Come get your heart and take part in the renowned worldwide art project about mindfulness.
Mind the Heart Project is in Decatur this weekend, and inviting you to share your favorite and beloved spots in the city. The project archives thousands of spots of significance by people of all walks of life, showing that “everywhere means something to someone at some point, so walk around with open eyes and an open heart”.
This Saturday, 1pm-5pm, Artists Maya & Roie will be at the Decatur City Square handing out 100 hearts for you to put out there. Your chosen spots and stories will become an exhibition at the Decatur Arts Alliance, opening Friday, October 6th.
This Is Something We Had To Go Through, the painted-steel-and-cast-iron sculpture created by James Davis, is now part of the city’s public art collection. The sculpture, which sits at the corner of Sycamore and Church streets, was part of Phase 1 of the Decatur Artway outdoor sculpture gallery. It will stay permanently in its current location.
The sculpture is a draw for residents, visitors and tourists. Photos of people passing through it appear regularly on Facebook and Instagram. Its purchase was a collaboration of the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Decatur Downtown Development Authority, the Decatur Tourism Bureau, and the City of Decatur Public Art Fund.
“This sculpture deals with personal thoughts and experiences derived from thinking about all the things a person has to go through in a lifetime,” James Davis, the artist, explained. “These things can be small or large, happy or sad, good or bad. Whatever the feeling may be, these are the things that direct you. Experiences make you who you are.
“The sculpture holds different meanings for each viewer. I created an actual passage that viewers could go through so they could experience the feeling of going through something difficult. Everyone has to go through things they don’t want to and those are all different for each person. The sculpture is a visual version of some of the things that I was afraid to go through.”
Join the community on Sunday, April 23 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. for the dedication of the MARTA Mural and the KaBOOM! Playscape under the bridge. The celebration will take place at the corner of W. Trinity & Atlanta Avenues under and around the MARTA Overpass and under the bridge. We’ll have cookies and ice cream and a cool art project with the Milagros Collective. Come join the fun!
Despite the unseasonably cool temps today, artists with the Olmstead Plein Air Invitational are out and about painting scenes of Decatur. Decatur Arts Alliance Board member, Doug Aholt, took these photos earlier this morning.
If you can’t find an artist during the day, stop by the square around 5 p.m. All 30 artists will bring their Decatur paintings to the first floor of the historic courthouse to sell. For more information, visit www.olmstedpleinair.com
What: Olmsted Plein Air Invitational Decatur Day When: Thursday, April 6, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Open to the public, some events are ticketed.
The annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational is a week-long painting competition that takes place around Atlanta. On Thursday participating artists will come to Decatur and paint Decatur scenes outdoors (“en plein air”) starting at 9 a.m. Find an artist and watch him or her paint for a couple of minutes, an hour, or all day.
At 1 p.m., Impressionist landscape painter and invited master artist, Phil Sandusky, will recount his adventures documenting “en plein air” the devastation of Hurrican Katrina in New Orleans during his lecture at Trinity Mercantile. A book signing will follow. A $20 donation is suggested.
At 4 p.m., the artists will relocate in and around the bandstand on the square, setting up their new paintings from the day for judging. Mayor Garrett and the Decatur Arts Alliance will present the Decatur Community Award to the winning contemporary impressionist painter. Paintings will be available for purchase right off of the artists’ easels that evening as well.
The After Party is at 9 p.m. at Communion. Mix and mingle one-on-one with the invited master artists. Ticket price is $35, purchase online or on the square that day.
Milagros Collective, the artists chosen to design and paint the mural on the MARTA overpass at the corner of W. Trinity and Atlanta Avenues are back to finish painting the mural and to help with installation of the newly created Playspace underneath the bridge.
Felici Asteinza and Joey Fillastre (the artists that make up the Milagros Collective) will begin painting on Saturday, April 1 at 9 a.m. They will paint each day from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. from April 1 – April 9. West Trinity Avenue will be closed to through traffic near the overpass so that they will have safe access in order to paint the rest of the mural.
The following vehicles will be allowed to enter through the locations: vehicles going and coming from 700 Atlanta Ave., vehicles going and coming to the Decatur Police Dept. or Decatur Municipal Court, delivery drivers for Trinity Walk, employees and visitors of the Task Force for Global Health. Trinity Walk residents should enter and exit the complex via W. Trinity Place at Waters Street.
Thank you for your patience as we beautify this area and save the date of Sunday, April 23 for the dedication and celebration of the community mural and new playspace. Celebration details to follow once they are confirmed. In the meantime, feel free to walk by the location and watch the progress.
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!
