In recent weeks, vandals have been spotted defacing some of St. Pete's most treasured murals. So far, only one person has been arrested in connection to the string of vandalisms, but police believe there may be more suspects still at large. While the investigation powers on, though, the murals of St. Pete still bear the disruptive graffiti.
Anyone who has visited St. Petersburg knows the place has a certain vibrancy that can't be ignored. This spirited atmosphere of people, culture and art is absolutely magnetic — and something three local brothers aim to preserve and protect.
The Vitale brothers Johnny, Paul, and Joey have been active members of the St. Pete art community since the early '90s, and have continued to blow people away with their talent, drive and commitment to the local scene. Upon hearing of the defacement, all three brothers set out — paint buckets and brushes in hand — to give back what was taken from the St. Pete community. The Vitale Bros. have reached out to local St. Pete business owners whose murals have been defaced and have offered to restore the murals, free of charge.
It has a lot to do with the community. "It’s our landscape, we have to look at it too,” Johnny Vitale said during a recent interview with Bay News 9. “We’re artists and this is something that we can do to support our city.”
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2018.