Allied Arts of Whatcom County hosts the first annual Alley Arts “Elements” mural project on Friday, Oct. 5.

Four artists, along with a group of community members, will create four murals to install in the recently repaved alley on the 1400 block behind Railroad and Cornwall avenues (behind Allied Arts’ downtown Bellingham office).

The project is in celebration of Arts Crush, a monthlong arts festival led by Theatre Puget Sound in cooperation with a consortium of arts leaders in various disciplines and from different regions of Puget Sound.

The event is free and anyone can participate.

Artists Ellen Clark, Cecily Fosso, Jason Darling and Rhiannon Pereira will outline the themes and techniques for each mural, utilizing help from participants to create them.

Allied Arts directors said one goal of the project was to help keep alleys free of graffiti and vandalism through the creation of public art. The project is funded in part by a grant from Arts Crush, as well as contributions from Daylight Properties and Rite Aid.

For more information, contact Kelly Hart, Allied Arts executive director, at kelly@alliedarts.org or 360-676-8548, Ext. 4.