Walking the Bushwick Collective Murals

The streets around the Jefferson Street L stop are an outdoor gallery that changes all the time. The Bushwick Collective, started by neighborhood local Joe Ficalora, invites street artists from around the world to paint the walls of warehouses and factories along Troutman Street, St. Nicholas Avenue and the blocks between. A typical mural lasts about a year before someone paints over it, so every visit is a different show.

Walking it is free and takes an hour or so; start at Troutman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue and wander the side streets in a loop, looking up as well as along. Weekday mornings have the best light and the fewest people, and you can watch artists at work when new walls are going up. The big day is the annual block party in late spring, when new murals are painted live with music and food on the surrounding blocks; the 15th edition was on May 30, 2026. Finish with tacos or coffee nearby, and be respectful of the people who live and work on these blocks.