Walking through the streets of downtown St. Pete, murals cover almost every open wall, taking passersby directly into an artistic haven. While private artists contribute greatly to this landscape, the city would not look the same without St. Pete’s SHINE Mural Festival.
The SHINE Mural Festival is an annual festival dedicated to transforming the streets of St. Pete into a grand outdoor gallery for top local, national, and international artists. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, which was November 8th-17th, SHINE has produced nearly 170 murals throughout downtown and surrounding art districts.
Creating 15 new murals in 2024, SHINE provides a platform for artists and their unique backgrounds, allowing them to mold the walls of St. Pete into a reflection of their creativity.
Gainesville native, artist, and mental health advocate Cristi López joined as an artist in the 2024 Mural Festival. López said, “Art provides me with a vital connection to my thoughts and feelings. It’s the most natural way for me to express my internal world.”
López strives to encourage others to share their unique journeys and backgrounds without fear of judgment, whether through art or other forms of self-expression.
López’s first Tampa Bay mural, “Moo,” is a love letter to her visual and cultural influences: “The Vienna Secession, Symbolist painters, Cándido Bidò, Dominican folk art and pastoral paintings, Ukiyo-e, Japonisme, Catholic iconography, powerful women, Florida, my love of cows.” The mural is intended to amuse people with its patterns, colors, and textures while intriguing passersby.
Murals are also important to López because they allow everyone to see art despite their background as a person. “There’s something special about creating something that will be part of people’s everyday lives the unique way that murals are,” López said.
The SHINE Mural Festival is undoubtedly significant to St. Pete’s culture because it provides an outlet for the local creative minds. Murals unite communities and allow for creative expression in such a public way that anybody who walks past them can appreciate.
López has found that St. Pete is full of creative and empowering people. “Having uplifting, supportive people around you is vital. Not just vital for artists, but for everyone,” she said. “One of SHINE’s stated intentions is to make St. Pete into an open-air gallery, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. St. Pete’s walls have made the city a gallery that you live in. It’s a dream!”