Cabbagetown's walls are about to get a lot more paint — and, for the first time, light. Forward Warrior, the neighborhood's annual mural festival, returns Sept. 18–20 with 80 murals going up along Wylie Street, a new Friday-night projection-mapping show, a poetry program, and weekend walking tours.
The festival is presented each year by the Cabbagetown Initiative in partnership with the Cabbagetown Neighborhood Improvement Association along the half-mile Wylie Street corridor, which already holds more than 130 individual murals. Artist and curator Peter Ferrari founded the project in 2014; John Dirga, executive director of the Cabbagetown Initiative, now runs it. This year's five new artists are Danae Antoine, Emily Cadena, Monk Panda, Skape and Jesus Valdivia, and free kids' activities run all weekend.
“Once artists are invited to join Forward Warrior, they become part of the family,” Dirga said. “They are invited to come back every year to work on their mural, refresh it, or repaint something new.”
Friday night opens with “Words on Wylie,” a live reading of poems written about the murals featuring Bea Taylor, Abstract CIM, The Uncanny Imp and KnowEye, curated by Dot.O of the Keepers of the Underground DJ battle and Hope Hilton of the Atlanta University Center. The night's other centerpiece, presented with Atlanta Downtown Inc., is a projection-mapping activation at the Krog Tunnel entrance by artist Daniel Phelps, turning a new mural by Ferrari into a moving, illuminated piece — with a surprise installation from Evereman rounding out the night. “I can't think of a better placement to highlight not only for placemaking and visibility, but to celebrate Peter's new mural,” Dirga said.
Saturday is the festival's main day: Wylie Street closes to cars between Powell and Estoria streets from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with pedestrian- and bike-only access 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Street art walking tours run Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., and again Sunday at 2 p.m.
Dirga said the long-term goal is bigger still: “The goal is a week-long celebration of the arts ecosystem extending from the train yard into Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown.” Full details are at cabbagetown.com/forwardwarrior.
Source: Rough Draft Atlanta