Wall\Therapy kicked off with a reception for the visiting and local artists on Friday, July 20, at 1975 Gallery's elegant new spot on Charlotte Street, providing Rochesterians with the opportunity to speak with several of the artists before they began work early Saturday morning.

• WALL\THERAPY: German artist Case races the sunset to finalize the first layers of his Pennsylvania Avenue mural on Saturday night. PHOTO BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

Missing from the reception were ROA and Siloette, who will arrive early this week, and Ben Eine, whose circumstances have forced him to back out of participation in the project. Ian Wilson of Wall\Therapy provided the following statement:

"The WALL\THERAPY team is sad to announce that Ben Eine will not be joining us for this year's event. Nevertheless, we wish him the best of luck."

Twins HowNosm must to leave Rochester by midweek. They have really pounded out their mural at lightening speed, but the work is extremely beautiful. You can check it out on Union Street just before it hits East Avenue.

Progress is happening on murals by Thievin' Stephen, Case, Liqen, and DALeast on Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Public Market, where the Art Block Party will take place through 10 p.m. today. Visitors can watch the artists work, enjoy live music, and get goodies from various food vendors. Check out The Yards above Flour City Bread Company for more festivities.

Faith47 is working above the North Union Street Bakery. Also near the market, Mr. Prvrt is painting on the Harman Flooring building along the parking lot along N. Union and Scio Streets. St. Monci is tackling an enormous wall along Roc Brewing Co. on S. Union. Cern is painting the Avenue D Recreation Center.

Once they arrive, ROA will paint at 116 St. Paul Street (facing World Wide News lot) and Siloette will join Cern at the recreation center. Some locations are subject to change, and we'll keep you updated.

In addition to the world-class artists visiting and working in Rochester, street art photographer-legend Martha Cooper has arrived in our city to shoot Wall\Therapy.

More information will follow as murals progress. For updates on the fly, follow us on twitter: @rocccitynews. Our full story on Wall\Therapy can be found here.