TAMPA, FL — The Gwen Miller Community Center has a whole new look, thanks to Tampa Bay award-winning artist and activist Nneka Jones.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, city staff and neighborhood leaders joined Jones, the owner of Art You Hungry, LLC, in celebrating the completion of a new mural on the exterior walls of the center at 6410 N 32nd St., Tampa.
Jones is a multi-media artist who creates vibrant paintings, embroidery, murals and other works.
Originally from born in Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain, Jones came to Tampa Bay in 2016 to attend the University of Tampa after placing first in the Caribbean for Art and Design Examinations.
As the youngest of four children, Jones said she was fascinated with drawing, painting and sculpting portraits of women and notable Caribbean figures.
Now 25, Jones graduated from UT with a bachelor of fine arts and minor in marketing in May 2020.
One of her most notable achievements was a commission from TIME magazine to produce the cover artwork for the Aug. 31/ Sept. 7, 2020, issue.
In March, her work won Best of Show at the 52nd Gasparilla Festival of the Arts and her works are currently on display in the exhibit, "Verde: Poetics of Shade," at the Tampa Museum of Art in partnership with the Tampa Chapter of The Links Inc.
Her work has since been acquired by the Tampa Museum of Art, Florida Craft Art Gallery, The Ferman Center for the Arts and by other private and public collectors.
"I love it," Jones said. "It's my passion. It's my job. And I wouldn't have it any other way."
She said the mural at the Gwen Miller Community Center, "History Starts Here," tells the story of the community and is meant to envision the future.
Jones developed the sports-related design concept as a daily reminder to all who visit and play at the park that positive results in the future begin with acts of commitment in the present.
"It's so they can see themselves leaving a mark in the future," she said.
The mural is the latest installment of Castor's Art on the Block initiative to make art accessible to all by bringing art and artists into the neighborhoods while encouraging engagement and participation in community improvements.
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