When droves of fans step inside the gates of the new and improved Roth Tower at Acrisure Bounce House, they鈥檒l be greeted with two one-of-a-kind, alumni-made murals and a welcome message that鈥檚 100% UCF:
鈥淚t鈥檚 a perfect day to bounce in Orange County, Florida.鈥�
The Roth Tower project, made possible by a $90 million commitment of Tourist Development Tax revenues from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, represents a pivotal addition to the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village that strengthens Orange County as a premier destination for sports tourism and community engagement.
When the investment was greenlit in 2023, university and athletics administration knew they wanted to add to the stadium鈥檚 art collection, which already features several installations around the concourse that include Knightro, wings of Pegasus (the university鈥檚 official seal), UCF鈥檚 Big 12 ties and Orlando.
UCF commissioned Harry Foreman 鈥�18 to deliver two murals that pay homage to the UCF story and the university鈥檚 relationship to Orlando and Orange County. To execute the installation in the week leading up to the tower鈥檚 unveiling, Foreman utilized virtual reality technology as part of his process and enlisted the help of fellow alumni: Nicole Lind 鈥�11, a Burnett Honors Scholar who graduated with a degree in an elementary education, and Paulaiden Minerva 鈥�15, who earned his bachelor’s in marketing through the program.
Foreman studied graphic design and emerging media management and previously completed murals for the UCF Downtown and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management campuses.
鈥淲hen I was a student I always had so much fun on games days,鈥� Foreman says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 magic being back here.鈥�
The Florida native, who now splits his time between Orlando and Denver, has been an active contributor to the Central Florida鈥檚 arts scene for years. He recently was selected to be part of the City of Orlando鈥檚 Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, Art Pollination 鈥� a prestigious opportunity as Orlando was one of eight cities selected for the $1 million grant out of more than 150 submissions from around the country.
Acrisure Bounce House is his third football stadium mural project. He previously completed installations for the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars.
鈥淚 always knew I wanted to paint big,鈥� he says.
Here he shares more about his latest creation.
What excited you about this project?
The campus personnel were so willing and excited about my ideas and style that I brought into this that it was almost a perfect match. I led with fun first and then presented some safer ideas. And they said, 鈥淣ope. We want the fun.鈥�
I鈥檓 grateful and appreciative that I鈥檓 creating in a way that is so well received by so many people. Especially with the way we鈥檙e doing these murals with minimal color and a gold approach, I think it鈥檚 a style that has an elevated look while also having this fun, bubbly, childlike feeling, which is perfect for a football stadium on game day.
Where did you pull inspiration from for the two murals?
A staple in a lot of my mural work is my 鈥渙range blossom gang.鈥� They are fun, smiling orange characters that I will sprinkle in throughout a lot of my murals. They act almost as the glue that keeps other imagery and assets like together. They appear in both murals.
For the UCF-themed mural, we have my signature doodle collage style. We鈥檙e in the Bounce House, baby. So I tried to have this flowy, bubbly movement with the clouds. I wanted it to feel like it was light and airy.
With regards to Easter eggs, when I was a student, I did artwork around Orlando and I would do this little emanating whoopsie daisy flower. I snuck it into a postcard stamp. The manatee celebrates Central Florida鈥檚 natural springs, which is in my opinion, one of the most magical parts about the entire state. I also snuck in a variation of the rubber duck for Spirit Splash.
For the Orange County mural, it is centered in an Art Deco theme and is an ode to how the university is entwined with Orlando. From the downtown corridor to our relationship with the hospitality sector around I-Drive to space and UCF鈥檚 engineering and technology roots. And we wanted to include a message to what helped make this possible: 鈥淚n appreciation of Orange County, Florida, whose continued belief, support and investment will welcome millions through these gates to bounce.鈥�
How do you apply virtual reality technology in your process?
I first started using the VR headset to project my artwork on walls last year. There are many different ways to get your art on your walls through grid systems, sketching freehand, projectors and now through headsets. In this circumstance, I have another mural next week. I鈥檝e got to get in and out. I didn’t want to wait till the nighttime to use a projector. What鈥檚 great about the headset is no matter the time of day, you are able to work and operate, and forecast your artwork on a wall.
It鈥檚 a really weird, immersive and amazing technology. If you got vertigo like I do, tread lightly. As I鈥檓 wearing it, I’m constantly thinking, 鈥榃e are in the future.鈥� 鈥�
How did your UCF experience help you hone your craft?
鈥淏eing at UCF pushed me to be great.鈥� 鈥� Harry Foreman 鈥�18, muralist
My UCF experience was not just a four-year degree. I used nearly every offering UCF had 鈥� I was in different clubs, at the gym all the time. I was in the engineering lab using the laser cutter for a lot of my school projects. My experience was almost competitive nurture in a sense, learning in a school setting with so many talented creatives around me. Being at UCF pushed me to be great and taught me how to be a shape shifter.
I already was running a business while in school. I immediately graduated and went right into freelancing, and the Orlando community and UCF network at large welcomed me right when I needed it. I booked amazing jobs right out of school. The UCF Downtown project, I would say, is still some of my most impactful work that gets me jobs to this day.
I never in a million years thought murals would allow me to be traveling all over the nation. I鈥檓 about to buy my wife a house. It鈥檚 a great time to be a muralist. It鈥檚 the best job in the world.
What does it mean to you to be able to give back to your alma mater and Orlando in this way?
It鈥檚 so special. As a student, and even as an artist, there鈥檚 no textbook for success, no single game plan for how to do things. The fact that I get to paint and create in spaces like this, I hope it can inspire the next student. I hope they see this and they say, 鈥淭hat is so cool. I want to do that,鈥� because whenever I saw someone doing it, that was my first response.
If you鈥檙e a student that is worried about the creative world that we鈥檙e entering into, as long as you鈥檙e pushing yourself to make great work, everything you could ever want is already there waiting for you. Orlando as a canvas is the best place to blossom. It was for me.
