Travel

Beautiful Murals in Albuquerque, NM: My Self-Guided Tour

by Katelynn Kellogg

If you’re looking for a unique way to explore the vibrant art scene in New Mexico, an Albuquerque mural tour is the perfect option! During my recent visit to Albuquerque, I was captivated by the stunning murals adorning the city’s walls, each telling its own story. From colorful street art to intricate designs, these murals reflect the creativity and culture of the area.

Join me as I share my self-guided tour, highlighting some of the best spots to admire and photograph these beautiful works of art throughout Albuquerque!

Why Albuquerque is a Must-Visit for Street Art Lovers

Albuquerque has grown into a hub for public art, with murals that reflect the city’s diversity, history, and deep connection to the desert landscape. While driving or walking through the city you’re bound to see murals along the way. The best part? You can make a day out of discovering them on your own time, snapping pictures, and learning the stories behind these stunning pieces like I did while putting together your own Albuquerque mural tour.

“Untitled”, but known as “Be the Change”

Be The Change – Melinda Forward

Artist: Melinda Forward

Artist Bio: Local artist and teacher Melinda Forward believes that murals connect people by creating opportunities for people to engage in positive conversations with one another. Each of her murals has a powerful message to share to inspire others to take action by teaching people the power they have to use kindness as a tool to transform their world.

Address: 114 Tulane Dr SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Parking: This one is located in a small little, paid parking lot. It’s fairly easy to stop in, get out, take your photo, and move on.

“Her Strength”

Be the Strength – Jodie Herrera

Artist: Jodie Herrera
Artist Bio: Jodie Herrera is a Northern New Mexican painter with Latina, Apache and Comanche ancestry. She has been an artist her whole life and started formally painting in 2011. Herrera received her BFA with honors from the University of New Mexico and currently resides in Albuquerque, where she works as a full-time artist and curator. Herrera’s ultimate goal is to connect and uplift all women while providing a platform for important issues around intersectional feminism. Herrera hopes her work can be a catalyst for positive change.

Address: 141 5th St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Parking: This is one of the harder-to-capture murals due to its location downtown. There is a loading/unloading parking spot right in front of the mural, which was being used the first two times I drove by so I couldn’t get a photo. It’s on a very busy street so finding a space to park and then being able to actually get a photo is challenging.

“Greetings from Burque”

Greetings from Burque by Victor Ving

Artist: Victor Ving
Artist Bio: Muralist Victor Ving and photographer Lisa Beggs have been traveling full time in their RV since leaving New York City in 2015. To date, the artist duo have completed a total of 41+ murals across 20+ different states continuing their mission to create their colorful & photogenic artwork in all 50 states and eventually taking the project to an international level!

Address: 3123 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Parking: Great place for a mural! It’s in a smaller premium-paid parking lot, but I had no trouble finding a spot to park for just a few minutes to take some photos. It’s also not in a busy lot so if you want to set up a tripod across the way and be in the picture, it’s definitely possible at this location!

“Untitled”, but known as Azul

Azul Mural by Noé Barnett

Artist: Noé Barnett
Artist Bio: Noé Barnett obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2018 from the University of New Mexico in Painting and Drawing. He has since held solo art shows as well as been a part of several group shows including the Artist Days at the Rail Yards, South Broadway Cultural Center.

Address: 901 Granite Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Parking: Great place for a mural! It’s in a huge parking lot with plenty of space to park your car and get photos. Unfortunately, right in front of the mural also hosts parking spaces so I had to drive by a few times before I could get a full image without cars/trucks blocking it, but it’s easy to find and capture.

