Plagiarism and a Small Town Mural

Apopka is a small town in central Florida, best known for its historic buildings and numerous greenhouses.

Last week, Main Street Apopka, a nonprofit organization aiming to revitalize the downtown area, sought to add another item to its list. It debuted a new mural, painted by artist Ridge Bonnick.

The mural featured various items connected with the town bursting out of a center cutout that was meant for others to take a photo against. Above that were the words, “Historic Downtown: Wish You Were Here.”

The unveiling on August 22, 2025, drew about 30 people, and initial reviews were positive. However, problems began to emerge almost immediately.

In a Facebook post about the mural’s debut, several people began to comment that the image was plagiarized from a different artist, Jenna Brownlee, an artist based in Iowa.

Brownlee completed her mural in 2017 in Ankeny, Iowa. Compared to each other, both have the same layout, similar lettering, and many of the same specific elements (such as a leaf, a beer glass, and a bicycle).

Main Street Apopka apologized to Brownlee, saying in a statement, “As a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing our historic downtown, we strive to uplift artists and act with integrity. We are now in direct communication with Mrs. Brownlee to properly acknowledge her work and provide fair compensation.”

However, just days later, the mural was painted over, returning the wall to its original white state.

This might sound like the end of a simple plagiarism case. However, there’s a deep wrinkle in this one; we don’t know who committed the plagiarism.

Whose Plagiarism Is It Anyway?

Although Bonnick’s name has been linked to the plagiarism allegations, it’s unclear who designed the mural in question.

This is because we don’t know what agreement the non-profit had with Bonnick. Was Bonnick in charge of designing the mural, or was he simply painting a design provided by Main Street Apopka?

Statements from Main Street Apopka suggest that, at the very least, they were not responsible for the design. However, Bonnick has said that he was simply following the agency’s directions and had no idea that it was from another artist.

Bonnick has also said he has not been paid in full for the mural, despite the work being completed.

This leaves us with three possibilities:

1. Bonnick created and plagiarized the design.
2. Main Street Apopka plagiarized the design and had Bonnick paint it.
3. A third party designed the mural for Main Street Apopka, and they in turn had Bonnick paint it.

Currently, we have no way of knowing which one it is. This is one of the reasons why, when it comes to plagiarism, transparency is critical.

This could be resolved quickly with more information about the agreement between Bonnnck and Main Street Apopka, but that doesn’t seem likely.

As a result, both of their reputations are being tarnished, though it’s grossly unfair for at least one of them.

The Fog of Plagiarism

Simply put, there’s no way to know who actually designed the mural. Ever since the plagiarism accusations, everyone involved has been trying to distance themselves from it.

Bonnick has been by far the most vocal. In an interview, he said, “My role was to carry out their vision and go by their direction. I trusted that they took care of everything on the back end so I could do what they wanted me to do.”

In an Instagram video, he accused Main Street Apopka of “trying to save yourself from a lawsuit.” He claimed he was given a sketch and not allowed to deviate from it.

However, when he first began work on the mural, he indicated a greater artistic freedom, saying, “Art has always been my outlet. Every piece I create is about connecting what’s inside us to the world around us.”

That said, this wasn’t Bonnick’s first mural. He has a lengthy career of painting murals in the area, including one that was featured in Orlando City Hall. As of this writing, no issues have been found with those murals. It seems unlikely that he would plagiarize just this one.

But you can say the same for Main Street Apopka. They have funded 16 other murals in the town, and none have had plagiarism issues.

Bonnick does have one significant supporter, Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson. Commenting on a post on Bonnick’s Instagram, he said, “Ridge (Bonnick) publicly assured everyone that he would not have used the other artist’s artwork without prior authorization, but he was convinced that Main Street Apopka had the approval.”

He went on to say that Bonnick had submitted a design of his own, but it was never considered.

To be clear, none of this is definitive. No one has come forward to clearly say that they designed the mural in question. All we know for certain is who painted it. Without greater transparency from Main Street Apopka, we are unlikely to ever be certain about who is responsible.

As frustrating as that is for the citizens of Apopka, it’s many times more frustrating and harmful to whoever is being falsely accused.

Bottom Line

Without a court case, it’s unlikely that we will ever know definitively who is responsible.

That said, I do agree with Mayor Nelson when he said this, “Unfortunately, the City of Apopka, the artist Ridge Bonnick, and Domino’s Pizza Apopka have a black eye for the unforced error by Main Street Apopka.”

This is entirely accurate. Regardless of who is at fault, neither party performed its due diligence.

To be clear, this is a bigger strike against Main Street Apopka than Bonnick. As an individual artist, Bonnick may or may not have had the ability to look for similar murals. However, according to him, he knew he wasn’t painting his own design. As such, a quick check to ensure that the organization had the necessary rights would not have gone amiss.

Regardless of who is wrong and who is right, this is a story of blind trust gone awry. Given how quickly the issue was spotted, it’s likely that even a rudimentary check would have found the other mural. Both Main Street Apopka and Bonnick put their faith in each other, and at least one, though possibly both, were betrayed.

This is a reminder that plagiarism scandals like this are rarely fair. Parties who were not responsible often get caught up in the allegations. That is definitely true here, though we can’t say for sure which party that is.

Header Image: Top photo by Jenna Brownlee and bottom photo by Main Street Apopka.