We live in the age of murals and if your new store or restaurant doesn't have an exclusively painted mural, you're not cool enough, bro. That would likely explain why Whole Foods has decided to turn the parking garage of its latest Miami location into a concrete art gallery.
Whole Foods turned to Yo Miami, an organization that has its fingers and toes deep in the art scene, to curate the murals for its new downtown Miami parking garage.
See also: 2014's Best Street Art in Wynwood
Working closely with the organic grocery store chain, Yo Miami brought together one hell of a group of artists, including: Trek 6, Kazilla, Luis Berros, Nate Dee, Monz, Rei Ramirez, Jenny Perez, Jorge Rodriguez, Atomik, Yuhmi Collective, and Noah Levy.
Yuval Ofir, founder of Yo Miami, said he started on the project a few weeks before Art Basel, so he decided to add Lizzie Easton-Montes of Soula Booking to his team. "Between the two of us, we were able to bring the team of artists together in record time."
The locally-curated murals within an enclosed parking garage for a chain store not only serve to beautify the space, but it supports local artists and brings art to a wider range of people.
"I'm hoping that once the store opens and the Whole Foods corporate team sees how much of a positive impact supporting local artists can have for a business, it will open the doors for other locations down the line," says Ofir.
The space is set up like a traditional parking garage, with ramps, curved walls, and concrete holding walls. The artists each took a bare spot and turned it into something worth looking at. Here's hoping it doesn't cause any accidents.
A great deal of the work seems to explore themes of nature and farming. Perhaps the biggest homage is a corner mural featuring a giant chicken with a red barn off in the distance. There's also various flower designs, produce, wheat stalks, and an aquatic-themed wall.
At the rate Miami's embracing murals, you'll no longer need to visit an actual museum to see art.
Whole Foods Market Downtown Miami is set to open on January 14th. Visit Yo Miami's Facebook page to check out the full album of painted works before the garage opens.
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