JAKARTA – As Dallas gears up for the 2026 World Cup this summer, one change that has caused a stir is the sudden disappearance of a beloved giant mural in the city center depicting a swimming whale.
“I saw the mural almost every day on my way to school and then one day they painted it. It really shocked me that it could happen so quickly,” said Katy Rose Cusick, a senior at a local performing and visual arts high school.
The mural, titled “Whaling Wall 82”, was unveiled in 1999. Wyland has painted more than 100 similar murals known as Whaling Walls around the world as part of his mission for marine life conservation.
“This is more than just paint on the wall. It’s part of my work, along with the Wyland Foundation, to bring people together to protect our oceans and clean water,” he said.
However, the mural will be a memory. The work of repainting the mural that has adorned the two full walls of the parking garage for almost 30 years has taken place this month to make room for artwork related to the 2026 World Cup.
Wyland, the artist who created the mural, said in a statement that its destruction had left him deeply saddened.
“When a work that has meant so much to generations is erased without dialogue. It raises serious questions about how we value public art, artists, and the communities that these works target,” Wyland said.
Cusick and Joshua Hurston, senior students at a local performing and visual arts high school, started a Change.org petition in hopes of raising awareness for the history and art.
The petition has garnered hundreds of signatures so far, including from those who have fond memories of seeing the mural when they were children.
“If we can’t save the mural, at least we have to make sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” he said.
A spokesperson for the 2026 World Cup organizing committee in Dallas said in a statement that they hope to unveil new works that capture the historic moment of the present and reflect the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the 2026 World Cup.
He added that part of Wyland’s mural would be preserved in honor of his lasting impact on the city.
Dallas will host more 2026 World Cup matches than any other location in the event co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Nine matches will be played at the AT&T Stadium on the outskirts of Arlington, home to the Dallas Cowboys. The retractable roof stadium will be renamed Dallas Stadium for the 2026 World Cup.
Downtown Dallas Inc. said in a statement that it was engaged in preliminary discussions about the mural and confirmed that the mural was not part of the city’s public art collection before introducing the 2026 World Cup organizing committee to the building’s owner.
A spokesperson for the building’s owner, Slate Asset Management, said they were approached by Downtown Dallas Inc. and the organizing committee earlier this year about donating the wall for a new public art installation by a local artist.
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