“Untitled”, but known as Flying Pigs

Sidetrack Brewing by Bik Ismo

Artist: Bik Ismo
Artist Bio: Joshua Santos Rivera, also known under the pseudonyms of “Bik”, “Ismo” and “Bik-Ismo,” was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico in 1981. Joshua has worked as a graffiti artist for 16 years, which has allowed him to belong to prestigious urban arts groups, among them The Nasty Boys (TNB) and Masters at Destruction (MAD). Among his achievements are being the artist who organized the first exhibition of graffiti on canvas in Puerto Rico, entitled “Virtuosos of Aerosol” (Enlaces Gallery, San Juan, PR, 2002) as well as being the first to organize an exhibition of urban art in Puerto Rico, entitled “Exhibition” (Enlaces Gallery, San Juan, PR, 2003). His art has transcended borders with exhibits in Japan ( Lapnet Ship, Harayuku, Japan, 2005), Spain (La Casa Pintada, Linares, Spain), Italy (Foundation, Padova, Italy, 2009) and the United States (New York, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008).

Address: 413 2nd St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Parking: Not too hard to get to. The mural is on the side of a building with a little alleyway parking lot (maybe 5 spaces). I was able to just pull in, leave my car in the alley, jump out and get a photo, and then leave the alley. Since there is a little parking area in front of the mural, you have plenty of space to get a wide image or set up a tripod if you want to be in the image.

“Somos Unidos”

Somos Unidos by Noé Barnett and Diego Weston

Artists: Noé Barnett and Diego Weston
Artist Bio: Noé Barnett’s bio is listed under the “Azul” mural. No bio for Diego Weston listed, but you can find him @diegowestonart.

Address: 201 Coal Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Parking: This one is on the side of a busy street. I illegally parked myself in a turn-only lane praying no one would come up behind me. I rolled down my window and snapped a few photos before turning. Thankfully no traffic passing was turning. It may be safer to park a little farther away and walk around to this one, but the distance from across the street is great for a photo opportunity.

“Unknown” on the Albuquerque Turquoise Museum

Turquoise Museum by Noé Barnett

Artist: Noé Barnett
Artist Bio: Noé Barnett’s bio is listed under the “Azul” mural.

Address: 400 2nd St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Parking: The mural is in a private parking lot just for the museum. If you’re wanting to photograph this one, just be sure to visit when the museum is open. No need to actually go to the museum, just park in the lot.

“Reach”

Reach by Mark Horst

Artist: Mark Horst
Artist Bio: Mark Horst lives and works in Albuquerque, NM, working in portraiture, murals and sculpture. His public art projects often include a significant level of community engagement. Horst carries a quiver full of painterly gifts. His startling work reveals wild pinpricks of the eternal, often in the subtlest of images. Make no mistake, the paintings sometimes hold our feet to the flame – a door between a collectively understood image and some new paint-spirit that comes hurtling through. It is not always a comfortable experience. That door is also a gateway between the tacit and the explicit – his sheer feel and technique is obvious, but there are other energies at work here too, some ancient condition of the soul. Horst is one of the few new painters to hold the paradox of tradition and innovation within him. There is brilliance here.

Address: 3010 Monte Vista Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Parking: The mural is in a parking lot. I had no issue finding a space. The only downside is, again, vehicles are allowed to park right in front of the mural taking away from getting a full shot. Nonetheless, it’s easily accessible.

“Rio Arriba, Rio Abajo”

Es Que Market by unknown

Artist: RELEASER
About the piece: The mountains above the bird are the Sangre de Cristo in Southern Colorado, the mountains above the mushrooms are the Orgon mountains and southern New Mexico , the mountains in the middle are the Sandias. This mural represents the agricultural history of the Rio Grande Valley. (Es Que Market)

Address: 319 5th St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 – Es Que Market
Parking: This mural is painted on the side of the building entering into an alleyway. I did a quick park and hop out, photograph, and then keep going.
However, there is some street parking around the building if you’re wanting to park and take a little walk.
Since you can’t get too far away from the wall (due to a fence right on the other side of the alleyway), you’ll probably end up with a side-angle image (like mine above). If you have a wide-angle lens, you may have better luck.

“Untitled”

Unknown

Artist: Unknown
Artist Bio: …

Address: 202 Harvard Dr SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 – Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice
Parking: There is plenty of parking at the Center. If you visit when the center is closed the parking lot will be empty and you’ll have a great opportunity to set up a tripod if you want to take posed photos.

