(click on any image to enlarge)
I spent last week escaping some especially frigid winter winds here in New York with a vacation to sunny Miami down in Florida. I'll be sharing a few posts from this trip that include a little bit of everything from art deco to the zoo, but first we start with street art.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was an afternoon walking around the Wynwood District of Miami. We had spent the morning in the Design District, so by the time we reached Wynwood we were ready for lunch. There are a few local breweries that have tap rooms and offer tours if you want the craft brewing experience (Wynwood Brewing, Concrete Beach, & J. Wakefield Brewing), but we opted for The Butcher Shop instead. This fully functioning butcher shop doubles as a beer garden and grill where we could sample the local brews along with grabbing a good meal.
While the menu does contain predominately carnivorous options (and very yummy ones I might add), I was still able to find one or two good vegetarian options. Another perk of the beer garden was finding my new favorite cider brand, Rekorderlig, which is made with passion fruit.
One final perk to this spot? They are very dog friendly, so I got to play with a puppy while I waited for my food!
After lunch we walked a few blocks north to my main reason for wanting to come to the area, the Wynwood Walls. This amazing collection of murals showcases a wide variety of artistic styles that provide a unique perspective at every turn. Here are a few of my favorites from the "walls" area.
by Kenny Scarf from New York, NY, USA
Some sassy Fafinettes by Fafi from Toulouse, France
A small excerpt of the wall by Aiko from Tokyo, Japan
A detail from the massive wall by Swoon from Brooklyn, NY, USA
Another part of the Swoon masterpiece
Definitely leave a solid hour to really make the rounds and take in every piece. There are a few gallery spaces along the route and ample seating so you can take a break in-between areas to rest your feet or get out of the sun. When you finish with the "walls" area you will pass through to the "doors" area, where the canvases get a little bit smaller but are just as beautiful.
Amazing detailing by Alexis Diaz from Puerto Rico
A personal favorite of the day, this beautiful tiger by Faith47 from South Africa
An amazingly intricate corner that is sadly currently not on the website so I can't give credit an artist. Be sure to check this out in person to find the tag!
Having a bit of an HDR moment with another unknown artist, I loved the way this wall totally changed depending on how far back you stood.
Finding a bit of New York with Logan Hicks from Brooklyn, NY, USA. I couldn't help but act like I was crossing the street at home!
Making the rounds to simply appreciate the beautiful spectrum of pieces is fine, but don’t forget to have a little fun too! The bright colors make great backgrounds, or pieces like “Hulk Boy” by Ron English of Decatur, IL, USA, are a fun photo-op for a willing family member (I got my dad to give me a great pose over on instagram, check it out here).
After getting our fill of the official Wynwood Walls grounds, we made our way back to the car to head home for the evening. We saw a few more fun murals (see the full website here for a listing of all works both inside and outside the official walkway) and I really loved the creative sign of this store, Nomad Tribe, on the corner of NW 2nd Ave & NW 23rd St. The entire area is just brimming with artists wanting to add to the immensely diverse urban landscape.
One final note on this amazing area, don’t forget to look down! There are so many things on the walls around you and on signs overhead that it can be hard to remember to look down every once in a while, but make sure you do. There are a bunch of fun and positive messages hiding along the sidewalks that make for great shoe-selfies.
Thanks for coming with me on an adventure in Wynwood, I hope this makes you want to check out the area for yourself! We all highly enjoyed it and when I am in Miami next this will definitely be on the places to re-visit list since the walls are constantly evolving as new artists stake a claim!
~V
Date & Locations: Thursday, 18 Feb 2016 - The Butcher Shop (165 NW 23rd St, Miami FL), Wynwood Walls (2520 NW 2nd Ave, Miami FL)
Photos taken with: Nikon D5300, Nikon 18-140mm f3.5-5.6 DX Lens & Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Rented from BorrowLenses.com)
Photo credits: Myself