"Working Heroes" mural by Murals Miami. Sponsored by MOLINA HEALTHCARE
“Working Heroes” the projects main display of respect and honor to the Florida farmers and to all those who work in order to feed the millions that are under food insecurity in Florida. The mural was created by Murals Miami and developed by Farm Share’s CEO Mr. Stephen Shelley. Both wanted to come to an image that would display the heroic and steadfast attitude taken by all those who did what they could to feed the hungry. This includes farmers, food pantry coordinators, community center employees, the truck drivers and those who work the fields in order to harvest the food we need to survive. The mural depicts two hands that are cultivating a sprout. The sprout is being by both hands. The hands have two different skin tones in order to emphasize the effect that takes place in Florida during the toughest of times, Floridians always see past race, religion, political views and backgrounds and we always help each other out. The artists decided to seek the advice of Mr. Stephen Shelley for the final choice of crops so that the crops were true Florida crops. The artists wanted the Florida farmers to have a true place in the mural and as one can see, the final product looks fantastic.
The sprout in the middle is Florida. The spout is us. We are holding ourselves up with the food that we have cultivated and distributed together. The title implies plurality in the word “Heroes”. The mural displays how it did not take one person, or one group or even one set of groups…it took all of us working together to get past the dark times we are going through.
The hands have bright rays of Florida sunshine coming through blue skies with beautiful Florida crops under the hands that center the mural. The mural has the elements of the crops and the hands and the skies but one element that must be highlighted is the dirt that is falling through the hands. The dirt represents exactly that; we must put our hands in the dirt in order to make things happen when you are a working hero! It is important to have grit and to display true grit in the face of the darkest of challenges in order to make it. This mural was the idea that sprouted everything else –no pun intended. This mural was the first collaboration between the artists and the Farm Share team that would inspire the other ideas for the murals.
This mural was sponsored by Molina Healthcare and was part of the True Grit Mural Project in Homestead, Miami. Weeks before Miami Art Week / Miami Art Basel 2021, the True Grit Mural Project brought talent together to fight hunger through art!
“We’re ecstatic at how spectacularly these talented artists were able to make our warehouse space come alive and visually represent the very serious issue of food insecurity that Florida faces,” said Stephen Shelley, CEO of Farm Share. “We at Farm Share combat this profound challenge every day, and we’re thankful to everyone who helped make this dream become a reality.”
“We wanted to have large scale inspiring murals installed that would serve 3 main functions: to bring awareness to the issue of food insecurity, to pay homage to Florida farmers, and to provide those who labor at the warehouse a new bright and artistic environment to work in,” said project curator Jason Jurado.
#Miamigiveday #Givingtuesday #Miamiartweek #miamiartbasel #Miamiart #Miamiartists #Mural #Streetart #Sprayart #Miamiartweek2021
