Last month, the Carpet Mills Arts District (CMAD) in Yonkers was transformed like never before as it hosted its inaugural Mural Fest, a vibrant celebration of urban art and culture. As part of Yonkers Arts Weekend 2025, this free public event will feature live mural painting by leading street artists, turning the district’s industrial walls into a dynamic, permanent open-air gallery.
Muralizing took place throughout the CMAD complex between 540 Nepperhan, 530 Nepperhan, 578 Nepperhan, 252C Lake Avenue, 242 Lake Avenue, Yonkers, and other surrounding buildings. In total, 15 large-scale murals went up across the complex, coinciding with the district’s celebrated Open Studios event.
Mural Fest marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of the Carpet Mills Arts District, positioning it alongside iconic creative neighborhoods like Wynwood Walls in Miami and the Bushwick Collective in Brooklyn. Much like these internationally recognized arts destinations, CMAD is poised to become a mecca for public art, creativity, and cultural tourism in the Northeast. The permanent murals created during this landmark event will serve as lasting beacons of the city’s creative spirit and commitment to the arts. As Yonkers Arts continues its mission to elevate the local arts scene, Mural Fest stands as a bold new step toward making CMAD a must-visit destination for art lovers, urban explorers, and culture seekers alike.
Some of the Artists who created the murals include:
Luke Smile
Luke Smile is a British lettering artist whose bold, dynamic typographic works sit at the intersection of fine art, design, and street culture. Renowned for his large-scale, vibrant murals, Luke’s practice explores the emotional resonance of words — how letterforms, colour, and spatial depth can shift perspective, spark joy, and provoke thought.
With a degree in Graphic Design, Luke blends his design knowledge with traditional signwriting techniques and the raw influence of graffiti.
His process merges contemporary tools — spray paint, stencils, and brushwork — to craft immersive compositions. At the centre of his visual language is Smile Sans, a distinctive 3D typeface he developed in 2017, born from a moment of personal artistic breakthrough. Its hollow, geometric structure has become a signature framework for bold colour, tactile texture, and playful commentary, appearing across walls, canvas, and digital formats.
Luke’s work is deeply rooted in place and people. Many of his murals are created in collaboration with communities, reflecting local voices while anchoring universal themes of optimism, connection, and humour. His smiley motif punctuates much of his work — a recurring symbol of joy and resistance.
Influenced by music, cultural nuance, and the ever-shifting landscape of modern life, Luke Smile is exploring what lettering can be in contemporary art. His practice is equal parts precision and play, delivering thoughtful messages with bold scale, a bright palette, and a distinctly tongue-in-cheek tone that’s hard to forget.
His work has captured the attention of global audiences and brands alike, marking him as a fresh and compelling voice in the international art scene.
Barbtropolis
Barbtropolis is the vibrant creative world of Barbara Graetzer—a fusion of “Barbara” and “Metropolis”—where striking visuals and meticulous craftsmanship celebrate life’s imperfections. Rooted in freedom and spontaneity, Barbara’s textured, layered work captures the beauty of individuality, transforming spaces into emotional, living narratives. Inspired by the grit and grace of urban life, her art depicts characters savoring the small, meaningful moments of daily existence.
A native of Rio de Janeiro and based in Brooklyn, NY, Barbara brings over 15 years of experience as an internationally recognized Creative Director, muralist, and artist. She has collaborated with global advertising giants such as Havas, FCB Health, Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann, and Leo Burnett, shaping campaigns that merge fine art with bold commercial design. Her education—a BFA in Visual Communication and an MA in Illustration—lays the foundation for her dynamic and impactful career.
Barbara’s murals have transformed New York City spaces, from the Bed-Stuy Mural Festival to Industry City, celebrating individuality, urban energy, and the beauty of imperfection. Her art has been showcased in galleries and public spaces, resonating with audiences through its raw authenticity and emotional depth.
Fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, Barbara’s cosmopolitan approach drives her mission: to create art that connects, inspires, and transforms spaces into powerful visual experiences. Through Barbtropolis, she continues to explore the raw, captivating beauty of human existence, crafting works that celebrate life and leave a lasting emotional impact.
