Riding my bike through the Riverwalk and stopped for a cold tea at Pura Vida where the giant THRIVE…read morecavelike stone sculpture proudly stands with green vines filling the sides of the cave. Im not really an art buff, but this sculpture by Daniel Popper was impressive. The stone sculpture depicts a woman cracking open her rib cage with both of her hands symbolizing transformation and hope. People can be seen taking pictures inside the cave. Its worth a few minutes to take a peek at this artwork if near Las Olas in Ft Lauderdale.

The Thrive Statue is one of those pieces that stops you mid-walk. It's powerful, expressive, and…read morequietly emotional--capturing strength, growth, and resilience all at once. The scale alone draws you in, but it's the details and posture that really make you pause and reflect. Set against the modern surroundings, it feels both grounding and inspiring, like a reminder to keep pushing forward even when things feel heavy. Beautifully done, thoughtfully placed, and absolutely worth a moment (or a photo) if you're in the area.

I Love You is a public art piece completed in 2012 at the Broward County Library Branch which used…read moreto be the home of Young at Art. This installation was created by wife and husband artists Rosario Marquardt & Roberto Beha from R & R Studios who create art, architecture, and design for cities. They also created the Living Room in the Design District in Miami and A Midsummer Night's Dream, in Balboa Square in Coral Gables. Florida. They have created many other public art arts all over the country and internationally. This is the artists statement "We weave together visual arts, architecture, design, landscape and the city. The ambition of our practice is to reclaim, enhance and develop the public dimension of the city. We seek to produce a public architecture that highlights the communal and civic dimension of life and erases boundaries between art and everyday life. We understand our work as experiments in public space, models of possibilities that might imbue the construction of the city with new meaning and emotion." This art installation was designed as a secret garden or an outdoor open room perfect for telling stories or secrets. In addition to the 10 foot high letters which spell out the words I Love You, the piece also has five brightly colored, flower shaped benches for seating. Although the children's art museum is no longer here, the letters still make the perfect backdrop for romantic photos. Come visit this unique and whimsical piece of art. "It's a love story, baby just say yes!"

Marc Quinn's "Broken Sublime," is a stunning stainless steel seashell sculpture on Las Olas Blvd &…read moreSE 6th Ave. The conch shell, a piece by British artist Marc Quinn stands over 7 feet tall & weighs more than 5,500 lbs, This larger-than-life stainless steel seashell sculpture valued at nearly $1 million graces the grounds of downtown's long-awaited Tunnel Top Plaza, an artificial turf zone that cost taxpayers $10.6 million. This new sculpture and sitting area is in front of the cheesecake factory. The beach is steps away and the new art here is meant to evoke positive feelings about the Fort Lauderdale seashore.

Broken Sublime (The Hunger) is a new stainless steel public art piece that was purchased for the…read morenew Tunnel Top Park that sits over the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel. You can find the giant stainless steel conch shell between the Cheesecake Factory and Sushi Garage on Las Olas Boulevard. The shiny conch shell is over 7 feet high and weighs 5,500 pounds. This art piece and future pieces that will be placed in the park were paid from a 5 million dollar donation from the estate of the late James Winder Laird. Broken Sublime (The Hunger) is by British artist Marc Quinn. Quinn is a contemporary visual artist whose subjects include the body, genetics, identity, environment, and the media. Although primarily known as a sculptor, he has also produced prints and photographs. Quinn has had exhibitions in major galleries like the Tate and he has created public art work for cities all over the world. The public art here is meant to make Tunnel Top Park an inviting place for tourists to hang out on Las Olas Boulevard. Broken Sublime (The Hunger) in particular is meant to evoke the idea that the beach is a short distance away and that Ft. Lauderdale is a beach town. I think this piece adds interest to an otherwise plain pedestrian area. It is also a nice place to take a selfie.

