The mural on the MARTA Overpass at W. Trinity Place and Atlanta Ave. is almost complete. The Milagros Collective, consisting of artists Felici Asteinza and Joey Filastre, began work on the mural in the middle of November.
The project was initially delayed in order to do a lead abatement on the steel girders and while the rain was much-needed, it caused more delay in the painting process. The artists worked for a month through the middle of December and one side of the mural is just about finished along with the pilings under the Overpass. The other side has been pressure washed and primed and is ready for the detail work.
Felici and Joey are part of a residency program at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) from the end of December through the end of January.
They will return to finish the mural the first week of April when the weather is warmer so the paint will adhere better. In addition to finishing the mural, they will be working with Decatur Active Living and the community at the Decatur Housing Authority to enhance the area under the bridge.
The area under the bridge has been funded by a KaBoom! Play Everywhere grant to create a playspace that will give the community a pleasant place to stop by and be physically active. The space will be an extension of the mural and have features such as hopscotch, four-square, an artist-created bench and more. The space is also used as a bus stop by the adjacent community and once the mural is complete and the space is activated, it will be brighter, more welcoming, and add an element of fun to the area.
The video shows the artists at work and at the end of their last day they are caught on camera a little weary but still smiling!
This is amazing!