CHERI VICE GIVES COMMUNITY PARK LOVE
SSF 2019 Featured Visual Artist Cheri Vice, Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation, Commissioner Danielle Cava, and Chief Constituent Maria Levrant are working together to improve a high traffic South Florida park.
Briar Bay Park, nestled between The Falls shopping center and dense residential neighborhoods, is a lovely park with large trees shading the path and playground. Right by South Dixie Highway and the hustle and bustle of Miami, this park offers a retreat among nature. The playground and other park amenities were in dire need of renovations. Cava along with Levrant, MDPR, and Cheri Vice are working together to improve the park.
They hired Vice, one of our very own Spoken Soul Festival featured artists, to create a 210 by 5-foot mural! A mural of this size is no small task and the wall was in poor condition, so our featured artist has worked tirelessly to create a stunning mural for the community. She invited a local teacher, Jovany Corzo, and several local middle and high school students to participate in helping paint. The local Home Depot, led by Tony Villanueva, even donated some painting supplies. This has really been a great project to beautify the community. The garden themed art is bright, bold, colorful, and can be easily seen from the street.
The mural is almost complete and community members are already thrilled by this beautiful addition to their parks. A local, whose house neighbors the park said, “The mural really brings the area to life. It’s just so beautiful!” He is only one of the many community members that are enjoying the mural. One local business owner explained to Vice that now he enjoys coming to the park to have lunch in front of the mural. Several families have approached her to say thank you for making the park somewhere they are proud to bring their children. Vice is beyond thrilled to be able to give the community and to bring art to a blank wall.
In a few weeks, Vice, Cava, Levrant, Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation, are hosting an unveiling event to celebrate the community and beautified park.
