Fresh tsunami of public art bound for eastside ATL neighborhood

Public art enthusiasts of Atlanta will have multiple reasons to celebrate next month—80 of them, in fact. 

Longstanding Atlanta street arts festival Forward Warrior announced today that 80 new murals are bound for one Cabbagetown street during the weekend of Sept. 18 to 20—up from 60 new pieces constructed last year. 

The 12th annual Forward Warrior mural project will also include, for the first time, an experiential event on Friday night in Cabbagetown (inarguably one of ATL’s artiest neighborhoods) that’s free and intended for all ages. 

The 80 fresh murals are bound for a .6-mile section of Wylie and Tennelle streets—part of it next to a popular Atlanta Beltline trail—where more than 130 murals dot a wall owned by railroad company CSX Transportation. 

CSX controls the sprawling, 70-acre Hulsey Yard freight facility next door—aka, the “Moby Dick of Atlanta Development”—and is considered a partner in Forward Warrior this year.

Plans call for a two-day festival with shopping, food and drink, art, and “loads of community,” per organizers. This year, Friday night festivities will see an activation with cutting-edge projection technology meant to enhance art and a poetry showcase. 

Specifically, that means a $130,000 “Rover” projector loaned by Downtown Atlanta Inc. will activate Forward Warrior founder Peter Ferrari’s new mural at the Krog Street Tunnel entrance with projection mapping, turning artwork into moving video displays. 

Also on Friday a “Words on Wiley” poetry showcase will enlist poets, spoken-word artists, rappers, and songwriters to “speak to the iconic Cabbagetown murals,” per organizers.

“It’s a unique opportunity for professional artists to work on a large public wall without the constraints of client expectations,” said Ferrari, who founded Forward Warrior in 2012, in an announcement today. “This event allows artists to take chances and pursue new directions they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Festivities on Saturday, planned from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., will include a Georgia Vintage Goods artist/vintage market, “Mini Krog” kids area at Esther Peachy Park, DJs, and local food trucks and bars. 

Forward Warrior—as produced by the Cabbagetown Initiative nonprofit—provides artists with materials, equipment, scaffolding, and security. 

The creatives each year include a diverse collection of sculptors, chalk artists, tattooists, aerosol artists, and graphic designers. 

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