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get all the details

get all the details

The Pearl Alley Jam is back for it’s 2nd year!

This independent, volunteer led, and sustainable block party welcomes all walks of life to discover the vibrancy and creative culture of the area while supporting public art projects in the University District.

What to expect:

  • artists will transform dumpsters into treasure

  • local bands will rock the main stage

  • vintage vendors will give you so much to explore at the pop-up market!

meet the trash to treasure muralists

  • Nia Richardson

    Nia Denai Richardson, a 22-year-old self-taught black woman visual artist from Columbus, Ohio. Since 2018, Nia has been using her art as a form of self-care. A way to express the beauty she saw in the world and in her mind. Her art is colorful, vibrant, and thought-provoking. Nia loves her community and has been involved in local issues and social justice since 2015. Her art for her is another way to be involved in a positive way.

    @etherealartistry___

  • Repo

    Repo is a recent transplant to Columbus from the beautiful city of Minneapolis where he spent the last 30 years working in a variety of media including painting, glassblowing, and printmaking. During this time, he has also used street art as a method to make his images accessible and public. Putting up handmade posters and stickers in unsanctioned places like the backs of signs and derelict infrastructure, he hopes to insert a brief flash of joy and autonomy in an otherwise commodified city landscape. Joy, playfulness, and levity are common themes within Repo’s work. Like so many others, he experiences life in today's world as overwhelming and burdensome but believes that a touch of pleasure or brief moment of nonsense can break through the haze of everyday reality. Repo's work has been shown at Minneapolis’ Gamut Gallery, Legacy Glassworks, and and above his parent's mantelpiece. His work has been included in the Minneapolis LynnLake Street Art Series, the Spectrum Street Art Festival in New Zealand, and the Con Artists Collective in New York.

    @repomn

  • Isabel Francis Bongue

    Isabel Francis Bongue is a Colombian American muralist raised on a farm in Amish country (among other places), whose vibrant, surreal artworks explore themes of ecology, community, and the complexities of place. With a master’s degree in landscape design, Isabel blends natural elements with bold, surreal imagery, provoking questions about our sense of place and belonging. Her notable work includes the Glen Echo Bird Tunnel mural, Third Way Cafe, and Mayahuel.

    @la.mona.isa

  • Yorckh Jacome

    Yorckh is a seasoned graphic designer, artist and international muralist. Having lived all across Mexico, based in Columbus Ohio, he draws inspiration for his craft and art from prehispanic culture, nature, and all the colors and textures he encounters in his vibrant country.

    While he specializes in branding, digital design and editorial work, we often find him hanging on the side of a wall immersed in a large mural and collaborating with lifestyle apparel brands.

    @yorckhjj

meet the performing artists

  • Pink Maskerade

    We are a pop punk from the Akron/ Cleveland area. We have been compared to Green Day, Blink 182, Dashboard Confessional, Avril Lavigne. We have 4 Band members currently but it may be 5.

  • Ink

    We are a 4 piece pop punk band from Columbus, Ohio! Our music is fast paced and energetic, all for the purpose to get people moving. Inspired by the early days of blink-182, Free Throw, etc, we incorporated on stage antics and chaotic energy on stage because we believe live shows should be a party!

  • Dairy Family

    Hailing from Columbus Ohio, Dairy Family combines influences from a wide variety of styles of music to create a unique blend that makes you wanna dance, and sit back and relax at the same time. Dairy Family makes a point to collaborate with as many musicians as possible both on record and in live settings boasting a 9 person lineup. This gives the music an endless amount of possibilities, and keeps it fresh.

  • MUDD

    4-piece alternative rock band from Columbus comes together to create a sound that is very groovy and jammy at times, but also laid back and psychedelic at other times.

  • Dire Wolf

    We are a folk rock group based in Columbus, Ohio. We draw a lot of influence from classic rock groups like the Beatles, Little Feat, and Allman Brothers, 90s rock groups like Stone Temple pilots, as well as an indie sound similar to Pinegrove or Wilco. We play with a range of 3-6 members based on availability.

  • Aaron Remone

    Often inspired by great musicians such as Leon Bridges, Steve Lacy, Solange. My sound is Alternative R&B. I am a soloist with a guitarist. There are 2 of us total.

  • Pantomime

    Pantomime is a five-piece group from Columbus, Ohio. We take heavy inspiration from bands such as Foxing, , Capstan, The Hotelier, and Movements - as well as other bands more local to the Columbus scene, such as Guest House and YAAMC.

  • Tollcross Lane

    We are a four-piece blues/rock band
    playing classics from the 60s and
    70s. Our set covers a range of artists
    from Tom Petty to Santana to the
    Allman Brothers, with plenty of crowd
    pleasers. Our goal together has
    always been to have fun playing the
    music that inspired us to pick up our
    instruments in the first place.

 FAQs

  • The Pearl Jam is a new block party on September 7th & 8th at University Square in the heart of the University District.

    Found at the corner of East 15th and North High, the festival will take over the iconic Pearl Alley for two days of art, music, and community.

    While it’s obvious that the block party is named after the coolest alley in Columbus…bringing your flannel, ripped jeans and angst is completely optional.

  • Local artists will be live painting murals on trash dumpsters - adding to thirteen other artistic dumpsters found along Pearl as part of the Trash 2 Treasure initiative.

    University Square stage will play host to a steady line-up of local musicians.

    Browse vintage clothing and other wares by the SoHud Collective.

    Grab a bite from a nearby restaurant or food truck.

    Enjoy a beverage from a local brewery.

  • The University District Organization conducted community surveys and talked with individuals about the University District. A common theme was how the district has an underlying thread of hidden creativity that generally goes unseen by the rest of Columbus. Against the backdrop of Ohio State University there is a thriving hidden neighborhood culture of creativity. So why not bring that culture to the forefront and at the front door of the university! Fall is a perfect time to be in Columbus, so why not have an event to celebrate all that is good!? Come to University Square to experience the unique intersection of creativity, sports, and community.

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