The very pulse of Broward County’s art scene can’t be contained by gallery walls. It is accessible to everyone, as all art should be. From eye-catching murals to whimsical sculptures, Broward County is overflowing with thought-provoking art. Sometimes you just need to know where to look. Here are a few highlights by BAJA writer Joanie Cox-Henry and photographed by BAJA photographer Taimy Alvarez:
Wrap Star
WHERE: Las Olas, Southeast, and Southwest Second Street
Throughout bustling downtown Fort Lauderdale, you will notice some cute and colorful utility box wraps. They are works of art created by the third-generation Fort Lauderdale artist Stephanie McMillan. The cheerful, vibrant illustrations of plants, flowers, and quirky cartoon characters dot the downtown area in sections of Las Olas, Southeast and Southwest Second Street and south of the New River. It’s a clever way to spice up street corners and it makes the everyday act of crossing the street into an art walk. McMillan called the collection “Love Is All Around” to bring awareness to wildlife and foster nourishing vibes of love and respect. Go on your own art-spying scavenger hunt and spot more than a dozen of the art wraps. Where to look? The northwest corner of Northwest Seventh Street and Third Avenue, Southeast Sixth Avenue, and East Las Olas Boulevard and on Southwest Fifth Avenue across from the Broward Center for the Performing Arts are just a few places where you can see these offbeat masterpieces. Click here for a more complete map of locations.
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- Pedestrian takes a selfie using McMillan’s art as his backdrop.
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- A man walks past a colorful utility box painted by third-generation Fort Lauderdale artist Stephanie McMillan on the corner of Las Olas Boulevard and Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
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- A pedestrian waits to cross the street where Stephanie McMillan’s art is placed on the corner of SW 2nd Street and SW 1st Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Art in Plane Sight
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wdZnGses7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==#t=4
WHERE: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 100 Terminal Drive, Fort Lauderdale
This bustling airport has participated in Broward County’s acclaimed public art and design program since 1976 and currently houses more than 65 works of art such as paintings, photos, and sculptures by local, national, and global artists making it one of the largest collections of public art in the county. Within the airport, you will find one of the newest spectacular works of art, the Terrazzo floor art piece, “A Journey,” by Marielle Plaisir. The Broward County resident who is originally from France and the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe created the stunning floor piece with a blue background and interwoven branches and roots to symbolize Florida’s rich cultural melting pot identity fusing flavors of
Latin America, the Caribbean islands, and Native American heritage. Read the in-depth BAJA story about the artwork.
It Takes A (Flagler) Village
WHERE: Northwest Eighth Street and Avenue of The Arts
Broward When driving by the area of Northwest Eighth Street and Avenue of The Arts, murals on buildings offering messages such as “Love Your Neighbor” by artist Annie Nugget and Vasilios Tryphonas II will leave you doing a double-take. This feel-good mural adorns the backside of an entire building.
Take a short stroll around the corner or continue in your car and you’ll spot vibrant blue and purple butterflies by Aky Goins. These inspiring images bring life to an otherwise ordinary white concrete wall on Northwest Sixth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Throughout downtown, there are multiple murals adorning building walls flaunting vivid hues, along with heroic historical quotes from Frederick Douglass located at Northwest Seventh Street and Northwest Fifth Avenue alongside bold images of glorious graffiti art. In what is a more industrial section of town, the art offers an unexpected splash of color, inspiration, and fun.
Courting Art
WHERE: Broward North Regional Courthouse, Deerfield Beach, and Broward County South Regional Courthouse, Hollywood
Broward County’s courthouses are home to some highly intriguing art pieces. Broward North Regional Courthouse (1600 W. Hillsboro Boulevard) in Deerfield Beach houses an intriguing pineapple sculpture crafted by late artist Mary Ann Unger. It’s in the courtyard area. At Broward County South Regional Courthouse (3550 Hollywood Boulevard) in Hollywood, Ken Moylan’s “Moonscape” tapestry is proudly on display on a stairwell wall leading to the second floor of the courthouse. “Every now and again, after struggling with one’s ideas and problems, one is confronted with a finished piece which opens up new areas of thought and foretells of emerging forms and images yet unrelated,” according to Moylan in a statement on broward.org. “This is what artists live for.”
Garden Escape
WHERE: Long Key Natural Area and Nature Center, 3501 S.W. 130th Ave., Davie
Surrounded by breathtaking beaches and the storied Everglades, there is also plenty of Broward County public art that celebrates the many natural wonders of this unique habitat. Davie is home to “Island Garden” an environmental-inspired art structure within the Long Key Natural Area of Broward by Lorna Jordan. This spiraling piece is cloaked in live oaks and local wildlife and is an homage to the River of Grass and the rising of nature on the grounds of the Davie oasis.
For more Broward Public Art & Design artworks and installations, visit the all-new dashboard which maps out the more than 300 commissions with all the details you didn’t know you wanted; or go to Broward County’s Public Art & Design Directory to curate your own adventure in exploring these and more hidden gems.
This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Visit ArtsCalendar.com for more stories about the arts in South Florida.
