Where most mural artists begin

The mural industry is an exciting place, and many young artists dream of becoming full-time muralists and creatives. Through our time in the industry, we’ve seen just how strong that ambition is. But we’ve also noticed some major barriers that make it incredibly difficult for upcoming artists to progress.

One of the biggest issues is simple: access to walls. Without physical spaces to paint and gain real experience, artists struggle to build portfolios, prove their credibility, and move from small personal work into professional projects. This lack of opportunity also plays a wider role in the graffiti challenges we see across Bristol, and is a key reason why there are fewer emerging mural artists than there could be.

For businesses looking to hire mural artists, this lack of early opportunity often means fewer emerging professional mural artists to choose from.

The biggest barrier for new mural artists: access to walls

The start of a young mural artist’s journey is often unclear. How can you build a portfolio without access to space? Private clients and businesses want to see how you deliver, and want to know that you’re confident working at scale. Without clear experience to back you up, you’re often relying on trust, which can be inconsistent. As a result, many artists turn to the street, finding quiet walls to paint. This helps build practice and confidence, but it doesn’t always translate well on a professional portfolio.

It quickly becomes a loop for new artists. You can’t get projects because you don’t have experience, and you can’t get experience because you can’t get projects. It’s a frustrating place to be, and it takes real grit and effort to escape.

This barrier doesn’t just disappear when you get your first wall either. If you want to go bigger, and work on larger-scale murals, the opportunities become even slimmer. Access remains one of the biggest limits on progression.

There are some ways to break through this that we’ve seen. Some artists use grant funding to incentivise clients to work with them, and there are occasional graffiti festivals that you can pay to enter. But these opportunities take time and effort to find, are often competitive, and rarely offer a clear or consistent route forward.

Why being a great mural artist isn’t enough

We’ve realised that you don’t just need to be a good artist to make it into the mural world, you also need to become an entrepreneur. Throughout your journey you often end up needing sales skills, web development skills, marketing, negotiating, and even accounting just to stay afloat. It’s hard enough to be exceptional at your craft, let alone good enough across all of these other areas as well.

That’s why we’ve noticed that many of the artists who do break through aren’t always the most naturally gifted, but they work relentlessly and fully embrace the entrepreneurial side of the journey. Not every artist is willing to cold call, walk into businesses, pitch themselves, and face rejection again and again. You often begin this career for the love of art, and slowly find yourself becoming a struggling salesperson for your own work.

This doesn’t even touch on the level of competition within the industry. Another skill you quickly realise you need is the ability to stand out and find your own lane. That takes time, trial and error, resilience, and business strategy, all alongside trying to stay creatively motivated.

Our experience building Art Sync

We saw this barrier first-hand while building Art Sync. We knew we had the ability to deliver, but back then we had no portfolio. It took time to secure our first project, and even then, it wasn’t at the scale we originally wanted. But it got our foot in the door, and helped us to start building momentum.

We came into Art Sync with experience in business and sales, so we knew from day one that putting ourselves out there and facing rejection was unavoidable. That background gave us the confidence to approach conversations properly, build trust with clients, and establish a visible online presence from the start.

Most artists aren’t fortunate enough to have experience in these areas, so a lot of the journey becomes learning by doing. From what we’ve seen, one of the most effective ways to get that first experience is through your network. Who do you know with walls? Do you know any business owners? Would your family let you paint a mural? These small opportunities can help build early experience without relying on street work to represent your professional identity.

Creating real mural opportunities for artists in Bristol

We’re not just sharing this problem, we’re actively trying to solve it from the inside. By building strong relationships with businesses and institutions, we’re starting to unlock real wall space opportunities and create access where it didn’t exist before. Our latest partnership with UWE and New Wave is beginning to bring some exciting projects to life in early 2026.

We’ll be installing six murals for UWE across Bower Ashton, Frenchay Campus, and their new Kingfisher Court accommodation. Alongside the installations, we’ll be offering students the opportunity to shadow, assist, and take part in design workshops to begin developing real mural skills. The first project will be at Bower Ashton, where students will be involved in the full design process, from concept development through to helping paint the final winning design. This is just the first of several UWE projects that will include learning opportunities.

Alongside this, we’ve also received permission to paint at Skyline Park. We’ll be organising a spray day to give artists open access to a wall where they can experiment, practise, and gain real experience. The aim is to create a space for artists to learn by doing, connect with one another, and build confidence. We plan to offer this as a free experience, removing the financial barrier to entry.

Building a stronger mural ecosystem

This problem is real, and we genuinely want to help. Of course we care about supporting upcoming artists, but we also believe that by strengthening the mural ecosystem as a whole, we strengthen what we’re building too. Bringing new talent through keeps the industry moving, and keeps our own work evolving.

We’re excited to see where artists go when they’re given real opportunities, real walls, and real experience. If you’re an artist trying to find your way in this space, we see you, and we’re committed to doing what we can to make that path a little clearer to walk.

Whether you’re a business looking to hire mural artists, or an artist searching for real mural opportunities in Bristol, we want to play a part in making those connections happen.

If you’d like to hear about upcoming spray days, student projects, or future opportunities, you can follow our journey on Instagram.