I have been eagerly awaiting the installation of this public art piece and it is finally here. This…read morelarge, 8,000 pound bronze sea turtle statue was created for Dania Beach by environmental artist and conservationist Robert Wyland who was born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. He is most well known for his large outdoor murals, a series of 100 Whaling Walls throughout the country and world to spotlight the fragile ocean ecosystem. J. Milton and Associates as part of the City of Dania Beach's public art program, commissioned Wyland to create a sculpture of a Florida green sea turtle and the colorful reef fish and coral that are part of Florida's living reef. The sculpture was built over eight months and then shipped to Dania Beach. This turtle sculpture is part of Wyland's global public art project, which focuses on representations of marine life. Other Wyland pieces from this project are in Beijing, China and Hoonah, Alaska. This green turtle is swimming in front of Sea View Luxury Rentals. The pictures do not do this beautiful piece justice. I have been a long time Wyland fan and have visited several of the Whaling Walls. I love how this sculpture brings awareness to green sea turtles. They are the largest of the hard shelled turtles and are unique because they are herbivores with a diet consisting of sea grass and algae. Green turtles are found around the world but their numbers have declined as they have been used for their meat and eggs. They have also lost nesting habitat due to coastal development. They are listed as an endangered species.

Behind the administration center at Tree Tops Parks in Davie at the entrance to the hiking trails,…read moreis this life size bronze statue of Sam Jones who was also known by his Seminole name, Abiaka. There is also an identical statue located at the entrance of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. The statues are by Bradley Cooley Sr, and Jr. Together, the duo have made over 40 life-sized sculptures for the Seminole Tribe of Florida along with dozens of busts, tabletop sculptures, and other smaller works. Sam Jones was a famous leader and medicine man during the Second Seminole War. He fought against the US Army in the bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of Okeechobee. After the battle he led the remaining 200 or so members of his tribe here, in the Pine Island Ridge, the highest natural elevation in Broward County. They were able to hide out from the US Government who were trying to send them on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma under the Indian removal policy. This statue depicts him leading his people to safety. This statue was created in 1995 and added to the park after a statue of Major William Lauderdale was added to the ridge. The city of Fort Lauderdale was named after him and he was tasked with rounding up the Seminoles and removing them from the area. People felt it was only fair to represent both sides of the conflict.

Major Lauderdale arrived in the area that is now Ft. Lauderdale on March 5, 1838 at the request of…read morehis friend and neighbor in Tennessee, President Andrew Jackson. Jackson wanted Lauderdale to remove members of the Seminole tribe who had been driven south from their original territory of Georgia. He hoped to make Florida safer for settlers. Upon arrival Lauderdale set up a military post, named Fort Lauderdale, on the banks of New River at Southwest Ninth Avenue. The City of Ft. Lauderdale was founded 57 years later in 1895. At the entrance to the Forest Ridge Subdivision in Davie is this 9 foot tall, bronze statue of Major William Lauderdale, namesake of the City of Ft. Lauderdale. He rides astride his horse at the spot where Seminoles once lived on the ridge during the last century. It was the site for sacred ceremonies, weddings, and naming newborns. It was also where Lauderdale fought a skirmish against the Seminole led by Seminole chief Sam Jones. The soldiers drove 50 to 100 Indian warriors and their women and children off the island but they where not able to capture them. Thirteen days after the skirmish, Lauderdale left Florida in poor health. He died on the way back to Tennessee on May 11th. The Seminole were able to hide out and they were the only tribe never to sign a peace treaty with the US Government. The statue was created in 1988 by sculptor Luis Montoya who has a studio in West Palm Beach. It was commissioned by Forest Ridge developer Charles Palmer, who was a member of Fort Lauderdale's Downtown Development Authority at the time. The Forest Ridge development sits on Pine Island Ridge, once an island that Major Lauderdale and his Tennessee Volunteers helped to take from the Seminoles during the Second Seminole War in 1838. Since no likeness of Major Lauderdale exists, Montoya used the Major's great- great-grandson, also named William Lauderdale as a model. You can reach this statue from the street but I came upon it from the trail that starts in Tree Top Park and goes through Pine Island Ridge Preserve. At the start of the trail in the park is the Sam Jones Memorial Sculpture, a tribute to the Seminole medicine man who led his people to freedom from Major Lauderdale and the U.S. Army.

