“The painting of a giant mural on the water tank in Mullins Park is as much an art project as it is a community building initiative. It was conceived this way, from the beginning,” said Piero Falci, Community Relations Liaison of the Coral Springs Museum of Art. “During the last several months, as part of this initiative, we produced dozens of events where members of our community shared their stories and created art together. Hundreds came, met other people, and left with new friends.”
With a grant received from the Community Foundation of Broward, the residents of Coral Springs, under the leadership of the Coral Springs Museum of Art and the City’s Public Art Committee, are bringing the beautiful mural to life.
A contest to choose the mural design received more than 300 entries, and the colorful image submitted by Rebecca Lowy, a senior at Douglas High School, was chosen. “Rebecca’s Harmony In Our Community design suggests a diverse group of individuals engaged in educational, artistic, and sports related activities, all of them having a joyful time together. It brings an instant smile to everyone’s face, and it certainly is a great addition to the beauty of our city,” said Falci.
Six professional muralists – Al Razza, Anne Marie Goss, Hong Nham, Janet Gold, Jan Kolenda, and Lester Salazar – were in charge of transferring Rebecca’s image to the wall. They outlined the entire design and went up on ladders and scaffolds to paint the upper part of the mural. The lower half, accessible from the ground, was reserved for members of the community to paint. Almost 300 individuals signed up, and guided by the muralists and also experts from home painting done by Euro Painting, each one painted a small part of the mural. “Many years from now, the children who were here today will be proudly showing what they painted to their own children, and this, for me, is pure magic,” commented Falci.