One of St. Pete’s most colorful and popular festivals returns this October for the 8th time when the annual SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival kicks off on October 12th. This year’s festivities will bring nearly two weeks of artistic celebration and discovery as 16 famous artists descend on the Sunshine City to create stunning murals.
The muralist collective consists of international, national and local artists, each of whom will paint a mural somewhere in the St. Pete area during the 12 day SHINE festival. In addition, there will be a half-dozen Bright Spot Community Projects, where local artists will lead teams of volunteers painting street murals, creating community artwork, and even painting vehicles. More information on artists and community projects below.
While painting begins earlier in the week, SHINE will have its official launch party on Saturday, October 15th in an all-day extravaganza at Childs Park Rec Center. The Carmada Street Carnival will be a community-focused and family-friendly block party that will include live car painting by Nneka Jones and a street mural by Jason Harvin aka Wayward Walls. There will also be interactive painting activities for everyone.
SHINE concludes with its grand finale on October 22, an end-of-festival blowout at the Warehouse Arts District, which will double as the opening night for a new work and gallery space. It will also mark the public debut of an amazing installation that will be built over the course of the week. More details to come.
The full lineup and locations of St. Pete’s newest murals can be found here via the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, and they will be spread across the city, from USF St. Pete to MLK North and everywhere in between. At least four murals are planned for Central Avenue, including two prominent locations in Grand Central.
SHINE is happy to secure enough locations for new murals
Interestingly, finding these locations proved to be the most difficult task for the Arts Alliance, the organization that hosts SHINE. Attracting interested muralists is a given for the festival, but due to St. Pete’s continued growth spurt, the supply of mural real estate is shrinking, SHINE director Jenee Priebe told us.
Of course, many buildings already have murals. But the real problem, Priebe explained, is the number of buildings either scheduled for demolition recently or scheduled for demolition in the near future. With so many lots being altered to make way for high-rise buildings and similar developments – and with so many of these towers already under construction or completed – the supply of finished walls in St. Pete is shrinking at the moment.
A key question for the future of SHINE: will this offer recover? Big developers are often less mural-friendly, but in a city celebrated as an outdoor art gallery, maintaining the community’s vibrant personality and reputation certainly has to be a factor.
But in the end, SHINE was able to secure locations for all 16 participating artists while also launching another half-dozen projects for the community. There will be several other events throughout the two-week festival, including walking and biking tours, a night with The Sketchbook Project, panel discussions for emerging artists, and even beer specials – Bayboro Brewing’s specialty beer, SprayCation, is donating $1 of all proceeds back to the festival.
Below is the full list of local artists’ collaborative projects, as well as participating muralists.
Bright Spot Community Projects:
Jason Harvin, Tampa
“Crossway Crux”
Jason Harvin (Wayward Walls) will paint a mural on a paved intersection in Childs Park to help kick off the 8th Annual SHINE Mural Festival. Located at 11th Ave South & 46th Street South near the Childs Park Rec Center, the mural is designed to help reduce speeds and increase safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. The mural will be painted at the Leisure Center on Saturday, October 15 in conjunction with the Carmada Street Carnival from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Chad Mize & Friends, St Petersburg
Community project “We are St. Pete” trail
Chad Mize and a select group of local artists and community groups will repaint the concrete barricades along the Pinellas Trail near 20th Street South. This project, sponsored by the city of St. Petersburg, will take place on October 21-22.
Alyssa Marie, St Petersburg
“Wild Ride” in partnership with the Florida Wildlife Corridor
Alyssa Marie is back with another community paint by number mural, in partnership with and sponsored by the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The organization is commissioning 50 murals across the state of Florida to raise awareness of their important work protecting wild Florida. The community is invited to help paint the mural at St. Peter’s Bark, 3001 Central Ave, October 14-18.
Vitale Brothers, St. Petersburg
Rise and Shine at the Park Center for Disabilities
Inspired by their late Aunt Nancy, the Vitale Brothers are donating a three-story home mural to Parc, a non-profit organization serving children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Neka Jones, Tampa
Carmada art car
Tampa artist Nneka Jones will paint a vehicle live at the SHINE launch event hosted by Carmada. The Carmada Street Carnival features live painting, a past art car show, interactive painting with the Nomad Art Bus, family-friendly art activities, and food and drink. The event will take place outside of the Childs Park Rec Center, 4301 13th Ave South.
Amy Ilic-Volpe, St. Petersburg
Color Wheelz, in collaboration with Polaris Slingshot
Local artist Amy Ilic-Volpe will transform the three-wheeler with her stunning brightness
colors and patterns. The unique Slingshot can be seen at various SHINE events including
the Carmada Street Carnival on October 15; and the SHINE Finale on October 22. Well known
Due to its outstanding design, the Polaris Slingshot is often seen as a blank canvas by many owners
Customize your ride and use it as a vehicle for self-expression. With a remarkable owner
Community in St. Pete and a commitment to the arts, SHINE is proud to partner with Polaris
Skid for the second year in a row.
muralist
International artists:
- James Bullough, Germany
- Mad C, Germany
- Ben Johnston, Canada
- Marina Capdevila, Spain
- Caratoes, Germany
National Artists:
- 123 Klan, Los Angeles
- Imagine Nepal/Boston
- Reginald O’Neal, Miami
- Baghead, Miami
Local artists:
- Jeff Williams, St Petersburg
- Dream Weaver, St. Petersburg
- Van Der Luc, St Petersburg
- Ashley Cantero, Tampa
- Egypt Hagan, Tampa
- Sydney Prusso, Dunedin
- Tasko, Clearwater
SHINE 2022 is produced by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance with the support of the City of St. Petersburg. It is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, the State Department, the Department of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. SHINE is produced with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Pinellas and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. This year’s presenting sponsor is the Trammell Crow Company. Additional sponsors include Great Bay Distributors, Aresty Family Foundation, Kathryn Howd & Edward Rucks, First Horizon Bank, Bayfront Health, Jennifer & Jeff Lovelady, Tru by Hilton and others.
