The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance celebrates BIPOC Mental Health Month with a self-guided tour of the Murals in Mind experience, an art in wellness initiative recently launched to promote mental wellness and healing through the arts. The tour spotlights the joy of community inclusiveness, culture and connection.
“The Murals in Mind initiative was designed by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance to offer communities a healing experience through the arts that leaves the participant feeling inspired, uplifted and hopeful,” says Terry Marks, SPAA CEO. “With this tour, the SPAA wants to celebrate inclusive community-making through the arts.”
The uplifting tour includes stops at murals featuring recorded performances, dance, music and stories celebrating community inclusiveness, with a suggested route starting in St. Petersburg’s waterfront Bayboro Harbor and ending in the heart of the city’s creative downtown community. The tour includes:
- Rooted in Community, located at 1000 3rd St. S., created by Kenny Coil and Marc Berenguer featuring interviews by Your Real Stories.
- Wisdom, Growth, Progress, located at 701 9th St. S., created by Zulu Painter featuring a dance performance by Alexander Jones of ProjectALCHEMY, Talia Demps and Esophia Higgins-Wilkins with a composition by Jeremy Carter.
- Golden Child with Da Big Gunz, located at 593 22nd St. S., created by Princess Smith and featuring a performance by writer and theatre artist Shelby Ronae.
- Nowness is the Portal, located at 3000 Central Ave., created by Miss Crit and featuring a performance by Studio@620 founder Bob Devin Jones reading a poem by Anastasia Wirick.
Participants are invited to visit each mural and scan a PixelStix marker with any smartphone to view and listen to the Murals in Mind performances and stories. Each of the murals and recorded experiences was curated to uplift the community by showcasing joyful performances and stories.
Murals in Mind shifts negative perceptions and offers hope and help for day-to-day living. This 24/7 accessible gallery is a public and daily reminder that there is hope, help, and resources to provide a shift in thinking, feeling and action. Learn more here
SPAA’s Mission
The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is the umbrella organization serving this vital arts and cultural community. We do so by driving arts-related economic development and funding, advocating for art and artists, educating at all levels and facilitating the growth of our City of the Arts.
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