Photo by Maggie Duffy
On an August afternoon in St. Petersburg, as rain loomed overhead, groups of Maximo Elementary students frolicked with cans of spray paint to add the finishing touches to a new mural on a 400-foot long wall.
They were there to celebrate the unveiling of the vibrant mural at the Lakewood Trail Connector, a previously neglected pedestrian-only connection across I-275 between 31st Street South and US 19.
The mural was a group effort involving transit non-profit Connect Pinellas, youth empowerment organization All the World’s Kids, the Lakewood Estates Civic Association, and Oak Park Villas, the apartment complex adjacent to the connector that owns the wall. The Vitale Bros. spearheaded the mural’s artist team.
It was made possible by a $5,000 art grant All the World’s Kids received from the City of St. Petersburg.
Photo by Maggie Duffy
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Arts All Around!
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Artists Johnny Vitale, Derek Donnelly, Nick Kekllas, Sionna “Sio” MacLeish, Taylor “Dreamweaver” Smith, and Arturo Romero used their skills to create the mural. It features plants and animals that live around the nearby Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, including a raccoon, blue jay, turtle, alligator, and an armadillo. Maximo students filled in outlines and painted their own flowers.
“Now it’s just a big community mural,” said Johnny Vitale. “This is something that everybody in the neighborhood can take ownership of.”
“Art beautifies and revitalizes spaces, and also kids can create what they can’t communicate. So through visuals, they can come and throw something up on the wall and feel invested,” said Lauren Hubbard, founder and CEO of All the World’s Kids. Hubbard tapped Vitale to lead the project.
Photo by Maggie Duffy
A Safer Route to School
Aesthetics aside, the mural is meant to establish safety in an area previously riddled with trash, including drug paraphernalia.
“It’s the first step towards a safer route to Maximo Elementary for students and for neighbors alike,” said Kristen Ehrlich, president of Connect Pinellas, during the ceremony before the ribbon cutting. “I urge everyone, particularly city council members … to take a look at the actual trail connector and its condition. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Photo by Maggie Duffy
What Comes Next
Hubbard said they will continue to maintain the area through monthly cleanups, and that this is the first phase of upgrades for the Lakewood Trail Connector.
“It’s an artery of our ecosystem because it essentially connects the Lakewood Estates area with the Skyway Marina District,” said Hubbard. “If that artery isn’t flowing, then that’s not good for the ecosystem. So we came to breathe life into that, and we’re pumping the artery back to life by connecting this corridor. That gives youth who attend Maximo Elementary School safe access to get there.”
At the end of the ceremony, each student received an award for participating in the mural and a coloring page of the mural. There was also free pizza.
The Lakewood Connector Trail Community Mural is located near the 31st Street Sports Complex, where you can park, 4801 31st St. S., St. Petersburg.
For more information, visit connectpinellas.org and alltheworldskidsinc.org.
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