Planned 1,000-foot-long “Walkway of Peace” mural in Miami is inspired by a Ukrainian flag painted by a Seattle tourist during her FL visit.
Patch | Tiffany Razzano | March 29, 2022 at 7:41 pm ET[Updated Mar 30, 2022 at 10:39 am ET]
MIAMI, FL — Whenever Nina Chepovska travels, she likes to book Airbnb Experiences as a way to explore the city she’s visiting.
Though the platform is known primarily for its vacation rentals, Airbnb users can also book unique experiences hosted by locals — salsa dancing, food tours, boat rides. Or, in the case of her recent trip to Miami, the opportunity to paint her own Wynwood mural.
“I wanted to do something fun, and I usually try out a different Airbnb Experience when on a trip,” Chepovska told Patch. “Wynwood is a cool neighborhood known for its art and murals, and I thought this would be a cool way to see it.”
The Seattle resident, who moved to the U.S. from Ukraine with her parents when she was 7 years old, isn’t an artist; she works as a recruiter for a tech company. She simply thought painting a mural in Wynwood would be a fun outing while visiting South Florida.
“I don’t even consider myself a creative person,” she said.
So, when mural artist Kyle Holbrook, who hosts the mural painting experience, asked her what she planned to create, she froze.
“I really had no expectations. I was kind of unprepared even with what I was going to paint. I had to make something up on the spot,” she said. “I should have thought about it before I arrived.”
Just two weeks into Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine at the time, Chepovska decided to paint from the heart. Creating an homage to her homeland and a tribute to her family who remains there, she painted the Ukrainian flag surrounded by a brightly colored geometric design.
