STREET ART: The Soul of the City

I’ve heard it said that the art an artist creates is a window into their soul. If that’s the case, there are a lot of people in St. Petersburg (Florida) with some very colorful, happy souls. They have an art scene unlike any other I’ve seen, and I’m not just talking about the indoor art at the Museum of Fine Art or The Dali Museum, I’m talking about street art! They have miles of murals throughout the city, all done by different artists and all equally impressive. There is even an entire website dedicated to it! (Super helpful when planning your visit.) St. Pete is a vibrant community anyway, with a great food scene, lots of cool stores, beautiful pink hotels (examples here and here) and water all around, but adding in the art brings it to a whole new level.

I think the joy of visiting new places is getting to see the city through the eyes of the people who live there. Sometimes that’s hard to do, but if you look for out of the box tours and destinations, it becomes a whole lot easier. And I have to admit, I am not a big art person. I’ve been to many art museums and usually they just make me want to take a nap. But, when I can be outside in the Florida heat and sunshine (especially in November), taking in huge, building-size pieces of art, well then my tune changes a bit.

St. Pete does this incredibly well, and I now know other towns offer it too. Take my city for example…Chicago! They have a ton of great murals as well. Since I live there I tend to forget to research things like that, but hey, I did a little, and they have a murals website too. Moral of the story – next time you visit a new place and you want to see something a little different, maybe even look into the soul of the city, see if they have murals, because most likely they do.

I do have to say, when visiting the murals in St. Petersburg, if you plan to take pictures with them, either wear something bright and bold, like the lime green dress I wore, or something neutral, like jeans and a white tee. They are all so colorful you don’t want your outfit competing with the art itself!

Visiting all of these murals, it was hard not to think about the artists behind them. Imagine the creativity and dedication they have. I mean, some of these murals are pretty big, and must have taken a ton of time. It’s so impressive to see art on such a large scale.

I feel like I truly got to know St. Petersburg (Florida) better, and really have a view into the soul of the city. Even after a few trips there, I know I have a lot left to see. It’s also opened my eyes for new ways to explore other cities. Now, what are you waiting for? Get out there and find all the murals you can!