St. Pete’s SHINE Mural Festival announces an all-Florida artist lineup

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“Big red Shark” by Shark Toof, located behind the Floridian Social club in Downtown ST Pete

‘Tis the season! No, it’s not quite time string up the lights and light up the Christmas tree (or Hannukah bush). It’s mural season in St. Petersburg! The SHINE Mural Festival returns to the Sunshine City in less than a month on November 7th – 14th.

Over the past decade, St. Petersburg has established itself as an international mural destination. By using walls and streets as canvas, we’ve created an outdoor art gallery of over 600 murals that’s completely free and open 24/7.

Since 2015, the SHINE Mural Festival has been responsible for 93 murals by artists from all over the world, including more than 90 local artists. Some of our most iconic murals were painted during the annual mural fest, such as Shark Toof’s “Big Red Shark” behind the Floridian Social Club and Evoca1’s “Through the Perils of our Youth” in the EDGE District.

“Through the Perils of our Youth” by Evoca1, located in the EDGE District

This year’s festival will be a little different from years past. For the first time in the festival’s six year history, the artist lineup will be entirely composed of Florida-based muralists, with a focus on artists from Tampa Bay. Given the current economic uncertainty, it’s important to keep St. Pete local and support our local artists.

Also for the first time, SHINE will have an overarching theme. All ten of this year’s community murals will be environmentally themed thanks to a partnership with PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls, a public art program that uses murals to educate communities on the planet's most important ecosystem -- our ocean. To date, Sea Walls has funded over 400 murals in 17 countries.

Each of this year’s artists will select an environmental topic impacting St. Pete and will paint in their style to highlight that issue. Some of the environmental topics that will be covered include water quality, red tide, plastic pollution, and ocean acidification.

“Bait & Switch” by The Vitale Bros, located in the Warehouse Arts District

Last year’s festival featured two murals in partnership with the PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Portland-based artists Blaine Fontana and Plastic Birdie painted a mural along the Pinellas Trail highlighting St. Petersburg’s successful fisheries management system. And local art legends, The Vitale Brothers, gave us a mural that dealt with the ocean’s ecosystem management titled “Bait & Switch” in the Warehouse Arts District.

The 6th Annual SHINE Mural Festival artist lineup is as follows:

Alex Yanes - Miami, FL
Location: Waterfront Arts District
Topic: Sea level rise

BASK – St. Petersburg, FL
Location: Mirror Lake
Topic: TBD

Brian Butler – Miami, FL
Location: EDGE District
Topic: Ocean acidification

Elle LeBlanc – St. Petersburg, FL
Location: Warehouse Arts District
Topic: Plastic pollution

iBoms – St. Petersburg, FL
Location: Central Avenue
Topic: Red tide

Kenny Coil & Marc Berenguer (Break Maiden) – St. Petersburg, FL
Location: USFSP
Topic: Coastal wetlands and mangroves

Lili Yuan – Jacksonville, FL
Location: Grand Central District
Topic: Water quality

Mason Schwacke – St. Petersburg, FL
Location: Old Southeast
Topic: Local marine species at risk of extinction

Nneka Jones & Bianca Burrows - Tampa, FL
Location: Grand Central District
Topic: Overfishing

Tatiana Suarez - Miami, FL
Location: Downtown Waterfront
Topic: TBD

In addition to the ten new murals, the SHINE Mural Festival will host virtual events and a “Bright Spot” mural collaborating with local youth to educate and inspire.

One of my favorite things to do each year is to grab a copy of the festival map and ride around town checking on the progress of the murals. It’s fascinating to observe the artists in their element, transforming massive walls (some with a ton of detail!) into a works of art in less than a week. 

A map with exact locations of this year’s murals will be released in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to the festival’s Facebook and Instagram for updates.