Atlanta Plans To Increase Public Art For Super Bowl
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, standing in front of the John Lewis mural, said Thursday that the public art program will allow the city to benefit beyond the Super Bowl. Chris Appleton, left, with WonderRoot, is helping with the project. Brett Daniels, right, with the Atlanta Super Bowl host committee, said the NFL has embraced the program.
Ross Terrell / WABE
The Super Bowl is coming to Atlanta in February and with it more public art.
Atlanta’s Super Bowl host committee and city officials want the big game to have a lasting impact beyond four quarters of football.
They’re working with the city and community groups to paint up to 30 murals depicting Atlanta’s civil rights history and highlight other social justice movements.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the art allows the city to benefit beyond one Sunday in February.
“As we prepare our city for great events like the Super Bowl, it’s important that these events have a lasting legacy within our communities,” Bottoms said. “That’s what these murals are all about.”
But the NFL has seemed to struggle with civil rights itself. Earlier this year, owners voted to fine teams if players kneel or protest during the national anthem in the coming season.
Brett Daniels, with the city’s host committee, said that hasn’t had a negative effect on this art project.
“The NFL has embraced this program,” Daniels said. “They’re excited about what we’re going to do here, and I’d say it’s really built more around what we are as a community, the diverse community that is Atlanta now, than it is about anything else going on outside of here.”
Artists will begin painting murals this fall in neighborhoods around Mercedes-Benz Stadium, like Vine City, English Avenue and Castleberry Hill, and throughout downtown.
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