Meet Wynwood, Miami's rising street art district

Glamourous Miami is known more for its combination of lush beaches and tanned skin than for its dark, underground corners. But like any other city, where there are warehouses, there is dance music.

The neighborhood of Wynwood sits just north of Downtown Miami and is recognizable for its walls, decked out in unmissable artwork which ranges from cartoon characters to landscape murals and everything in between. In what began as a rundown quarter that, only several years ago, most would be fearful to explore has flourished into a maze of street art bursting with inspirations and personality that has beckoned creatives from all around. Specifically, this has become home to III Points, a festival that combines three realms of creativity (music, art and technology) that thrive in an environment as raw and welcoming as Wynwood. Now in its third year, III Points has become home to an impressive roster of artists drawn specifically from the house and techno cloth like Dixon, KiNK, Black Coffee, Maya Jane Coles and heavyweight headliners like LCD Soundsystem, Thievery Corporation and M83.

But why Wynwood?

What about this district has made it the go-to melting pot of culture for a city as colorful as Miami?

One man, long ago, saw the potential of Wynwood before anyone else did. Tony Goldman, who purchased a collection of properties in the area and noticed its potential after founding Goldman Properties in 1968. “Wynwood’s large stock of warehouse buildings, all with no windows, would be my giant canvases to create and display the greatest street art ever seen in one place,” wrote Goldman. What ensued was a mass movement of rebellious artists flooding the streets to legally showcase their talents, which began with a select few. Shepard Fairey, Os Gêmeos, Swoon, Barry McGee and Clare Rojas, Futura, Kenny Scharf and Jim Drain among others all came to Wynwood in 2009 to paint these grand walls and thus was the beginning of the biggest street art district in the world.