Brandon Hill, a full-time muralist, was shocked when Walt Disney World’sDisney Springs reached out to him to gauge his interest in designing an original mural. As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Walt Disney World unveiled its newest mural at the Disney Springs Art Walk: A Canvass of Expression, a colorful piece from Washington, D.C. muralist Brandon Hill. Hill says the mural, which was completed Feb. 14, is a tribute to the strength, courage and optimism of Black cowboys who explored the American Wild West.
The Baltimore native previously had his work displayed all throughout the Baltimore area and had given a speech for SEDG, a design conference, in 2023. He said it was there that he believes the powers that be at Art Walk first noticed him. After doing public art for nearly a decade, he said he felt like Art Walk would be a great opportunity to showcase his work.
As for what attracted him to Disney Springs specifically, he said it was all about the challenge of doing his art as spectators watched. “While I love fine art too, I think fine art is very specific. It happens in a place, maybe a studio, maybe a basement, wherever you’re comfortable, everything’s set up the way you need to set up. It’s more of a perfection thing,” he explained. “And then when you finish your work, when you’re ready for the world to see it, the world sees your work completely finished. But public art is different. This [piece at Art Walk] is not finished to me and I have to just be OK with people seeing it not finished. You’re very exposed; if you have anxiety about it, you have to learn to get over it really quickly. I think also being outside, stuff happens. It rains, there’s too much sun. Working on this on Art Walk allowed me into different territory. I’ve had to learn the architecture here and how to deal with different elements. It’s what makes it special.”
Hill’s artwork is one of several by Black artists that is part of the Disney Springs Art Walk, which is a collection of oversized murals on display year-round at Disney Springs. It’s also one of many ways that guests can “Celebrate Soulfully’’ at Walt Disney World Resort by experiencing Black culture through food, art, entertainment and music. Each artist is able to curate a design based on their own ideas, and they work with the Art Walk team to help bring the vision to life. The mural lives on the Art Walk for up to two years.
Each story is different, whether it’s a tribute to the LGBTQ+ community, a personal tribute to a loved one, or a historical concept. Hill’s is the latter, but also very timely.
In a world that boasts Cowboy Carter and Yellowstone, where cowboy life is at the forefront, he wanted to highlight the contributions of Black cowboy life in particular — which he didn’t know about until recent years.
During the beginning of the pandemic, when air travel was shut down to the general public, Hill took a road trip to Colorado. On his journey, he read a book called Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, on the Stage, Behind the Badge. He was stunned by the data.
“In the very first chapter it said at the height of cowboy life, Black cowboys made up a third of the demographic, and I just couldn’t even wrap my head around it,” he said. “I knew we were part of it, but I assumed it was just a couple of us. But when you think about a third, that’s nearly half. And we haven’t been represented that way in popular culture.”
He was immediately inspired and created a digital print as the foundation for a piece he was interested in creating. His ongoing work on Art Walk is a representation of that.
“When you say the word cowboy, you should think of a Samuel L. Jackson-looking dude, a Wesley Snipes — why doesn’t that image also pop up in our minds? Instead, we only see Clint Eastwood, which is also true, but we’re not thought of as pioneers, and that’s far from the truth. That’s what I want my piece to represent,” he said.
The beauty of art is that it’s up to one’s personal interpretation. Still, Hill hopes the message comes across strongly. “I think it’s about communicating a journey — either a journey or experience of where you’re from. So I think you can read it two different ways — either that’s a reflection of where he’s been, or that’s, like, where he’s going to.”
Hill is proud to be one of the Black artists featured on Art Walk. “There’s so much talent up here, it’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve seen pictures, but until you see it in person, the pictures don’t even do it justice. Just being part of the menagerie here is really cool.”
