The city of Raleigh has more than just its famous universities and budding cultural and culinary attractions. Our favorite part of this beautiful city in North Carolina is the abundance of murals dotting the town. You can hardly walk more than five minutes without a witnessing a magnificent work of art on the side of a building.
The hardest part about recommending murals and coolest part about witnessing them is that they can be put up or removed overnight. Any time you come back to the city even the most iconic examples of street art can fade away in the sun. It is good to head to murals you already know exist, but it is important to walk the city of Raleigh to make sure you do not miss the newest works of art.
In this list we have added the must see murals in Raleigh. Whether you are looking for the most instagram worthy spots, street art, or just enjoy taking pictures of public art Raleigh has you cover!
Read More: Top 10 most Instagrammable spots in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina Travel Video
The Best 30 Murals in Raleigh, North Carolina:
Top 19 Photo-worthy murals in Downtown Raleigh, NC you should not miss:
Downtown Raleigh is home of over 100 murals! Can you believe that? For an interactive map of all the murals you can visit in Raleigh make sure to check out the Downtown Raleigh Alliance website.
Color Pop Corner
Nothing like a colorful mural to take amazing Instagram worthy photos! It is a very cheerful and bright mural with eye-catching geometric shapes that would make you want to spend hours taking photos.
Location: 102 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601 On the backside of Marbles Kids Museum.
All are Welcome Raleigh NC mural
Our favorite mural in Raleigh is the “All are Welcome” mural. Although it has recently been redone, it has still the same powerful message. It has become an unofficial welcome sign to downtown Raleigh.
Location: 428 S McDowell St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Indian Summer by Ouizi
This is one of the most beautiful murals in downtown Raleigh. Ouizi is a famous painter and you can find two of her murals. One is located at the the NC Museum of Art and this one, Indian summer, is located near one of the best southern cuisine restaurant in town, the Pit Authentic Barbecue.
Location:227 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601
No Damsel
You will find these modern Disney princesses right in front of the Contemporary Museum of Art Raleigh in downtown. You should definitely include this mural on a list of best Raleigh NC murals.
Location:329 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Sprinkles the Bobcat
By far my favorite mural in downtown Raleigh and may be one of the reasons why we fell in love with the city and decided to move here is the majestic “Sprinkles” the bobcat in the Glenwood South District of Raleigh near Lisa Gaither.
Location:407 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601
Legends Pride
This colorful mural is super fun and it is near one of our favorite spots in downtown Raleigh, Morgan Street Food Hall.
The Legends nightclub added this mural as part of NC Pride at Night; an annual festival to raise awareness, education, and support resources to LGBTQ communities.
Location: 119 S Harrington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Art for All
This used to be a blank wall until Artsplosure invited community members to paint the wall and bring color and life to it! Making it the first communal mural in downtown Raleigh.
Location: 409 W Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Beautifying Emerging Spaces Together
B.E.S.T, a team of Downtown Raleigh residents, business leaders, and artists created this 150-foot transportation themed mural on the Dillon Supply buildings, featuring some familiar faces from the Raleigh community.
Location: 210 S West St, Raleigh, NC 27601
City Market Farmers Market
This mural acts as an homage to North Carolina’s agriculture. Among the fruits and vegetables in the mural, you can find disguised faces within.
Location: 225 E Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Fire Escape Maze
To paint the fire escapes, artist Luke Buchanan created this artwork with little more than a simple stencil to ensure the fire escape is evenly spaced. If you look all the way to the top, you will find a small face peeking out the window.
Location: 105 W Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601
#Dare To Dissent
This is one of the most powerful and impactful murals in all of Raleigh. The mural pays tribute to the First Amendment and to the courageous individuals who exercised their right to protest throughout history, often in the face of violence.
The mural features iconic imagery from some of the most famous protests in history including the 1968 Olympic Black Power Salute by American Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March also known as “Bloody Sunday”, the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike also known as the “I Am A Man March” and Dolores Huerta, a civil rights leader, labor activist, and co-founder of United Farm Workers, which advocated for the social and economic rights of farm workers and Hispanic Americans.
Location: 214 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Honest Abe
“Honest Abe” can be found on the Lincoln Theatre’s west-facing wall. The Lincoln Theatre was built in 1945 and was originally an entertainment venue for the Black community. This piece was painted by Clark Hipolito with assistance from David Eichenberger and Jason Johns.
