Becks had Artists Paint 15 Murals in Little Havana, Little Haiti, Hialeah, and Wynwood Over the Summer

Over the summer Becks, the German beer maker, commissioned twelve artists to create fifteen original murals scattered throughout Little Havana, Little Haiti, Hialeah, and Wynwood. The project, called Becks Urban Canvas, is "a community-focused art project aimed at neighborhood revitalization and the fostering of progressive thinking in Miami" according to a release. The man behind WynwoodMaps.org, Robert William de los Rios, curated the selection, picking 2 Alas, Abstrk, Diana Contreras, Don Rimx, Ernesto Maranje, Hoxxoh, Jessy Nite, Jose Mertz, Magnus Sodamin, Trek 6, Typoe and Tatiana Suarez to create original work in some of Miami's most authentic, working class, multicultural, and urban neighborhoods.

The corporate sponership of Miami's art scene is nothing new, often resulting in a mixed bag of artist exploitation, but this effort appears to be a keeper. De los Rios told the Miami New Times he wished more major companies would take Beck's approach toward artistic freedom and bringing public art to a broad spectrum of Miamians. "This is a good step forward because it shows that there are companies out there that respect what these artists do, it's not just for the sake of, 'hey put a can on a wall.'"

· Becks Urban Canvas [becksurbancanvas.com]
· 15 new murals going up throughout Miami [New Times]
· Check out this map/archive of Wynwood street art [Curbed]