EVENT PREVIEW
A Conversation with Juxtapoz, Vandalog and Living Walls. Street art trends over the past five years and how social media, globalization and the Internet have shaped street art and its future. 7 p.m. Aug. 13. Free. C4 Atlanta, 115 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, #225, Atlanta. 404-969-2787, c4atlanta.org.
"Public Discourse." Outdoor screening of a documentary about street art around the world. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Aug. 14. Free. Historic Fourth Ward Park, 680 Dallas St. N.E., Atlanta.
Lecture series. American street art and urbanism. Panelists include Ryan Gravel, who first conceived of the Atlanta Beltline; MeresOne, curator of 5Pointz outdoor art exhibit space on Long Island; Camila Alverz, filmmaker of the documentary "Right to Wynwood"; and Andrew Herscher, professor at University of Michigan and author of "Unreal Estate Guide to Detroit." 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15. National Center of Civil and Human Rights, 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., Atlanta. 678-999-8990, www.civilandhumanrights.org.
Main Event. Music, art, installations, lectures, food trucks and more. Participating organizations include Art on the Beltline, The Goat Farm Arts Center, Dashboard Co-op, glo, Atlanta Streets Alive, #weloveatl. 5 p.m. Aug. 16. $5 suggested donation. The Goat Farm, Foster St. NW, Atlanta.
Atlanta Beltline bicycle tour. A curated tour of many of the 2014 Living Walls murals. 3:30-6:30 p.m. Aug. 17. $5. 151 Sampson St. N.E., Atlanta. www.eventbrite.com/e/lw2014-bicycle-tour-tickets-12423181069.
For details, go to livingwallsatl.com
Five participating artists
Low Bros. Brothers Christoph and Florin Schmidt from Berlin paint a wall at the intersection of Howell Street and Decatur Avenue. Their work often centers on stylized animal characters with human features. They recently painted a World Cup-inspired mural at Urban Spree in Berlin featuring cheetahs crouching around a soccer stadium.
Ernest Zacharevic of Lithonia and Alex Brewer, also known as HENSE from Atlanta, each paint a wall at 135 Walton Street near Centennial Olympic Park. Zacharevic has been transforming the streets of Penang, Malaysia, with a series of interactive murals using props such as old bicycles and shopping carts to bring his street art to life. Brewer creates colorful abstract works that combine street art and fine art. His largest commissioned work stands 137 feet tall and 170 feet wide in Lima, Peru.
Caroline Cadwell. The Bronxville-based contributing writer for the street art blog Vandalog paints a wall at Edgewood and Hilliard.
Mac Stewart. The Atlanta painter creates his first street art mural at 156 Forsyth St.
A painting can liven up a room, but what about a city?
Each year street artists from around the world come to Atlanta to turn walls into canvases for their colorful, provocative expressions.
It’s all part of a continuous effort by the nonprofit organization Living Walls: The City Speaks, founded in 2009 by street artists Monica Campana and Blacki Li Rudi Migliozzi. They had the idea that the power of art could change perspectives about the public spaces in our communities. Every year, they invite local, national and international artists to town for 10 days to paint the walls of the city, followed by a four-day conference.
This year, 18 artists have been painting murals around Atlanta since Aug. 4, and the fifth Living Walls Conference kicks off Aug. 13. Events include lectures, an outdoor film screening, a bicycle tour of murals and the "Main Event," an art and music extravaganza at the The Goat Farm Arts Center.
Two years ago, a couple of Living Walls' murals angered members of the communities in which they were painted. Since then the organization has striven to adhere to public art ordinances and work with neighborhood associations to prevent a repeat of past controversies.
“Every year we learn something,” said Campana. “There’s a huge advantage to every challenge.”
Nevertheless, “it’s public art and it’s not going to please everyone,” she said.
Atlanta city council members have recently discussed changes to the public art ordinance that would require individuals get approval from from multiple city departments and neighbors before placing public art on private property. Campana hopes Living Walls will have input in changes to the legislation.
She also hopes the city recognizes the impact of Living Walls and “sees how vital this is to the city.”
The business community appears to value the initiative. In years past, visiting artists have slept on air mattresses at the Goat Farm and dined on homemade meals prepared by volunteers. This year, they’re staying in discounted rooms at the W Hotel in Buckhead and being fed donated meals from local restaurants, including Empire State South and Chipotle.
“We are really spreading culture in a different way — open, free and approachable,” said Campana.