Location: 126 E Cabarrus St, Raleigh, NC 27601
HQ Raleigh
HQ Raleigh moved to the Warehouse District in 2014 and has grown to multiple locations throughout Raleigh, with their logo mural still showing its pride.
Location: 310 S Harrington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
John Prine
Artist Scott Nurkin painted this mural during the 2018 World of Bluegrass International Festival in honor of John Prine’s Grammy Awards nomination.
Location: 107 E Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Love is Love
“Love Is Love” reflects Raleigh’s welcoming and open nature by portraying a couple in a passionate embrace.
Location: 237 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Magnolia
Location: 231 East St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Morgan Street Jazz Monsters of NC
Artist Kevin Lyons pays homage to iconic musicians from North Carolina; including Nina Simone, J. Cole, Rapsody, Thelonious Monk, 9th Wonder, and more. You can find this mural on the east facing wall of Trophy Brewing & Pizza. The Jazz Monsters are some of the most Insta-worthy mural located in downtown Raleigh.
Location: 827 W Morgan St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Stonewall Sports
This mural represents the LGBTQ+ pride and the intersection of community and identity.
Location: 317 W Morgan St #113, Raleigh, NC 27601
Hopscotch Board
This sidewalk mural features a colorful hopscotch board with numbers written in the most commonly spoken languages in Wake County. “Hopscotch Board” is one of fifteen semi-permanent sidewalk murals to provide a touch of color and fun for pedestrians to enjoy. You can find this piece near Poole’s on S McDowell Street.
Location: 408 S McDowell St, Raleigh, NC 27601
15+ more murals worth checking out:
- North Carolina Pride
- Books
- Out and About
- An Ocean of Diversity
- And Still I Rise
- Beachfront Opportunities 2050
- Education Wall
- End Racism Now
- Erradica el Rasicmo
- Chopsticks on Five Star
- Abstracted Motion
- Voting Rights are Human Rights
- Too Small To Fail
- Thank you
- Peacock on DRINK
- Raleigh Skyline
Top 11 photo-worthy murals you cannot miss beyond Downtown Raleigh:
North Hills Murals:
North Hills is the coolest open air shopping center in Raleigh featuring dozens of art exhibitions across its properties. They created a walking guide called, the Art Walk, starting at Midtown Plaza and winds its way through each district of North Hills, for you to enjoy public art. Make sure to download the free map! If you are looking for photo-worthy murals in Raleigh then you must stop by North Hills.
Starry Night Mural
This mural frames an interpretation of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night within a doorway.
Endless Summer
The Painted Piano and the What Lifts You Mural
As one of the first artists to blend street art with social media, Kelsey Montague’s “What Lifts You” mural series has become a sensation on Instagram. In 2016, Montague finished this “WhatLiftsYou” swing mural near The Cowfish at North Hills.
Location: 4208 Six Forks Rd., Raleigh 27609
Raleigh Rug
Living Room Setting
You are stronger than you know
Enjoy Raleigh
This mural features the downtown Raleigh skyline as it would be viewed sitting in Dorothea Dix Park.
All Colors are Beautiful Mural
Location: 4421 Six Forks Rd, Raleigh NC
I Believe in Raleigh
For the perfect Instagram pic and souvenir of your visit to Raleigh, head over to Sola Coffee Cafe. Enjoy a perfect cup of joe and strike a pose in front of the popular “I Believe in Raleigh” mural located on the back side of the shop. This is one of the best murals around Raleigh.
Location: 7705 Lead Mine Rd., Raleigh 27615
Flowers at Lafayette Village
The Flowers at Lafayette Village is one of our favorite photo-worthy artwork in Raleigh, plus the street mall takes you back to France. Make sure to snap a photo with the small Eiffel Tower at the entrance.
Location: 8450 Honeycutt Road, Raleigh, NC 27615
Murals in Midtown East Raleigh:
I have found some of the most beautiful murals right at the Midtown East Raleigh shopping center. You can spend easily an hour chasing murals and getting photo-worthy images of these murals.
Here is a list of our favorite ones:
- Sunflowers –3000 Wake Forest Rd, Raleigh, NC 27609
- Heart Hands – 1200 Wake Towne Dr, Raleigh, NC 27609
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