Community Installation of ‘PEACE & LOVE’ to be Unveiled Valentine’s Day

By: Jen Russon

Many hands made light work when the community joined artists from R&R Studios in constructing PEACE & LOVE, a super billboard that suffices as the last public artwork in the Power of Art Series.

The fruits — or rather the flowers of their labor can be seen at the corner of Sample Road and Sportsplex Drive.

The community art project was led by Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar, the owners of Miami based R&R studios, who organized workshops to build the massive silken structure in the final weeks of January.

The public art installation created by Behar, Marquardt, and members of the Coral Springs and Parkland communities was commissioned by a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and is the last in the Power of Art: Inspiring Community Healing After Gun Violence.

At an artist reception earlier this month, Behar said PEACE & LOVE is a beacon of compassion and care for our community and will remain a welcoming and colorful fixture in Coral Springs until it is taken down in May.

While they cannot autograph a work of this size, Behar and his partner, Marquardt, will be part of the unveiling ceremony on February 14, along with hundreds of members of the Coral Springs, Parkland and MSD Strong communities.

The 130 feet long X 30 feet high outgoing message of friendship and hope will be officially unveiled to the public on the second anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy.

The time of the event was set with the intention of attracting and welcoming students from the embattled Parkland high school and surrounding schools in affected communities; that Friday, students are getting out of school early.

Following the shooting that killed 17 people and injured 17 more, the Broward County School Board voted last year to make Valentine’s Day an early release day going into the future.

The unveiling ceremony of PEACE & LOVE will be held at 3 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, 2020.