Usually, murals are the first image one thinks of for street art. The vibrant art form comes in a variety of styles, shapes and vibrant media. But some artists have tried to combine graffiti with architecture, land and more. This is why Street Art Regatta (StAR) has become a successful series of dynamic art installations on South Florida waterways and within urban areas through a strategic partnership between street artists and the marine industry.
A ‘Regatta’ is a competitive race involving elite events, extreme athleticism, and the grandeur of traditional boating. This is bringing together street art and the marine industries through a vibrant visual display of expressive art on the water. StAR is an Artistic Flotilla of sails painted with street art images painted by human interaction with water, wildlife and conservation.
StAR artists use their talents and paint as if the ocean surface were a floor and they’re working now on a new program for the Street Art Regatta for February 1, 2023. The project began as an art installation featuring the fantastic talent of youth sailing teams because of how they could wrangle the sails into very cool groupings of the sails (inspired by a ‘water ballet’). Each year they feature new commissions from local, national and international street artists.
One of the inspirations for the project was the work done by artist, Melissa McGill, who orchestrated sails of all sizes painted in many shades of red in Venice, Italy in 2019. McGill’s ‘Red Regatta’ drew international attention to Venetians’ epic struggle to manage rising tides and celebrated the ancient city’s legacy of design, innovation, and the arts featuring crimson Venetian colors.
StAR is also working on installing some of the printed sails as part of a pop-up at the Gateway Shopping Plaza in conjunction with live musicians and actors. They’ll be featuring new shop owners who are creatives making interiors and other crafts as well as specialty desserts and more.
The project received a national grant because of its sail imagery and because they are raising funds for the organization Taskforce Fore Ending Homelessness.
The event is free to the public and StAR takes the popularity of mural-making a step further as artists create works that move with the wind and create ‘performance art’ through the participation of athletic sailors.
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