In Miami, Wynwood Walls Museum Evolves Along With Street Art

This article is part of our Museums special section about how artists and institutions are adapting to changing times.

The real estate developer Tony Goldman was no stranger to transforming neighborhoods when he established the outdoor street art museum Wynwood Walls in Miami in 2009. Located in Wynwood, formerly an industrial district of warehouses and garment manufacturing factories, the museum was his way of revitalizing a city pocket that had declined in the 1980s and had since sat virtually abandoned and forgotten.

Goldman, who died in 2012, was known for breathing new life into Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood by investing in real estate and turning it into a destination for artists and the fashionable set. He saw the same potential with Wynwood, according to his daughter, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, a co-chair of the real estate development company Goldman Properties and the museum’s curator.

“My dad, Joey, and I were together when we first visited Wynwood in 2005,” she said, referring to her brother. “Block after block of single-story industrial buildings — mostly vacant or abandoned — served as canvases for a sea of chaotic graffiti, but my dad recognized the opportunity to build upon the DNA of the neighborhood and enhance it for others to enjoy.”

Goldman Srebnick said that her father saw the advantages of Wynwood’s central location, the walkability of its streets, the mass of underutilized buildings and its grittiness — all factors he used to breathe new life into SoHo, South Beach in Miami and Midtown Village in Philadelphia.

“To him, it was clear that Wynwood would become the center for the creative class, with the Wynwood Walls Museum as its vibrant, beating heart,” she said.

What started as an endeavor showcasing the works of 11 street artists quickly drew in visitors by word of mouth and grew in popularity and scale.

Today, as it moves past its 15th anniversary, Wynwood Walls encompasses 35,000 square feet of walls and bills itself as the world’s largest outdoor graffiti art museum. It’s a major tourist attraction that has had more than 15 million visitors and shown 183 murals and sculptures by over 140 international artists since its inception, according to Goldman Srebnick.

In an interview, she shared more about the museum’s history, how it’s changed and what she hopes to accomplish in the years ahead. Conducted by phone and email, the conversation has been edited and condensed.

Was there a specific artist that helped put the museum on the map?

Rather than a single artist, there have been several defining moments in Wynwood’s evolution.

The first came in 2002, when Miami Beach was selected as the home of Art Basel. That decision turned South Florida into a cultural destination and attracted collectors, curators, gallerists, artists and the press in droves every year. Wynwood became a beneficiary of that spotlight. We aligned Wynwood Walls programming to coincide with Art Basel and used that week to unveil our newest murals and sculptures. Some visitors to Art Basel also came to Wynwood, putting it on the map.

A second defining moment was the advent of the iPhone and social media applications, which enabled us to showcase Wynwood to the world. A little-known art form painted in a forgotten neighborhood became a globally recognized outdoor museum thanks to Instagram and other platforms.

You change the museum’s works annually. How do you scout for new muralists each year?

My journey of discovery is about being aware. Social media has become an incredible resource. It’s essentially a portfolio where I can track trends, explore techniques and discover artists in real time anywhere in the world.

My pipeline also comes from recommendations by people I respect, including other artists, photographers and gallerists. Artists themselves also reach out to introduce us to their work.

Many of the street artists we’ve included have become well-known names or were already famous, such as Osgemous, identical twin brothers from Brazil, who currently have an exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in [Washington] D.C. Also, Shepard Fairey, who is known for his Obama “Hope” poster from 2008, was part of Wynwood’s first batch. He did a mural in black, white and red using wheat paste with references to climate change, human rights and war.

How has the global reputation of street art transformed over the past 15 years? And how do you think Wynwood Walls has helped reshape perceptions of it as fine art?

Fifteen years ago, street art was largely dismissed as vandalism. Today, it stands as one of the most significant movements in contemporary art. This transformation was driven by fearless artists, visionary curators and supportive communities that redefined the cultural value of this art form.

Street art now appears in galleries, major museum collections and prestigious auction houses. From the facades of buildings in Berlin and Toronto to festivals in France and Australia, street art has become part of the identity of many cities across the globe.

Our initiatives go beyond murals. We have a Street Art Experience, where visitors use spray paint to create their own works, and an arts gallery showing smaller contemporary pieces.

Can you share any challenges you’ve faced balancing artistic freedom with Wynwood’s commercial and cultural aspects?

As Wynwood has grown, it has been challenging to avoid becoming too commercial. Of course, the artists look to their art that we show as a source of revenue, and it’s a business for Wynwood Walls as well. We didn’t charge an admission fee for a decade but eventually had to to fund the museum.

Our success has driven traffic to the neighborhood and increased the business of the local restaurants and stores. Yet, we try to stay true to my dad’s original vision by fostering an artistic community.

How do you envision Wynwood evolving in the years ahead? Do you have any specific goals?

One primary goal is to expand Wynwood’s identity to incorporate music. We recently signed a lease with Gibson to bring its Gibson Garage retail store and music venue to the center of Wynwood. We hope to host live concerts by global musicians and have initiatives where they can collaborate with the street artists.