{"id":224199,"date":"2026-04-09T00:50:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224199\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:50:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:50:35","slug":"10-beloved-local-muralists-to-compete-in-live-art-battle-as-part-of-johns-hopkins-spring-fling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224199\/","title":{"rendered":"10 beloved local muralists to compete in live art battle as part of Johns Hopkins Spring Fling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you arrive at John Hopkins Middle School (701 16th St S), hear the sound of spray cans being shaken, and smell fresh paint, you\u2019re in the right place. On April 18, the school\u2019s visual arts department is hosting its very first Art Battle, and it\u2019s exactly what it sounds like: local muralists racing the clock to bring brand-new murals to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From noon to 4 pm, five teams of artists will each take on a blank wall and a four-hour countdown, with the public invited to watch as the murals come together. Each team will be assigned a different-colored wall, then build their mural using black, white, and one bold highlight color. Designs can be planned ahead of time, but once the clock starts, it\u2019s just paint and problem-solving on the fly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Mural by Zulu Painter; image via artist\u2019s website<\/p>\n

Five teams, four hours, and a lot of paint<\/p>\n

As you check out the murals in progress, you\u2019ll have a front row seat to the artistic process. You\u2019ll see ideas take shape, shift, and sometimes completely change as the artists respond to the wall, each other, and the ticking clock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around 3:45 p.m., the crowd gets a say, voting for their favorite mural before the event (and the murals) wrap up. A local printmaker will also be on site throughout the afternoon, printing shirts, bags, and posters live\u2014so you can watch something being made and take a piece of it home.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Mural by Chris Dyer; image via artist\u2019s website<\/p>\n

Familiar names, fresh walls<\/p>\n

The artist teams include some of the most talented muralists in the area, and if you\u2019ve spent time around St. Pete or Tampa Bay, a few of these names will likely sound familiar. The teams include:<\/p>\n

Chad Mize & Miss Crit<\/p>\n

Johnny Vitale & Zulu Painter<\/p>\n

Meatyard & Merritt Horan Capurro<\/p>\n

Chris Dyer & Jason Harvin<\/p>\n

Tracey Jones & Quinn Cale<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mix of familiar pairings, contrasting styles, and artists who don\u2019t usually share a wall\u2014which is part of what makes the afternoon unpredictable (and a lot of fun).<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Mural by Miss Crit; image via artist\u2019s website<\/p>\n

Different styles, same vision<\/p>\n

Expect to see a wide range of styles on display, from Chad Mize\u2019s playful doodles to Miss Crit\u2019s spooky, psychedelic illustrations and Jason Harvin\u2019s geometric designs. Between the contrasting artist pairings and the tight time constraints, there\u2019s no doubt that plenty of personality will come through on every wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the participating artists, Merritt Horan Capurro, summed up the spirit of the event best, sharing that it\u2019s about more than finishing a mural on a deadline\u2014it\u2019s about showing students what creating really looks like.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we are all coming out to share our love of creating with the next generation,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what matters. To share our processes and tricks with them in real time\u2014while they get to see us in our element with open-ended design freedom. It\u2019s going to be amazing vibes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The Art Battle takes place during the John Hopkins Spring Fling and feels like a creative hangout: artists working, people wandering, kids watching paint take shape, and lots of color filling the space. For more event details and updates, follow the John Hopkins PTSA on Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you arrive at John Hopkins Middle School (701 16th St S), hear the sound of spray cans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-224199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}