By Jada Williams
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TAMPA, Florida (WFTS) — A new mural planned North East Seminole Heights is being described as both a celebration of LGBTQ+ history in Tampa and a response to what community leaders call an ongoing erasure of LGBTQ+ visibility across the state.
The project, led by PFLAG Tampa and local artist Cam Parker, will be painted on the wall of the Corner Club, a local business offering what organizers describe as “a huge wall that is publicly facing along a major thoroughfare.”
“This is something we have been wanting to do for a very long time, but the cost can be quite prohibitive,” said Trevor Rosine, president of PFLAG Tampa and chair of Tampa’s Human Rights Board.
“Artists are absolutely worth their time, and so we would never engage into an opportunity with somebody without having the full wherewithal to produce the money to make it happen.”
Rosine said the partnership with the Corner Club is deeply personal for him.
“It’s just down the street from where I grew up, so it’s of significant, personal significance. They offered the wall and said, ‘Whatever you need, we’ll make it happen. You just bring the artist and bring the paint and it’s all yours.’”
But the project is about more than paint on brick. Rosine said it is a direct response to the removal of LGBTQ+ murals across Tampa Bay and the country.
“It comes at a time of erasure for our community. Murals that represent LGBTQ+ folks are under attack. They are being paved over. They’re being blacked out in the middle of the night,” he said.
To him, this wall is a statement.
“You can paint over that crosswalk, but you can’t paint over this wall on this business,” Rosine said. “It’s a big F-U to the folks in the governor’s mansion that are trying to erase us,” he said.
Organizers are asking the public to help shape the mural’s design through an online nomination form.
“The entire idea behind the mural is that it will represent iconic places, people and times throughout Tampa’s history that were led by queer people,” Rosine said. “Anybody in the community can go online and nominate an iconic queer Tampa place, person or thing that they want to see represented on that wall.”
The board at PFLAG Tampa will review submissions before making final selections, with artist direction guiding what ultimately makes it onto the mural.
For Parker, whose artwork is already spread throughout the city, including a Beyoncé mural that Tampa Bay 28 featured in 2023, this project is about more than art.
“I feel like this project doesn’t necessarily separate itself. I feel like it elevates things,” Parker said. “This project in particular is so inclusive, and it’s really interactive, when you really think about it, because we’re giving people a chance to say, what do you want to see? What are you feeling?”
He said seeing LGBTQ+ street murals covered up by authorities has added urgency to the work.
“It lights an extra fire under me,” Parker said. “When I make a public work, after I’ve unveiled it and essentially given it to the world, I have to relinquish a certain amount of control, because you never know what’s going to happen with that building or that town. But it was just such a specific coverage. I was like, that of all things is what we’re worried about? Cool. Not feeding kids? That was not at the top of the list for getting done.”
Instead of focusing on anger, Parker said he wants to be part of the solution.
“We are not going to be enraged and outraged, we are going to be inspired, and we’re going to elevate what we do to a place where it’s something you can’t cover, dissolve or make disappear.”
Rosine emphasized that fundraising remains critical.
“We are confident we will raise this money, but Cam will not put a paint brush up until that money is raised. We are adamant that he needs to be paid for his time,” he said.
If the full budget cannot be secured, he said the mural will still happen but on a smaller scale.
“We will have a mural up. It may not be a 500 square foot mural, maybe a little parsed down, but we will get this mural up.”
Organizers are also planning a day for the public to watch the mural come to life in real time. Parker envisions a celebratory atmosphere.
“I was just hearing like kids laughing and like people, you know, clanging glasses and just having a good time and being communal and being unified,” he said. “Come out and enjoy yourself. This is an enjoyable experience. You are seen, you are heard. We love you. We are leading with love.”
Both Rosine and Parker said the mural will pay homage to people and moments central to Tampa’s LGBTQ+ history, from drag performers to past protests.
“There are young queer folks every day crossing by where those murals used to be, and where they once would have felt pride,” Rosine said. “And they no longer see themselves represented in the world that they grew up in. This is my city too. I grew up here. And so this is absolutely a direct response to the attacks on our art.”
Parker hopes the final product is more than a wall of paint.
“I want it to be enjoyable for everybody that sees it and that is able to witness it, whether they’re from here or not,” he said. “Having that nostalgia of, oh my God, that takes me back. That’s what I want.”
Rosine added that the project is meant to inspire pride in Tampa itself.
“I hope people feel proud to live here. I really do. I hope that young queer boy in Seminole Heights, who goes for 6 a.m. runs before high school, passes by that wall on his way into the Corner Club to grab a coffee and says, I’m in a great place. I belong here.”
For Parker, it is also about inspiring others to take that first step.
“Sometimes the act of taking that first step is bigger than the actual step,” he said. “I want this to be like a battery charge for people who need a battery charge, because we are tired out here. And I want for this to make us all see that we’re all on the same page, no matter what our situations are.”
The mural will also be done in conjunction with PFLAG Tampa’s 15th anniversary. They’re hosting an anniversary event on October 5th at 6 P.M. at Disco Pony in Ybor. Proceeds will benefit PFLAG Tampa’s mission.
If you would like to donate, you can find the link here.
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