Erwin Ong
Erwin Ong is an illustrator, surface design artist, and muralist based in White Plains, New York. His bright and happy character-based illustrations are influenced by a love for nature, food, and city living.
Erwin started A Duck Amuck in 2020 to give people the tools that can bring more joy into their lives, whether through writing short notes and greetings, giving gifts, or decorating a home or office with bright and happy artwork.
Maxx Moses
Maxx Moses, an international muralist, is also known as Pose2, a world-renowned graffiti writer. His distinct style in urban art, and corporate commissions along with inspiring messages that connect to communities worldwide have, have garnered him global recognition from South Africa to South America. “The quality of my art is not just measured by the final product; it’s determined by how well I connect with the people of that environment.” This website is a space for you to learn more about Maxx Moses and his work. Read his story, explore his art, and get in touch to collaborate with him.
Royal KingBee
The Royal KingBee UW, aka Kbornik Acid, AKA Kborne, was born in Harlem, NYC, and raised in the Bronx in the early ‘70s. KingBee began his illustrious career painting graffiti on walls until gathering recognition and eventually being commissioned to perform his artistic abilities for numerous businesses, public and private, all throughout the city of New York. Some being Rite Aid, Bacardi and Youngland, just to name a few. Highly talented, respected and probably the most underestimated undergroun artist of our time.
KingBee is the President/Leader/Founder of UW LAW, one of the most talented graffiti crews in New York City throughout the 90’s. KingBee continues to create art in all mediums and categories including body art, canvasses, logos, and clothing.
Nancy Mendez
Westchester, New York based Visual Artist, Nancy Mendez, has been creating Art since childhood.
Drawing inspiration from her Ecuadorian and Puerto Rican heritage, her love for music, nature, and mysticism, Nancy’s work is distinguished by an ever-present current of Eros, the same passion that fuels her life.
A free spirited and eccentric being, Nancy’s work could only be partially understood through her unique approach of mixed media usage and raw emotions.
Her work embodies an elusive magical world, where she makes her works more personal to her viewers, forcing them to project their own feelings and emotions onto each character in her enchanting creations.
José Gonzalez
José Gonzalez is a multimedia artist, muralist and cofounder of We Art One artist collective, a non profit organization focused on affordable studios and a safe place to create and network.
As a lifelong resident of Yonkers, NY José has seen the art scene flourish and has also worked along side various organizations such as Yonkers Arts and YOHO artist collective.
Linda Serrone + Benny Guerrera
Linda Serrone is an artist who also goes by ICU and creates CITYsized murals throughout NYC and the Tri State area. Born and raised in the boroughs of NYC, Serrone who is self taught and eventually getting a degree from Brooklyn College; tracing everything on site creating her own style of drawing using the ballpoint pen. When she can’t paint on walls she creates CITYsized paper murals in ballpoint pen and graffiti markers and oil paintings on canvas. Serrone’s work is meant to mirror the community around her and who ever needs to be elevated. Community is everything and her lineage of work, no matter where the location, collaboration is key. Serrone continues to reside in Brooklyn with a studio in borough park. You can see more of her work @lmcs_r or @_icu_nyc_ lindaserronerolon.com
Benny Guerra was born and raised in Queens, New York. Writing since 1982, He earned his BFA in illustration in 2003 at the School of Visual Arts. Mediums he enjoys working in are, oil, acrylic, airbrushing ,and spray paint. Currently he is restoring classic cars, painting large murals, and holding down a fulltime construction job. Being open to different art forms has given him a broad perspective on the arts, allowing him to mix different art forms and to create new styles and unique works of art.