“Unknown” – NM Black Cat Theatre

NM Black Cat by _mis_soul_ & @skindian_art

Artist: @_mis_soul_ & @skindian_art
Artist Bio: …

Address: 3013 Monte Vista Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 – NM Black Cat Theatre
Parking: This building is right next the reach mural (shown above) so if you parked in that lot, you can easily walk a few steps and photograph this building from the same location. Otherwise, there’s street parking (as you can see in the image) on both sides of the street to get a good view of the mural.

PNM Plant

This group of murals is not associated with the Power New Mexico (PNM), but the company has a cinderblock wall surrounding their property and artists have covered the entire block with murals. Here are some of the shots I got of pieces around the block.

Artists on caption if known.

Artist: Bobby Blvd Azure
Artist: Santo_Samurai

If you have any of the information I’m missing, please contact me! I’d love to give credit to the artists who created these beautiful peices.

Route 66 Diner Art Wall

Bonus piece! This isn’t actually a mural, but an art installation of different signs pieced together outside the Route 66 diner. It’s a huge wall and a must on your Albuquerque mural tour. There’s plenty of parking at the diner and around the back for extra space too.

Why Albuquerque is a Must-Visit for Street Art Lovers

Albuquerque has grown into a hub for public art, with murals that reflect the city’s diversity, history, and deep connection to the desert landscape. Walking through the city, you’ll notice how the murals breathe life into the walls, offering a mix of contemporary, cultural, and historical themes. The best part? You can make a day out of discovering them on your own time, snapping pictures, and learning the stories behind these stunning pieces.

Creating Your Own Self-Guided Albuquerque Mural Tour

I highly advise using Google Maps to create your own personal Albuquerque mural tour. I’d start with your location and use the directions function put in one of the addresses to the mural you’d like to visit and then add another location and put in the address of the next one. If one of the addresses is closer, switch them around by simply dragging and dropping them on the Google directions window.
continue to add new addresses and reorganize until you’ve put them all in an order that makes the most sense to you so you’re not backtracking all over town.

To find more art around town, visit MurosABQ! They’ve accumulated an excellent list of street art around the city including addresses for you to make your own self-guided tour! Their website is also where I got a lot of the artist bios presented in this post.

Tips for Your Albuquerque Mural Tour

  1. Wear comfy shoes – although a lot of these spots are quick visits where you’ll just be hopping out of the car, snapping a photo, and moving on, you’ll still be on your feet quite a bit.
  2. Bring a tripod – if you’re traveling solo (or in a group) and want to be in the photo, there are a couple of murals that are great for setting up a tripod and getting those photos. I use a very affordable UBeesize 62″ Tripod that fits in my backpack and I love it.
  3. Bring water – whether you’re directly out in the sun or getting in and out of the air-conditioned car, you’ll want to have water on hand to stay hydrated throughout your tour. It may take a while.
  4. Park Appropriately – I know some of these are difficult to get and park in a good, safe spot, but be cognizant not to stop the flow of traffic, block driveways, or delivery lanes.
  5. Always tag the artists if you can – some of the pieces have artist tags painted right on them, others were more difficult to find and some I couldn’t find at all, but when possible, give credit where credit is due!

Why You Should Explore Albuquerque’s Murals

Albuquerque’s mural scene is one of the city’s unknown attractions. It’s a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the local culture, discover incredible artists, and, of course, fill your camera roll with gorgeous, colorful photos. Whether you’re a solo traveler, with friends, or exploring with family, a self-guided Albuquerque mural tour will give you a deeper appreciation of the city’s creativity and vibrant street art culture.

Next time you’re in Albuquerque, don’t miss the chance to discover its art-filled streets. Get out there and start exploring—you never know what kind of hidden masterpiece you’ll stumble upon!

Here’s another one I had in my camera but I don’t remember where it was located!

I just got back from my trip to Albuquerque, NM so check back soon for the following blog posts: