Dallas recently celebrated the completion of the "Future of Soccer" mural with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located on a vacant building on West Commerce Street, the artwork spans 150 feet in height and 250 feet in width, making it the largest mural in the city.
Designed by 26-year-old Dutch muralist Rosalie de Graaf, the piece was brought to life by Texas-based artists Daniel Yanez, Bimbo Adenugba and Ade Odunfa. The artists dedicated 10 hours a day over 15 days to create the piece.
The mural, which depicts children playing soccer among the flags of Argentina, the Netherlands, Japan, and England, is part of a broader FIFA World Cup series organized by the nonprofit Street Art for Mankind across Houston, Miami and Seattle.
Despite it being a massive national project, the piece has been overshadowed by a legal dispute following the removal of the another mural in downtown Dallas "Ocean Life." Many residents were outraged when the decades old whale mural was painted over to make way for another FIFA mural.
Wyland, the artist behind the mural, and his legal team at Kessler Collins, P.C., issued a cease-and-desist letter last week, alleging that the destruction of the original conservation-themed mural violates the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act. Due to these legal challenges, further progress on the site is currently halted, leaving the mural's ultimate status uncertain.
Alexsis Jones is a reporter and producer for KERA News. Got a tip? Email Alexsis at ajones@kera.org.
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