Brittany DiMauro
Brittany DiMauro a.k.a. Eternal Possessions is a New York City based collage artist who uses largely discarded materials to create intricate visual works made of paper and glue that delve into complex issues regarding the malleability of the mind and its exploitation through the advent of celebrity. Conceived in the early days of the pandemic, Eternal Possessions is a trapdoor into the mind of the artist that leads the viewer into their own emotional landscape from the intersection of pop culture and politics. Often these works are enlarged into iterations as tall as twelve feet and installed in forgotten places across New York City. Brittany held her inaugural exhibition with Chashama in the summer of 2023 entitled “Community Altar” which guided the audience through a process of interacting with and adding to painstakingly decoupaged altar pieces made of materials spanning from handmade wooden triptychs to reclaimed furniture and traditional canvases. Selections from “Community Altar” were subsequently commissioned by The Museum Of Urban Arts for installation in the first ever takeover of Freeman’s Alley in November of 2023.
Natasha May Platt
Natasha May Platt is a mural artist based in New York, known as @surfaceofbeauty on Instagram. She graduated magna cum laude in philosophy and religion from Harvard College and received the 2010 Gardner Fellowship for a year of international creative exploration after graduation. Her fellowship led her to the embroidery and textile traditions of Kolkata, India, and she spent three years in Kolkata studying and working in textile design.
Her mural work is influenced by the color and rhythm of textile traditions, as well as her personal connection to nature and meditative states. She has painted murals for Netflix, Amazon Music, Google, Coach, Freeform Media, Apple TV, True Food Kitchen, NYC Health + Hospitals, The City of Yonkers, Bustle, Love Shack Fancy, The Ballston Quarter Mall, The Howard Hughes Corp, The Georgetown Company, The SoNo Collection, as well as murals in Mexico, Bali, India, and the British Virgin Islands.
Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith (aka Avisualbliss) is a multidisciplinary artist and muralist with over two decades of experience transforming walls into immersive visual narratives. His creative journey began on the streets of Rochester, NY, where his passion for graffiti laid the foundation for a career that now spans large-scale murals, fine art commissions, and set design for film, television, and photography.
In 2009, Ryan relocated to New York City’s Lower East Side to study at the School of Visual Arts and later at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Immersed in the city’s vibrant art scene, he quickly established himself in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he pursued art with relentless energy—securing walls, painting personal murals, and expanding his stylistic range.
Ryan’s work reflects a deep evolution and balance, blending street art roots with refined studio techniques. His versatility has become a defining trait, enabling him to fluidly shift between expressive spray paint murals, detailed scenic treatments, and custom backgrounds for major productions. Whether creating atmospheric textures on set or vibrant public artworks, Ryan continues to push his practice forward—always in pursuit of visual bliss.
BC
I’m BC, a native New Yorker, born in Spanish Harlem, and raised in Da Bronx. Beauty is born in many different ways. For me, my love of art started at a young age. I’ve been influenced by people and circumstances. Tragedy brought me to where I am today. At an early age, my mother [RIP] recognized my artistic ability, encouraging and cultivating my art by placing a piece of paper on the refrigerator held by magnets, letting me draw with crayons. I continued to draw and color, and fortunately, I had art teachers encouraging me as well. Outside my Bronx apartment window, I could see the elevated “4” train, rolling by, were names in vibrant colors, art. This influenced me, and by 1979, I began doing graffiti in and around my neighborhoods. In 1982, officially began graffiti on the C&D train line, and by 1983, over to the 6 line. In 1984, “Advised” by the Vandal Squad to stop doing graffiti on the 6. I then crossed over and hit every line possible, with my alias too, WIN 1 TTR, (Time Ta Rock) for productions. From 1988 through 2020, life presented me with other priorities, and I became inactive except for two years, 2004-2006. In August 2020, a friend invited me to his annual BBQ/Graffiti Birthday Bash. I accepted and painted “Jaime” as a tribute to my brother, who sadly passed 6/5/2020, officially bringing me out of “retirement”. I’ve been painting ever since, with greater passion, emotion, and inspiration than ever before, creating street art and canvases I hope evoke feelings of love, hope, faith, joy, comfort, and compassion, making people feel alive. If this happens, then I have accomplished something special. Tragedy brought about beauty that I want to continue to share with the world.
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