Olas the snowman makes an appearance every year over the Christmas period. Apparently he has a…read moredifferent them each year. I came for a look. It was nice to watch people take their Xmas snap shots. Debuted in 2015, he was named Olas as a nod to Las Olas Boulevard and a playful take on Disney's Olaf.

This snowman changes year to year (from its inception in 2015). If you're visiting Fort Lauderdale…read moreBeach, you might as well get your "snow"man ... sandman ... sand snowman photo. Viewing other picture on this post, I like 2025 better than the others. (Posting November 2025) Is Olas amazing ... well, maybe not that ... but with the entire waterfront dressed for Christmas, you should definitely take a picture with Olas too! It is a cute statue!

The Village Art Plaza is a new event space and sculpture garden next to City Park. The art plaza is…read moreon the site of the City of Sunrise's first post office that served residents from 1970 until 2007. Once a gathering place for people to send mail, buy stamps, see a friendly face, and chat with neighbors, the space has now been turned into a different kind of community space. This public art space was designed to be a place where Sunrise and its visitors can gather for cultural events. The colorful open space has murals on the wall including the Stay Sunny mural by Surge Contemporary Artist Murals. There are also several sculptures, my favorite is the T-Rex. There is a stage and lots of seating in the area along with beautiful landscaping. This new space kicks off with The Village Art Plaza Grand Opening on March 29th. This event will run from 5 to 9 PM and it includes live music, food and drinks, giveaways, and kids crafts. Other upcoming events include food trucks, morning yoga, story time, and a farmer's market. I am super excited to enjoy this brand new space where the community will be able to experience art, food, and cultural events.

If you are interested in outdoor public art, don't want to pay to see it like for Wynwood Walls in…read moreMiami, and would rather avoid paying for tolls for driving closer abouts Miami, check out the Downtown Hollywood Mural Project! http://hollywoodcra.org/188/Downtown-Hollywood-Mural-Project Looks like they offer a free mural walking tour at 6pm every third Saturday (weather dependent), but we downloaded a map and headed off on our own. We ended up using their map to get to the area, then we did the wandering tourist thing, and just happened upon the artwork nilly willy. It was fun!

Downtown Hollywood has vibrant wall murals everywhere from the Art Park better known as Young…read moreCircle to Dixie Highway along Harrison Street and Hollywood Blvd. The idea behind the Hollywood Mural Project was to transform urban space into public art. Its free and easy to take a self guided tour to find all the exhibits. We found five that really stood out and discovered their origin and creators.

In 2012 the City of Pompano Beach adopted an ordinance to place public art in the city. Works are…read morechosen by the Public Art Committee and the Old Town Mural is part of the public art program. It's so much fun finding new art popping up in different places in the city. There is a ten year master plan that proposes 27 new pieces of art. Periodically Pompano will list a call for artist submissions on their public arts page and at that time artists can submit their work for consideration for the next project. The Old Town Mural was created by South Florida artist Carlos Gonzalez. He won the competition held by the Public Arts Committee and his design was chosen. The mural is located on an exterior wall in the Old Town section of Pompano located across the street frrom the Pompano Beach Cultural Center. In bright colors, the 98 foot high mural depicts the landmarks and historic sites in Pompano Beach. Scenes include the Pompano Beach pier, the Hillsboro Lighthouse, fruilts and vegetables from when Pompano Beach started out as a farming community, historic buildings, and a Pompano fish. The best time to come and see this mural is during Old Town Untapped, a food arts, and shopping event held on the first Friday of every month. The city planted some flowers in front of the mural and it is the perfect back drop for taking pictures. I really love this mural and am excited to see what the committee approves next.

Kudos to the artist . We were near the mural in the small park listening to a free rock band …read more Apparently they have free monthly concerts near the old town mural . Yippy to free concerts and beautiful art .