Artists from across the world paint in SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival is in full swing. The free festival features artists from across the world, including 13 from the Tampa Bay area. 

They’re painting 18 murals on buildings and two cars in downtown St. Pete. Artists will work through the week to finish the murals by the grand finale, which is Saturday evening, Jenee Priebe, the director of SHINE Mural Festival, said. You can watch the artists paint all week. 

Festival events include a sketch night with the artists Tuesday, and a panel about how to start your own art collection Thursday. It’s the festival’s eighth year.

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"Some of our artists had participated in other events in other places and said, ‘hey, we should do this here in St. Pete. It’s such an art focused city,’" Priebe said. "So, that was really the beginning of it and really trying to elevate the art in St. Pete and particularly the murals that were going on in St. Pete, so that was the heart of it and really wanting to celebrate art for art’s sake."

SHINE artists have created more than 120 murals in the festival’s eight years. According to Priebe, there are close to 600 murals overall across St. Pete, including those from SHINE.

She said this year is the first time in a few years they have a full international roster of artists. COVID-19 prevented some international artists from traveling in previous years. This year, there are four international artists.

You can find a list of the festival’s events and a map of the murals on St. Pete Arts Alliance’s website.