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In recent years, Atlanta has become one of the USA's best cities for street art.[1] Street artists have prominently created murals in Krog Street Tunnel, along the BeltLine, and in neighborhoods across the city.[2] The street art conference, Living Walls, the City Speaks, originated in Atlanta in 2009.[3]

Events and festivals

Atlanta is host to the street art conference Living Walls, the City Speaks. In 2012, the conference limited participation to women street artists.[4]

The Outerspace Project, an annual series of street art and cultural events coordinated by Greg Mike, began in 2015.[5]

Peter Ferrari founded Forward Warrior, an event and initiative to bring together muralists in Atlanta to add street art to a host neighborhood.[6]

Locations

Images and mapped locations of over 200 works of Atlanta street art can be found on the Atlanta Street Art Map.[7] Hotspots for viewing Atlanta street art include:

Notable Atlanta street artists

John Morse

In 2010, ten haiku poems of artist John Morse were featured on 500 'bandit' signs posted around the streets of Atlanta, a guerrilla installation that received extensive press coverage including The New Yorker, The Guardian, NPR and South African national radio.[8][9][10]

Greg Mike

Greg Mike began doing graffiti when he was 13 years old, and he started painting murals in his twenties.[11] His murals are prominent in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.[11] Mike is known for his Loudmouf Larry depictions in his art.[12]

Fabian Williams

Fabian Williams creates murals under his pseudonym Occasional Superstar.[13] In 2017, Williams painted a mural of native Georgian and civil rights leader Hosea Williams.[14] In 2017, Playboy named Fabian Williams a "New Creative".[15]

Other notable street artists

City efforts to remove street art

On April 1, 2011, Alex Brewer, also known as HENSE, and several other local Atlanta graffiti artists, were sued for $1 million by Atlanta neighborhood property owners.[19] However, shortly after HENSE and several artists countersued stating they had nothing to do with the work that they were being sued for.[20] Despite HENSE's prolific "all-city status" for tags, his 2010 grant proposals for city-funded wall paintings on Arizona Avenue and along the Atlanta BeltLine were all accepted.[21]

Graffiti Task Force

In May 2011 the City of Atlanta established a Graffiti Task Force. In October 2011 the police arrested 7 persons that they designated as vandals and some regard as artists. However, city officials assert that they have no intention of stifling the street art scene. The city selected 29 murals which would not be painted over including those commissioned as part of the BeltLine and works created during the Living Walls conferences. But the list did not include the most famous street art space in the city, the Krog Street Tunnel. Many street artists and members of the arts community interviewed by Creative Loafing believe the city's efforts are misdirected or futile.[22]

Lawsuit against the city of Atlanta

In May 2017, the city of Atlanta began regulating murals on private property, enforcing a 1982 ordinance that artists and property owners must complete an application process to obtain approval from the city or face a $1,000 fine and up to six months' confinement.[23] A group of artists, including Fabian Williams, Peter Ferrari, and Yoyo Ferro, sued the city, claiming the ordinance was unconstitutional.[24] In June 2017, the city settled the lawsuit, agreeing not to require artists to obtain city approval for murals on private property.[25]


Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Brooks, Katherine (2015-06-16). "The 19 Best Cities To See Street Art In The United States". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  2. ^ Marchese, Sophia (2017-08-29). "Atlanta street art: A guided tour of our city's newest murals - The Signal". The Signal. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  3. ^ Bentley, Rosalind (2013-08-13). "Living Walls brings back murals that speak volumes". ajc. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  4. ^ Harrington, Jaime Rojo & Steven (2012-08-15). "Atlanta Hosts First All Female Street Art Conference". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  5. ^ Emerson, Bo (2016-06-22). "Outerspace Project brings eye-popping street art to Atlanta this week". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  6. ^ "Forward Warrior | This Is Atlanta | PBA30". Forward Warrior | This Is Atlanta | PBA30. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  7. ^ Green, Josh (2017-12-06). "Behold! Detailed maps to 200+ pieces of Atlanta street art, murals". Curbed Atlanta. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  8. ^ Blake, Meredith (2010-08-31). "Roadside Haiku". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  9. ^ Flood, Alison (2010-09-09). "Poet hijacks Atlanta streets with haiku advertising campaign". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  10. ^ "Atlanta Street Artist Writes Poetry on Illegal". GOOD. September 15, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Skinner, Kelly (2011-12-29). "Creature Feature". Modern Luxury. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  12. ^ "50 Best Things to Do in Atlanta: Snap a selfie at these colorful Atlanta murals". Atlanta Magazine. 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  13. ^ Poole, Shelia (2017-08-04). "Artist Fabian Williams' new project focuses on activist Hosea Williams". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  14. ^ Johns, Myke (2017-09-27). "Atlanta Muralist Fabian Williams Highlights Civil Rights Heroes Through Art | 90.1 FM WABE". 90.1 FM WABE. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  15. ^ Bainbridge, Julia (2017-07-27). "A fluorescent Hosea Williams is the latest Atlanta mural from Fabian Williams". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  16. ^ "Oakhurst will receive new mural as part of 'Feed A Bee' campaign". Decaturish - Locally sourced news. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  17. ^ Malone, Tess (2015-12-10). "Painter Sarah Emerson's sweeping landscapes explore the concept of place - Atlanta Magazine". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  18. ^ Green, Josh (2017-08-07). "Photos: Beltline's newest stretch boasts a wonderland of street murals, graffiti". Curbed Atlanta. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  19. ^ Wyatt Williams A Few Questions With Hense April 5, 2011
  20. ^ Street artists, taggers in graffiti lawsuit strike back with counterclaims The Atlanta Journal Constitution. May 9, 2011
  21. ^ The reinvention of HENSE - How the Atlanta graffiti artist went legit and became a global art star myAJC. Sep 20, 2015
  22. ^ May 5, Thomas Wheatley Thursday; EDT, 2011 05:00 am. "Vandals and taggers, beware". Atlanta Creative Loafing.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Rankin, Bill (2017-05-30). "Artists, landowners sue Atlanta over crackdown on murals". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  24. ^ Rankin, Bill (2017-06-26). "City of Atlanta settles lawsuit with street artists". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  25. ^ "City of Atlanta settles lawsuit with street artists | Bill Rankin's Legal Brief". Retrieved 2018-02-11.

External links