When droves of fans step inside the gates of the new and improved Roth Tower at Acrisure Bounce House, they’ll be greeted with two one-of-a-kind, alumni-made murals and a welcome message that’s 100% ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½:

β€œIt’s a perfect day to bounce in Orange County, Florida.”

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’s art collection, which already features several installations around the concourse that include Knightro, wings of Pegasus (the university’s official seal), ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s Big 12 ties and Orlando.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ commissioned Harry Foreman ’18 to deliver two murals that pay homage to the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ story and the university’s relationship to Orlando and Orange County. To execute the installation in the week leading up to the tower’s unveiling, Foreman utilized virtual reality technology as part of his process and enlisted the help of fellow alumni: Nicole Lind ’11, a Burnett Honors Scholar who graduated with a degree in an elementary education, and Paulaiden Minerva ’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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Downtown and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management campuses.

A man and a woman crouch at base of black wall to apply white paint
ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ alumni Harry Foreman ’18 and Nicole Lind ’11 installed two custom murals in the week leading up to the Roth Tower grand opening. (Photo by Antoine Hart)

β€œWhen I was a student I always had so much fun on games days,” Foreman says. β€œIt’s magic being back here.”

The Florida native, who now splits his time between Orlando and Denver, has been an active contributor to the Central Florida’s arts scene for years. He recently was selected to be part of the City of Orlando’s Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, Art Pollination β€” 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.

β€œI always knew I wanted to paint big,” he says.

man stands on ladder while painting black and white mural with imagery of Pegasus, Knightro, Citronaut and scenes from Orlando
One mural is centered in an Art Deco theme and is an ode to how the university is entwined with Orlando. (Photo by Nick Leyva ’15)

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, β€œNope. We want the fun.”

I’m grateful and appreciative that I’m creating in a way that is so well received by so many people. Especially with the way we’re doing these murals with minimal color and a gold approach, I think it’s 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 β€œorange blossom gang.” 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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½-themed mural, we have my signature doodle collage style. We’re 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’s 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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s engineering and technology roots. And we wanted to include a message to what helped make this possible: β€œIn appreciation of Orange County, Florida, whose continued belief, support and investment will welcome millions through these gates to bounce.”

Man wearing backwards baseball hat, long-sleeve back shirt and white cargo shorts, wearing VR headset stands on yellow scaffolding as he applies white paint to black wall.
Harry Foreman ’18 began using VR technology a year ago to aide his artistic process in forecasting his artwork onto large-scale walls. (Photo by Antoine Hart)

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’ve got to get in and out. I didn’t want to wait till the nighttime to use a projector. What’s 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’s a really weird, immersive and amazing technology. If you got vertigo like I do, tread lightly. As I’m wearing it, I’m constantly thinking, β€˜We are in the future.’ ”

How did your ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ experience help you hone your craft?

β€œBeing at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ pushed me to be great.” β€” Harry Foreman ’18, muralist

My ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ experience was not just a four-year degree. I used nearly every offering ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ had β€” 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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ 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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ network at large welcomed me right when I needed it. I booked amazing jobs right out of school. The ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ 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’m about to buy my wife a house. It’s a great time to be a muralist. It’s the best job in the world.

Chalkboard style mural with gold accents and text that reads "It's a great day to bounce in Orange County, Florida"
Two murals designed by ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ alum Harry Foreman ’18 are now part of the new Roth Tower. (Photo by Nick Leyva ’15)

What does it mean to you to be able to give back to your alma mater and Orlando in this way?

It’s so special. As a student, and even as an artist, there’s 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, β€œThat is so cool. I want to do that,” because whenever I saw someone doing it, that was my first response.

If you’re a student that is worried about the creative world that we’re entering into, as long as you’re 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.