Who the fuck is doing street art in Atlanta??
Well ok you have the city funded stuff. The office of Cultural Affairs is a big overseer in the Atlanta public arts world. They pop out a few big projects every four years (Art in Freedom Park, The BeltLine), as well as rounding up the Jazz Festival every year. There is a Public Arts Advisory Committee that is made up of 9 non-city workers who oversee and decide on new public art initiatives. Their meetings are open to the public for observation only, take place quarterly, and change in locations. Not a very community inclusive group, it seems.
Hidden, also, in the layers of the public arts division is an 82 page 'Atlanta Public Arts Master Plan' ( http://ocaatlanta.com/sites/ocaatlanta.com/files/ATLPublic_Art_Master_Plan.pdf) that is suppose to outline the overall agenda for the Office of Cultural Affairs.
Seems like a lot of groups grouping and not a lot of action.
The idea of street art has become so limited. Spray paint is dead and terrible for the enviornment. Wheatpasting is flat. Street art is anything. There are so many artists who have rooms full of their old work. Walk a couple blocks with a staple gun or hammer and nails and let the city see what you got. You think you're going to sell out that solo show?? Bright shiny news flash baby, Atlanta is one of the hardest places to make a living off of your art. The more you put your stuff out there, the more recognition will come. Galleries are dinosaurse and can be squared to yourself and your audience. Why not use the side of a fence for your show? Hang something from a sign. Who cares if someone takes your work? Then you know its out in the world, not piled into your closet or art stack. The sharing and exchanging of art will help this community of frustrated people more then they know.
Think about this idea. Free and constant publicity.
The more you or other artists put their work on the streets, the more people will go seek it out. There will be an abundance of other's work. Then, when you get that big show, people will come support you. There will be a recognition of someone who is legit.
Street art should also not be confined in traditional art forms, either. It is not just something to hang or glue and tie. It's walking down the street and picking up broken bottles. It's getting the holes and broken sidewalks fixed for your community. Use your spray paint to bring attention of a big open hole in the street that is waiting to be the death of a bike rider. It's talking and engaging with the people you live around. If the idea of art is to improve and make beautiful, then making more conscience engagements like that qualifies a street artist for sure.
Recognize the space around you. Decide what is needed. Don't wait for the organizations or institutions to designate where and when it will happen. Be an individual who is longing to see some fucking art on the street. This is what happens when the will of the people is stronger then the action of the government. We are the soldiers, the warriors, defenders of our groovy way of life in this city. You want Atlanta to be a more artistic city? Wake us, take a walk down the street, and do it yourself.
public art. accidentally.
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