Murals

Kelly Gaylord is president of the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society. She has muralist Keith Goodson on speed dial. She calls him whenever one of the Society’s murals fails. She’s had to call him a lot. The Society has lost a number of its murals over the course of its 31-year history. So, Punta Gorda, which has given itself the nickname of “Mural Town,” has decided not to paint murals on buildings or walls any longer. “We decided all our future murals were going to be removable aluminum panels with mural cloth,” said Gaylord.

The Punta Gorda Mural Society’s next mural will pay tribute to the Rotary Club of Punta Gorda. But Lake Alfred artist Keith Goodson is not painting “Rotary: A Century of Service” on its future home on the west wall of the Ace Hardware building on Marion Avenue. Instead, he has painted it on mural cloth that will be affixed to two aluminum panels, which are currently in fabrication. The panels will enable the Mural Society to remove and relocate the mural should the building ever be damaged or torn down.

Last year, four local artists created a mammoth mural that encompassed the entire Dunham Family Gallery at BIG ARTS. “Birds, No Words” was as tall as a person and as long as a football field. It was such a huge success that BIG ARTS is doing it again, says Marketing Director Meghan Govoni.

Southwest Florida’s museums regularly curate traveling art exhibitions as well as artworks from their permanent collections. During April, five exhibitions open, four close and 26 others continue their runs. Headlining the list is "Something Borrowed, Something New" at the Sarasota Art Museum.

The featured artists chosen to create four new large-scale public murals in downtown Fort Myers through the fourth annual Southwest Florida Mural Festival were announced this week. We’ll talk with artists, festival organizers, and co-founders of Artsemble Underground Cesar Aguilera and Brian Weaver to learn more about the festival and their broader mission of making art more accessible and transforming Fort Myers into a vibrant arts district.

Muralist Juan Diaz's "The Growth of Our Beloved Neighborhood" in the Heights Foundation Education Building lobby encapsulates Harlem Heights' past, present and future.

February 20th is the most important date in the history of Fort Myers.

The Gulf Coast Jazz Trio returns to the Music & Arts Community Center on Feb. 19 for a special performance that pays tribute to two of jazz music’s icons.

Over the holidays, the Fort Myers Mural Society installed murals on the obelisks flanking Edwards Avenue outside the Luminary Hotel. One recognizes Manuel A. Gonzalez; the other, Harvie Heitman.

Alliance's "Emphasis" mural project features a varied display of representational, abstract, and non-objective works created by 13 artists from all over the country