BOLD Collaborates With Dadeland Mall And Gianna DiBartolomeo To Create A Mural Highlighting Miami Culture
During the 2019 Fall semester, BOLD and Dadeland Mall partnered with local Miami artist Gianna DiBartolomeo, MFA, to create a unique cultural on-site experience in collaboration with Florida International University (FIU).
BOLD is a student-run strategic communications agency at FIU that is offered as an extracurricular and class. The team was composed of students from the BOLD upper level class, Carlos Ortiz, Kelly Carias Carrillo, Alejandra Chahine, and Elena Herrera. The BOLD Level Two class caters to the most prominent clients on BOLD’s roster. Students work with these clients to develop their strategic communications efforts.
The collaborative team at BOLD crafted the idea to create a mural at Dadeland mall for guests. The goal was to turn a plain wall into a part of the Miami experience. Lourdes Menendez Rodriguez, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Dadeland Mall, was seeking an attraction that would increase foot traffic at the mall. The strategy consisted of mall attendees being able to take pictures with the mural to be posted on social media. They would then use the geo-filter feature to let others know that the mural could be found in Dadeland Mall which would in turn result in more people visiting the site.
The BOLD team hosted a contest for local artists in order to find the artist who would be able to deliver the quality work sought after by Dadeland Mall. After reviewing multiple submissions, Menendez chose a talented contemporary artist and FIU alumna, Gianna DiBartolomeo to design the mural that best represented Miami culture.
Gianna’s big idea was a play on the word “Miami” which she segmented into “Mi,” “Am” and “I” highlighting the letters “I” “AM” to create “I Am Miami”. (Pictured below)
Dadeland Mall closed its doors on March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of new safety restrictions, many events and activities, including the mural’s grand reveal, were canceled or delayed.
On May 20, doors reopened, and projects that were set aside before the quarantine were back on track. After months of lifestyle changes, it was time for people to adjust to a new normal with safety restrictions.
The “I Am Miami” mural can be found on the second level of Dadeland Mall near Earls Kitchen + Bar. It is now on display for guests to visit. The mural will be a photo op for tourists to commemorate their visit to Miami in a social media post.
Artist Gianna DiBartolomeo showcasing her “I Am Miami ” mural at Dadeland Mall.
BOLD is a student-run strategic communications agency at Florida International University. Click here to learn more.
Written by: Alejandra Chahine, Director of Public Relations; Maria Duque, Director of Accounts
Contributor: Tiffany Davis, BOLD Member