You know Bushwick. You’ve done the Collective. Now it’s time to go deeper — into the side streets of Astoria, the pop-culture-soaked walls of Prospect Heights, and the asphalt itself in Downtown Brooklyn, where one of the city’s most striking public art installations turns a pedestrian busway into a mythology lesson. NYC’s street art scene is genuinely city-wide in 2026, and if you’ve been treating it like a single-neighborhood experience, you’ve been missing most of the show. Here are the mural routes and public art destinations worth your weekend right now.
Don’t Miss: Welling Court Mural Project, Astoria, Queens
If you’re going to do one thing this month in NYC street art, make it a walk through Welling Court in Astoria. The Welling Court Mural Project, located at the intersection of 30th Avenue and 12th Street in Astoria, Queens, has been running since 2010 under the curatorial direction of Alison C. Wallis and Ad Hoc Art NYC. Every June, international and New York-based artists descend on the walls to paint new work — which means right now, this month, the murals are at their freshest.
This is a free, outdoor, 24/7 destination. You don’t need a ticket, a reservation, or a tour guide. The project has brought together graffiti founders, mid-career painters, and emerging artists side by side — the range of styles on a single block is almost overwhelming. Art that reflects global diversity, personal experience, and community identity. The result looks like nothing else in the city.
Getting there: take the N or W train to Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and walk west along Astoria Boulevard toward 12th Street, about 10 to 15 minutes. The annual block party and mural unveiling happens in late June — check @wellingcourtmuralproject on Instagram for the 2026 event date. This is the one.
Washington Walls, Prospect Heights: Pop Culture on Paint
Head to Washington Avenue off Clark Place in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn for a completely different energy — joyful, vibrant, pop-culture-obsessed, and technically excellent. The Washington Walls project, curated by Jeff Beler, updated its roster of paintings in April 2026, and what’s on the walls right now is a joy.
The current lineup includes: Kelvin Morel aka Kam painted a vibrant salute to the Chinese Year of the Horse. Marissa Molina celebrated 35 years of Sonic the Hedgehog in a piece that has been making noise on social media. Barbtropolis, a Rio-born Brooklyn artist, painted a World Cup 2026 tribute. LeCrue Eyebrows from Queens dedicated his piece to 50 years of Hotel California. Fumero painted a tribute to Tina Turner. Jordana Alexis Abrenica honored 100 years of Miles Davis. And Jason Naylor saluted Wu-Tang Clan.
Seven murals, seven artists, seven different visual languages — all on one stretch of wall. Take the 2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum and combine it with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or Brooklyn Museum nearby.
Fear No Frontier — Downtown Brooklyn’s Ground-Level Mythology
Most murals go up on walls. Artist Isolina Minjeong went down. Fear No Frontier is a roughly 10,700-square-foot asphalt mural spread across the pedestrian zones surrounding the Jay Street busway in Downtown Brooklyn. Presented by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in collaboration with NYC DOT, the piece draws on Minjeong’s Korean and Peruvian heritage to tell a story about resilience and crossing borders — literal, emotional, and generational.
Tigers, dragons, and wolves move across the asphalt as guardians and protectors, woven with floral offerings, text, and symbols of home. “I wanted to create a sense of movement and invitation — something that unfolds as you walk by,” Minjeong has said. The piece is on display through June 2026, so your window is short. Take the A, C, F, or R to Jay Street-MetroTech. Walk the busway slowly. Look down.
The NYC DOT Community Commissions: One in Each Borough
For those who want a borough-hopping public art mission, the NYC DOT’s Community Commissions initiative has placed five site-specific artworks across all five boroughs. Weaving the Future by Yafatou Sarr is at Grand Concourse and East Fordham Road in the Bronx. Aunties by Fitgi Saint-Louis is at 124th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Limes by collective Alumbra is at Empire Boulevard and Washington Avenue in Brooklyn. About a Living Culture by IMAGINE (Sneha Shrestha) is at Diversity Plaza, Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway in Jackson Heights, Queens. And Public Access is installed in Staten Island’s streetscape.
All five are free and publicly accessible. Full details at nyc.gov/html/dot. The Queens piece at Diversity Plaza is particularly worth the trip — Jackson Heights is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the city.
How to Build Your NYC Street Art Day
The perfect June street art day: Start at Jay Street-MetroTech and walk Fear No Frontier while the morning light is still soft. Take the A train to Jay Street, transfer to the 2 or 3 at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, and ride to Eastern Parkway for the Washington Walls in Prospect Heights. Grab lunch on Washington Avenue. Then take the N train from Atlantic Avenue north to Astoria-Ditmars and finish the afternoon at Welling Court — the best murals in Queens, in a neighborhood that will keep you busy for hours.
Three neighborhoods, three different artistic sensibilities, one MetroCard. The street art in this city runs across all five boroughs on walls and asphalt and community commitment. The only thing it asks is that you show up and look.
All locations free and publicly accessible. For more NYC arts coverage see our Culture section. Sources: Street Art NYC, 6sqft, Welling Court Mural Project, NYC DOT Art.
