Space Coast Mural Festival Brings Beauty to Brevard Businesses
Cocoa Beach is soon to be awash in bright colors as artists from around the county and state bring their talents and lots of paint.
The second annual Space Coast Mural Festival highlights artists and muralists as they design and create murals on buildings and large pallets for spectators to vote on. Hosted by Trent Art Gallery and MotivateMe, the festival will be March 23-24 at State Road A1A and Minutemen Causeway in downtown Cocoa Beach.
Attendees can watch artists at work at the festival and also go on walking tours to see the completed murals on local buildings. A map of the murals at the festival is available online, and everyone is encouraged to vote for their favorite.
In addition to the mural walk, a section of Cocoa Beach will be blocked off for activities for kids, live music by Tru Phonic and other local bands, food trucks, and booths where artists and craftsmen from the area will sell their smaller-scale art.
The event is free to attend and focused on building greater awareness for this growing art form.
A beautiful mural has a lot of advantages: it increases property values, improves the neighborhood’s visual appeal, brings in customers and foot traffic, and can even cut down on graffiti. Kyle Trent, manager of the Trent Art Gallery and founder of the festival, said that muralists have been underappreciated for this unique art form.
“I noticed some muralists were getting paid in sandwiches,” he said. “We want artists to get paid for their work.”
The festival helps artists in several ways: local businesses can sponsor a muralist and work out a design for a fee, or they can pay a flat $1,000 to have a muralist chosen for them and given free reign over design. Trent said local businesses are enthusiastic about participating.
“Some even want to come back this year. It’s cool being able to sponsor an event where they can get something that will stay with them for a long time,” he said.
In addition, there will be 8’x8’ portable murals completed by artists that will later be auctioned off.
Finally, spectators will have the chance to vote on their favorite mural. There’s a fee for voting, but the proceeds go into prize money for the winner. Check the website for the price per vote and the voting form.
Over 30 muralists are participating, including Christopher Maslow, Renda Writer, Jenn Gallo, Derek Gores and Jes Strickler. Check the website for a complete list and for a list of booth artists.
"The Trent brothers and their team have stirred up a great buzz of grassroots outdoor art. I'm thrilled to jump in with collage on one of their temporary walls," said Derek Gores, whose store Rocky Water Mercantile will assist at the event with Montana spray paint and other needed art supplies. "We will have a booth and lots of fun for all."
The artists start working on the building murals on Monday, March 18, while the temporary wall murals begin on Friday, March 22.
While the artists are paid, Trent said many are participating for the exposure.
“Many of our artists have never painted a mural before, but they are great artists who wanted to show they could do it,” he said, adding that the hope is people will see their work and then hire them to do their businesses or homes.
Learn More
Space Coast Mural Festival: spacecoastmuralfestival.com
Trent Art Gallery: trentartgallery.com
Motivate Me on Facebook: /MotivateMetm
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