For it’s second year, The SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival came back to the sunshine city even better than the year before. This festival is a non-profit public art project created to bring together not only the community, but also artists from around the world. The event was held from September 1-10, illuminating the streets of St. Petersburg with beautiful and diverse murals. It turned the walls of dull buildings into aesthetically pleasing masterpieces in just a few days.
Since I live in St. Pete, I felt like I should take advantage of this cool event, and I am so glad that I did. I went three separate times around the city with a couple of friends, finding new murals everywhere I turned. Whether you are walking around in Florida’s blazing hot sun or driving around in your car, it is almost impossible not to find a new mural. I even got to see some of the artists painting their artwork right before my eyes, spray painting the walls and adding precise details. Hurricane Hermine couldn’t even stop these talented artists from creating their works of art. Some of them were still out there in the rain and at late hours of the night, just so that these murals of theirs could be completed and showcased to the public. The majority of these murals are located on Central Ave, the heart of fun things to do and explore in Downtown St. Pete. This area has always been scenic, with its hip restaurants and cool vintage shops, but these murals definitely bring more color and life to the area as a whole.
However, the painting of the murals wasn’t the only aspect of the SHINE Mural Festival. Throughout the week there were three events that took place: An opening block party, Secret Walls, and SHINE Live. Secret Walls was an event that consisted of groups of artists competing against each other to create the best masterpiece, only being given black and white materials with ninety minutes on the clock. SHINE Live hosted a small concert featuring local artists, with the indie market also present for local businesses to showcase their work.
All in all, this event allowed for artists of all backgrounds to express themselves freely to the world. Whether it was a local band or a painter from Portugal, they each brought something great to the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. Great news is, if you missed the festival, it’s all okay; the murals will be around the city for a while, so make sure you check them out.
Here are some pics I took of the new murals:
HCXOXO,
Shayla Fajardo