Pictured above: St. Petersburg’s seventh annual SHINE Mural festival wrapped up on Oct. 24, adding 21 new murals to the city. Local artist Leo Gomez’s mural (pictured above) celebrates healthcare workers with a kind message, “Can’t thank you enough.”
Courtesy of Aubrey Carr | The Crow’s Nest
By Aubrey Carr
From Oct. 15 through 24, SHINE Mural Festival returned to St. Petersburg for its seventh year, bringing a splash of color to the city.
Organized by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, SHINE invited 21 artists from around the world to spread their creative touch with beautiful works of art painted on walls around the city.
The international affair differed from last year’s festival, which hosted only local talent due to COVID-19 concerns.
Included in this year’s artist lineup were seven St. Petersburg locals: Jenipher Chandley, Miss Crit aka Laura Spencer, Reid Jenkins, Aurailieus Artist, Leo Gomez, iBOMS, aka Jabari Reed-Diop and SHINE curator Chad Mize.
The festival took visitors on a tour of St. Petersburg’s downtown, with stops spanning from the breweries of the Warehouse Art District to the local restaurants of Central Avenue.
SHINE featured 16 standalone murals spread throughout the city, as well as five “bright spots” – community-based murals designed to reflect local values.
Mural topics ranged widely, from Woes Martin’s street-art vision of rabid panda bears to Gomez’s inspirational hand lettered thank you to healthcare workers.
This year’s event added to the 76 SHINE artworks already adorning the city’s walls from previous years’ festivals.
As the muralists publicly decorated the streets, festival attendees had a unique chance to watch the creative process unfold live.
Art loving USF St. Petersburg students took advantage of the opportunity, embracing the creativity that the SHINE Festival presented.
“The SHINE Festival is a great outlet for those who are visual communicators,” said Nilah Neely, a graphic design junior. “[The festival] adds to the liveliness of downtown St. Petersburg and shows off the talent that lies within the heart of the city.”
Michelle Wang, a freshman biology major, applauded the passion of SHINE.
“It’s my first year in St. Petersburg, and comparing that to where I’m from, it is just so much more expressive. Like with this festival, you can see art everywhere you go,” Wang said. “It is so cool to see everyone’s different ways of expressing themselves.”
The festival also featured a variety of artistic events, including gallery showings and a “graffiti train show” in which artists spray-painted derailed train cars.
Many of the mural artists also created smaller pieces for inclusion in Morean Arts Center’s SHINE 2021 exhibit, “Where Street and Studio Art Collide.” The exhibit is on display until Oct. 27.
Though the event is over, the murals for all of SHINE can be seen around downtown for years to come.
To find a map of mural locations, and updates on next year’s SHINE Mural Festival, visit StPetersburgArtsAlliance.org. For information on the SHINE 2021 art exhibit, visit MoreanArtsCenter.org
