In honor of Black History Month, Walt Disney World is hosting several special events and offerings throughout its property, including a new exhibit at Epcot’s American Adventure pavilion, specialty menu items at select restaurants, and four pieces of original, Soul inspired artwork at Disney Springs!
Each unique mural was created by an emerging Black artist (Bee Harris, Bianca Pastel, Arrington Porter, Cory Van Lew), and each reflects the artist’s individual interpretation of the movie and its meaning.
Finding the Soul Artwork at Disney Springs
After arriving at Disney Springs, I had a very hard time locating the four murals. In fact, I even asked Guest Services where to find them, and the Cast Members didn’t know! Because this is Disney, however, they did eventually find the answer and someone was able to direct me to each of the pieces.
For your reference, the murals are scattered throughout the central area of the Springs. Two are posted across from the Guest Services building on what used to be the Kipling store. One is between the Lego store and World of Disney, and the other is right next to Uno de 50.
Each mural is posted with a headshot and quote from the author about their piece.
Soul Artwork at Disney Springs
Joe’s World by Arrington Porter
Arrington said of his piece, “Creating artwork for this collection was an awesome experience! As an artist, I found myself connected to the film, relating back to a familiar place within my own love for music and being in constant pursuit of my dreams. Outside of being a visual artist I too am a pianist – so I related to Joe’s character on a more personal level.”
Arrington is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/heir_porter/.
Joe & His Fro by Bianca Pastel
Bianca stated, “Throughout the film, Joe learns some very valuable lessons on his journey, so I wanted to express the connection between colors, characters, and stories in every detail. My favorite part of this process was choosing color palettes because, for me, it’s like picking a feeling. How I want a piece to feel depends on the colors I create with. Throughout the process, I realized I could create authentically, be myself with my process and have fun with my art – which is exactly what I did.”
Bianca posts more of her work on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/biancapastel/.
The Great Gardner by Cory Van Lew
Cory talked about the techniques he used to evoke a a sensation of double worlds. “This was an amazing opportunity for us as artists to tap into our version of ‘The Zone’ and create a visual representation of what this moment means to us! The parallel worlds in the movie go hand-in-hand with the parallel universe I depict in my paintings. Down to the digitally-made background paired with the hand-painted characters, I aimed to immerse people in an alternate realm of my own.”
You can find more of his artwork posted on his Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/coryvanlew/.
The Village by Bee Harris
This one was my personal favorite of the four paintings! Bee explained, “Working on this collection was a dream come true! It was an honor to highlight the four Black women in Joe’s village. These women represent the strong-willed, supportive women in my life who have helped me discover and walk in my purpose. I walked away with a deeper understanding of myself and my capabilities as an artist. It was both challenging and inspiring to create something so unique to things I’ve done in the past.”
You can find more of her beautiful artwork at https://gobeeharris.com.
