Art Alley 2020

Downtown Rapid City boasts one of the coolest, ever-evolving, community art projects I've ever seen. It's called Art Alley.

I put the year in the title because in a day, a week, a month, and especially in a year, Art Alley will look totally different. This is basically a time capsule.

Art Alley is relatively new to Rapid City. It started in 2004 and has really taken off ever since. It is located between 6th and 7th, and Main and Saint Joseph Streets in Rapid City, SD.

On the Art Alley website, the project is described as, "Here in the heart of Rapid City, a unique place exists; a functioning alley that hums with the urban street sounds of delivery and garbage trucks and a backbeat of shaking spray paint cans.

The walls feature truly unique works of art, personal and political expressions about community and global issues. It has a fickle nature and is constantly changing, sometimes, many times a day. It has become a sacred place for many - artists, locals and tourists. It is a place where you can get lost in the art - and also found."

However, don't think you can just show up and paint whatever, wherever you want. You do need to apply for a permit to paint in Art Alley and not just anything is allowed. While self-expression is the goal, there are some ground rules. Designs cannot be vulgar, discriminative, or sexually explicit.

The last time I was in Rapid City, Art Alley would have been in its infancy and I didn't even know it was there. It was definitely on my list of things to see on this trip and it did not disappoint.