Bird calls and citrus scents greet pedestrians when they pass a colorful mural at 650 N. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
The installation features panels of a giant mockingbird feasting on bright orange citrus fruits on the walls outside the Lighthouse of Broward, the nonprofit group that provides education and training for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Boxy censors mounted above the art produce the sounds of the singing mockingbirds and the scents of orange citrus groves and fresh pine trees to make the mural a multi-sensory experience for the visually-impaired. The rinds of the painted fruit and the feathers of the bird are also raised so people's fingers can graze them as they study the art.
Earlier this year, more than 150 volunteers helped paint the mural called "Main Course" and designed by Ernesto Maranje, an artist with Unconventional, which bills itself as "a socially responsible art production agency." Partners of the art project include the Lighthouse Center and Cadence, a Fort Lauderdale landscape and architecture firm.
"It's kind of an inclusive way for everyone even vision impaired to appreciate street art," said Tim Lane, a member of the board for the proposed urban walking art trail called Mockingbird Trail.
The mural is part of that project, which would be a two-mile loop that weaves through the city's Flagler Village neighborhood.
The idea is to encourage people to walk the path which would be dotted with colorful bird-themed murals, sculptures and artsy hatched eggs and footprints based on a mythological giant mockingbird.
The mockingbird, by the way, is Florida's official state bird.
