When COVID came to town and the lockdown began in earnest, Seck37 picked up his paints and went to work on a blank wall . perhaps for the last time.
“The wall was donated, and I wanted to paint something bright and beautiful for Gainesville,” he recalled. “It was a complete ghost town and the streets were empty. Cops were asking me what I was doing.
“I said I was painting a mural as a gift to the city just to keep everybody’s spirits up.”
That “gift” was “One Love Gainesville,” a bold yellow and green composition of hearts and palm fronds that is still on display at the corner of Main Street and Northeast 10th Avenue.
The year that was
As 2020 comes to a close, join WUFT News in looking back on some of the stories that defined the year. Here’s a glimpse into some of the stories that made headlines this year:
Florida legislation
Florida’s Cabinet of top elected leaders hadn’t met face-to-face in Tallahassee since February. (Lauren Witte/Fresh Take Florida)
The year started off with reporters traveling from Gainesville to the state capitol to follow and report on bills as they moved through the legislative session, such as one of the first bills to be signed into law that kept any homeowners association or community entity from preventing a law enforcement office to park a marked vehicle at their homes.
The “Push for Peace” lives on in a Gainesville mural
Local artist painted mural dedicated to skaters for Gainesville s social justice mural project December 14, 2020 | 5:16pm EST Carrie and Jesus Martinez painted a Push for Peace mural at Possum Creek Skatepark. Jesus Martinez said his clothes always end up caked in paint and sometimes become too stiff to wear again.
Their wheels, both big and small, roared along Gainesville roads. Riding on bikes, skateboards and roller skates, some gripping “Black Lives Matter” posters, protesters aimed for peace and unity.
This scene at the summer “Push for Peace” protest in Gainesville inspired Jesus and Carrie Martinez to paint a mural dedicated to peace and skateboarding. On Dec. 4 and 5, they created the mural, which portrays a skateboarder riding through yellow rays in Possum Creek Skatepark, located at 4009 NW 53 Ave.