ORLANDO, Fla. – Local artwork, including murals, in the Mills 50 area have recently been defaced by vandalism and leaders with the Orlando neighborhood district are seeking help to catch the culprits.
Mills 50 Board of Directors Executive Director Joanne Grant and President Jeff Dry said in a statement, incidents of graffiti in the downtown neighborhood have increased “dramatically” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mills 50 is home to more than 30 colorful murals by various artists, many were painted to honor the 49 people killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. Recently, some murals and private buildings have been defaced--causing concern among residents and local artists, like Corwin Blackwell.
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“I’m just more disappointed that they couldn’t have put something better. The artwork is really shotty and It’s so ugly. You know, if you’re gonna paint over someone else’s art at least attempt to do something good,” 27-year-old Blackwell and Orlando native said after his mural was damaged. “This is my very first mural. I just started this a couple of months ago. It was a challenge, you know, Florida heat and raining every afternoon.”
Blackwell’s mural along the Orlando Urban Trail was the most recent target. The mural will have to be repainted and the district is asking for help to cover the supplies and pay the artist. Donations can be made here.
Mills 50 leaders say taggers are targeting businesses that were closed and empty buildings and more recently public art on electric boxes and murals.
“I think we could put a little more pressure on people that ruin stuff like this cause it’s not just painting over another painting, this costs thousands of dollars,” Blackwell said.
Sean Hipps is the coordinator for Keep Orlando Beautiful--a program that works on solutions to prevent graffiti from being painted on public and private properties.
“Our graffiti program is mainly geared towards preventing and removing graffiti when it occurs in the city,” Hipps said. “It is a way more often than not that deters future graffiti from occurring on it because there is a respect factor there. There’s a respect factor there. Unfortunately, this mural hadn’t been sealed before this vandalism occurred. Part of that preventive type of approach that we’ve come up with is funding and supporting historical murals, specifically to the communities that they are in.”
Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan posted to Facebook about the recent incidents of vandalism.
“This is the work of a loser who has no talent. I scrawled through his tag so he gets no respect,” Sheehan wrote. “This beautiful mural wasn’t even finished yet.”
Blackwell’s 60-foot long, 13-foot high mural was funded by the city and by the owner of the building. It was inspired by an old train line that crossed through Mills 50, the Dinky Line, which stopped operating in the late 1960s.
“I’m hoping to do plenty more throughout Orlando. I want to do one in every district,” Blackwell said. “Seeing all the wonderful artists we have here. I mean we have some really talented people and to be a part of it, and to say I’ve done one here with my city along with everyone else is just a really big goal that I’m happy to achieve.”
A spokesperson for the Orlando Police Department said detectives are working diligently with local leaders to investigate reports of criminal mischief in the area.
There is no indication the recent vandalism targeted any particular group of people, according to police.
“Mills 50 works closely with our Commissioners and their OPD liaisons to document and report the incidents,” the Mills 50 Board of Directors said in a statement. “We contact property owners to ask if they have video or photos of the taggers, which we immediately send to OPD. We attempt to remove or paint over the graffiti as quickly as possible and work with Keep Orlando Beautiful to help us with this.”
Anyone who sees an incident in progress, or has information regarding an incident is asked to report it online at https://crimeline.org or 1-800-423-TIPS (8477) or call the Orlando Police Department at 321-235-5300.