For artist Shantell Martin, stepping outside has never simply meant getting fresh air. It’s part of her creative process. The acclaimed visual artist has built an unmistakable practice around spontaneous line work, immersive storytelling, and transforming everyday spaces into living conversations. Whether appearing across gallery walls, fashion collaborations, installations, or public streets, Martin’s art consistently asks people to slow down, observe, and reconnect with the world around them. That mindset made her a natural fit for Merrell’s new “Outside in the City” initiative, a global campaign centered around the idea that the outdoors doesn’t have to begin on a remote hiking trail, but can start the moment you walk out your front door.
As part of the initiative, Martin created “Get Outside,” a massive 7,500-square-foot mural stretched across New York City’s Union Square 14th Street Busway. The large-scale public artwork serves as the cultural centerpiece of Merrell’s campaign, transforming one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors into something far more reflective and human. Rendered in Martin’s signature black-and-white line work with bursts of color and a flowing orange pathway, the mural encourages pedestrians to pause, breathe, walk, and reconnect with both themselves and the city surrounding them.
Merrell’s role within that story feels organic because the brand understands that modern exploration doesn’t always look like mountain climbing or rugged expeditions anymore. In cities like New York, movement itself becomes its own form of outdoor experience. The shoes naturally become part of that rhythm, built for the constant transitions between crowded sidewalks, public parks, creative studios, and spontaneous detours throughout the day. Rather than separating performance from lifestyle, Merrell’s footwear supports the kind of fluid city exploration that Martin’s work celebrates so well.
Through Martin’s mural and creative voice, Merrell reframes what it means to go outside in these present times. Sometimes the outdoors isn’t a destination at all. Sometimes it’s already waiting in the middle of the city, hidden inside the movement, spontaneity, and overlooked beauty of everyday life.
“The city has its own rhythm, its own voice, and when I’m working outside, I’m responding to that, I’m a part of that. Creatively, it pushes you to be present.”
Shantell Martin
That location matters. Union Square has always functioned as a crossroads of New York movement. It’s a place where commuters, artists, skaters, tourists, and locals constantly overlap. Instead of asking people to escape urban life, the mural embraces it. The work reframes the city itself as part of the outdoor experience, aligning directly with Merrell’s broader message that meaningful moments outside already exist within daily routines.
Martin’s relationship with New York made the collaboration feel especially personal. Her work has long explored identity, human connection, and the emotional rhythm of shared spaces, themes that naturally come alive in a city environment. “New York is more than a canvas to me, it’s also a collaborator, or even at times a participant,” Martin shared. “The city has its own rhythm, its own voice, and when I’m working outside, I’m responding to that, I’m a part of that. Creatively, it pushes you to be present.”
That idea of presence sits at the heart of the entire campaign. Rather than positioning the outdoors as somewhere distant or exclusive, Merrell’s “Outside in the City” initiative highlights the smaller moments of clarity hidden inside everyday movement. A walk through Union Square. A pause at a neighborhood park. Wandering through side streets without headphones in. It’s less about disconnecting from city life and more about noticing it differently.
For Martin, the mural was inspired by the overlooked moments of movement that define everyday life in New York. Rather than creating something meant to be viewed from a distance, she approached “Get Outside” as a living part of Union Square itself, responding to the flow of commuters, conversations, crosswalks, and constant motion surrounding the busway. Her signature line work moves almost like a walking path through the installation, encouraging people to slow their pace, look around, and reconnect with the city in a more intentional way. In many ways, the piece acts as a reminder that inspiration often reveals itself during the most ordinary moments, like when crossing the street, wandering between neighborhoods, or simply pausing long enough to notice what’s already around you.
HIDDEN in PLAIN SIGHT
PRESENTED BY MERRELL
SHANTELL
MARTIN
SHANTELL MARTIN
ALEXI PAPPAS
MR. FLOWER FANTASTIC
ALEXI PAPPAS
SHANTELL MARTIN
MR. FLOWER FANTASTIC
https://hypebeast.com/2026/6/mr-flower-fantastic-steps-into-the-streets-with-merrell-to-make-the-city-bloom