Pride Month Mural At Walt Disney World To Be Done By St. Pete Artist

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Chad Mize, a St. Petersburg artist and owner of Mize Gallery, is one of about 22 artists chosen by Walt Disney World to paint a mural at the Orlando theme park for display in June, which is Pride Month.

Mize began painting murals on buildings in St. Petersburg about eight years ago. As he continues to hone his craft, he told Patch businesses and homeowners hire him to paint murals. Mize said he has served on the SHINE Mural Festival board in St. Petersburg.

Out of the 22 artists, Mize said he will be the first one who gets to paint a mural in the Disney Imagineering exhibit at Disney Springs.

"They were looking for diversity with the artists and I am an LGBTQ plus artist, so I'm kind of filling in that spot," Mize said. "My piece is the very first piece that will be done for this project, which will be up for at least a year. They also wanted me to do it in time for Pride Month, June."

Mize said he is glad Disney has given him freedom for this project that allows him to be in total charge of his creativity instead of having to follow measurements and design instructions.

Disney contacted Mize in March after they heard about his work in St. Petersburg. An art director told Mize if he wanted to be part of the project, he would need to present his idea to them in April.

He will stay in Orlando for about a week starting May 23 to paint on what resembles a stucco wall that's divided by brick pillars.

"I don't think I've been to Disney Springs since back in college [Ole Miss] back in the '90s," Mize said. "It'll be good to be there after so long."

The wall is 9 feet by 11 feet, Mize said. As he paints behind a roped-off area with a sign nearby that displays his name, Disney guests can stop by and ask him about his art as they observe him work.

Mize said while he welcomes conversations with guests, he doesn't want it to take too much time away from the project.

Disney will not allow the artists involved in this project to disclose a draft or description of their mural pieces, Mize said. But since the mural is going up during Pride Month, he will include a Pride design in it. Other than that, Mize said the piece will represent his current work, which is like a free-flowing cartoon.

Mize said he hopes this opens up art opportunities for him internationally.

Disney is allowing the artists to post videos and images of their mural progress on their social media feeds. Mize said he will post updates daily beginning Monday when he begins painting at Disney. To follow Mize's mural progress, follow him on his Instagram account.

Mize Provided The Picture Below To Patch That Shows A Mural He Designed For Equality Florida In St. Petersburg.

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