Wynwood Walls is a great place to visit when in Miami. The wall murals change on a regular basis, offering street artists an artistic venue with a lot of foot traffic and a chance for appreciation from the masses.
Shepard Fairey’s mural is one of the first encountered when entering Wynwood Walls, and has also been there the longest, I would venture.
The crew and I came out to Miami a little ahead of Art Basel to redo my Wynwood Walls mural as a tribute to Wynwwod Walls creator Tony Goldman, who recently passed away. I spoke to Tony’s wife Janet and discussed his inspirations in art, music, and politics. Many of his heroes are my heroes too, so I created a mural to celebrate Tony and our mutual inspirations. That’s Tony with the cowboy hat in the center warmly greeting visitors as he always did. The Goldmans have been an incredible support not only to me, but to many artists. The Wynwood Walls have a ton of great murals. Check them out if you come to Miami.
Shepard Fairey
Tony Goldman conceived of the “Wynwood Walls” concept back in 2009, and it’s become a thriving tourist destination as well as a location for enduring urban artworks to be appreciated in an outdoor setting. The walls are curated by he Walls are curated by Goldman Global Arts, which also runs an indoor gallery inside the complex. They claim the following (which I have no reason to doubt, but also no statistics to back up)
#1 Cultural attraction in Miami
21 Countries represented
100 artists
35,000 SQ FT of walls
75,000 gallons of paint
100,000+ spray cans
3,000,000 visitors per year
Goldman Global Arts
The walls are certainly compelling and I’ve loved every visit.
GGA Gallery at the end of the Wynwood Walls stroll is a strong addition to the outdoor art scene. It acts as as a place where visitors can bring a piece of the Wynwood experience home, and has both strong visitor numbers and sales. The art on view is mostly by current and past Walls artists, although other artists with a similar unique vibe are also present.
As someone who has always enjoyed political art this piece was a favorite, especially as the piece itself is a trapezoid, made to look like a shipping crate for a blue and white ginger jar, but rather than the traditional motif as decor, this features a landscape destroyed by floods.
Leon Keer, Fragile (2019)
Overall, Wynwood Walls is worth a visit whenever in Miami. It’s free to enter, can be as short or as long a visit as one wants, is child friendly and is a chance to connect with artwork that isn’t traditionally shown in most museums.