A mural painted on Epiphany, located at 294 W. Washington St, shows 25 swallows with a mix of bright and dark colors in the background. To Athens artist David Hale, who painted the mural, the swallows have served as a reminder of happiness and positivity. “I painted (the “Hope”) mural during COVID (as) a beacon of hope when so many people were feeling so hopeless during the lockdown. That’s what the swallows are – symbols of hope,” Hale said. Photo by Aza Khan
Each of the many murals adding color to the Athens community present a unique message with different motivations and purposes.
From Washington Street in Downtown Athens to Broad Street, one of the truest forms of artistic expression has been painted over Athens for decades, and still continues to add color to the community: murals.
Painted on walls sprinkled all over the city, every color, every design, every pattern has a unique intention behind it. Every aesthetic and abstraction was left to leave minds thinking and eyes looking back over shoulders as one walks away, eager to see more.
Some murals, such as “Building Bridges” at restaurant Food for Soul at 1965 W. Broad St. and “Hot Corner: An Athens Legacy” on 133 E. Washington St., were painted to educate.
In 2018, Broderick Flanigan, Athens-Clarke County Executive Director of the Economic Justice Coalition and Owner of Flanigan’s Portrait Studio, collaborated with University of Georgia Professor Dr. Brian Williams’ First Year Odyssey Seminar class, “The Current State of Police-Community Relations: Problems and Prospects.”
They created an intricate juxtaposition on the side of Food for Soul to represent police-community relations in the past, present and future.
“My involvement was really just bringing people together to show how to collaborate around a certain thing and create a piece of public art around that thing,” Flanigan said. “That was just one example of many community-based projects in which I use that similar model to engage different people from different backgrounds or different organizations for a common project.”
“My involvement was really just bringing people together to show how to collaborate around a certain thing and create a piece of public art around that thing. That was just one example of many community-based projects in which I use that similar model to engage different people from different backgrounds or different organizations for a common project.”
— Broderick Flanigan,
Athens-Clarke County Executive Director of the Economic Justice Coalition and Owner of Flanigan’s Portrait Studio
Flanigan also worked with Miami artist Elio Mercado to bring to life “Hot Corner: An Athens Legacy.” The project was funded by the Athens Cultural Affairs Commissions in 2019 and is located near Hot Corner, one of the most prosperous African American business districts in the South in the early 1900s.
The mural displays performers and entrepreneurs who shaped Hot Corner such as Monroe “Pink” Morton, the owner of the Morton Theatre, as well as barber Homer Wilson, owner of Wilson’s His and Hers Styling Shop.
Other murals, such as “Hope” by Athens artist David Hale at 294 W. Washington St., are to inspire. Painted in October 2020, the mural is a wall of bright colors woven together. 25 swallows, which are birds that symbolize happiness and positivity, play throughout the work.
“I painted (the “Hope”) mural during COVID (as) a beacon of hope when so many people were feeling so hopeless during the lockdown. That’s what the swallows are – symbols of hope,” Hale said.
Hale, who has been painting on the same wall between retail store Epiphany and The Rook & Pawn since his time in college, has recognized the community’s attachment to every single message he has painted on the wall.
“Even if it’s on a private building, (a mural is) accessible. That accessibility makes people feel a part of a place,” Hale said. “I think that’s a really important thing for humans to simply feel like they belong.”
A photo gallery displays various murals painted around Athens. These murals were designed by people like Athens artist Marisa Mustard, who designed the mural outside of Nuçi’s Space at 396 Oconee St.”I just wanted to help welcome people in and I wanted to keep that blue because I just love the color of this building. So I wanted to keep that dark blue base and make it kind of nurturing,” Mustard said. Photos by Aza Khan
When Athens artist Marisa Mustard paints a mural, her goal is to evoke happiness in the community and those who see it, a guiding principle at her work at Nuçi’s Space at 396 Oconee St.
“I just wanted to help welcome people in and I wanted to keep that blue because I just love the color of this building,” Mustard said. “So I wanted to keep that dark blue base and make it kind of nurturing.”
Each mural is a unique puzzle piece of the Athens community.
Each artist is different, each meaning is different and each individual’s personal interpretation of the work leaves a different impact.
Painted on walls sprinkled all over the city, every color, every design, every pattern has an intention behind it. Every aesthetic and abstraction was left to leave minds thinking and eyes looking back over shoulders as one walks away, eager to see more.
