WHAT:
The City of Orlando’s Art Pollination public art project will host a three-day series of events beginning Friday, October 10, with the major museum opening of Art Pollination: Juan William Chávez, the unveiling of Art Pollination: Worker Bees mural by Luca Molnar, and a performance by Shawn Welcome, former Poet Laureate for the City of Orlando.
All events will center on leveraging the power of art and creativity to raise awareness of and promote approaches to address the shared challenges of food insecurity and hunger in our community.
The programming and temporary art installations are made possible through a $1 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, which brings together city leaders, residents, and artists to develop innovative, temporary public art projects that address important civic issues within their communities.
For more information about Art Pollination, including artist biographies, examples of previous work, a calendar of events, and details about exhibitions and installations across the city, please visit:Art Pollination | Bloomberg Connects.
Friday, October 10, 2025
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Exhibition Opening Night
Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street
The bilingual exhibition will feature artist Juan William Chávez’s multi-media installation Art Pollination, the unveiling of the Worker Bees mural by Luca Molnar, and a performance by Shawn Welcome, former Poet Laureate for the City of Orlando.
Saturday, October 11, 2025
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Live at the Oak: Poetry, Performance, and Pollination
Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street
Live at the Oak: Poetry, Performance, and Pollination is a collaborative event held beneath the “Mayor’s Tree,” a 350-year-old live oak, featuring performances by Shawn Welcome, Emily Johnson, and Juan William Chávez.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Emily Johnson/Catalyst: Our Future, Our Food: Community Quilting + Art Pollination Performance & Community Quilt-Making
Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street
Renowned choreographer, dancer, and community activist Emily Johnson will lead a hands-on community quilt-making activity alongside fashion designer Korina Emmerich. Attendees are invited to write their ideas and reflections on hunger, food insecurity, and other pressing community issues onto fabric swatches, which will then be stitched together to form a large-scale quilt.
For additional details, visit Orlando.gov/ArtPollination.