In response to the Florida Department of Transportation's recent removal of street art, including the iconic rainbow crosswalk honoring the Pulse nightclub tragedy, an Orlando restaurant is taking a stand by creating a haven for artistic expression within its own bounds. Se7en Bites, a local dining favorite for breakfast and brunch, is morphing 49 of its private parking spots into canvases for artists who seek to inject vibrancy back into the city's streetscape. This initiative, in defiance of state policies that have been scrubbing away at colorful displays throughout the city.
The restaurant's owner, Trina Gregory, has opened the doors, or rather the parking lot of Se7en Bites stating "I wanted our community to feel a sense of that things weren’t being taken away," and emphasizing that "Art just seems to be such a really important part of what makes the city of Orlando, the city of Orlando," according to an interview with ClickOrlando. The event, dubbed "Parking Spaces for Pride," aligns with the restaurant's commitment to uplifting the local LGBTQ+ community, a nod to the Pulse nightclub's role therein, and serves up a side of resilience against the state's stances against public art displays.
The event welcomed more than a thousand applications from eager artists, with one Felicia Brown from Winter Park being among the chosen; Brown brought linguistic diversity into her piece titled "Love is Our Language," featuring the word 'love' depicted in roughly 115 languages as she told WESH: "My goal is just to communicate that we are all connected by the same universal force." "Parking Spaces for Pride - A Rainbow Connection" is not only a showcase of local artistic talent but comes complete with live music, entertainment, and local vendors, marking the establishment as more than just a culinary refuge, but a cultural one as well.
