during the mural festival. Learn how to scale a design to fit a building, learn about different mediums, and expand your artist-network!

IMPORTANT DATES & INFORMATION:

There are FIVE murals being painted in Ticonderoga, NY and ONE mural being painted in Jay, NY.
Not all applicants will be accepted to participate.
We will host an apprentice orientation to better understand the apprentices and determine who they may want to work alongside. In the application we ask how often the apprentice may want to be on site, and we account for that in our location assignments as well.
Each mural is being painted by a different muralist. Each mural artist paints at a different pace, and they will arrive in Essex County on different dates.
- FOUR of the muralists will complete their murals on June 5th.
- The rest of the muralists arrive after July 6th, and those murals will be completed by July 18, 2026.
- Apprentices will be assigned to specific sites based on their preferences as indicated in their application form and from feedback garnered during apprentice orientation.
What do Apprentices do?: Apprentices may be asked to help mix colors, paint using brushes, paint using spray paint, help set up the mural site, help clean up the mural site at the end of the day, and work alongside the mural artist. After past mural festivals, apprentices have reported that they met new friends, expanded their artist network, felt inspired to create their own mural project, and/or they learned how to use a new technique or medium. The experience is what the individual makes of it! Let’s Paint Ti!
Deadline to apply MAY 1, 2026
All questions should be emailed to [email protected]

Ticonderoga APPRENTICE APPLICATION

Jay Apprentice Application

WATCH APPRENTICE VIDEO

Town of Jay Public Art Town Hall Meeting

On Thursday, January 15, the Town of Jay held its first town hall meeting to discuss bringing public art to the community.

Watch the Town Hall Meeting Video

PARTICIPATE IN THE JUNE 6, 2026 FESTIVAL EVENT

During our June 6, 2026, festival event, we will close down Montcalm Street. The festival features a mural dedication, a major concert, artist booths, food trucks, a color run, and more. If you want to be involved in the festival, please apply below.

BAND APPLICATION

Art Vendor Application

Food Vendor Application

COLOR RUN REGISTRATION