"Atlanta Legacy Makers: A Tribute to Mayors Allen and Jackson" Public Art and Archive Project Launches with Digital Engagement Opportunities

News provided by

Central Atlanta Progress

May 20, 2020, 15:32 ET

ATLANTA, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) announces the launch of "Atlanta Legacy Makers," an initiative led in partnership with the City of Atlanta. "Atlanta Legacy Makers" is a public commemoration of Atlanta's inheritance exemplified by two Atlanta mayors, Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson. The effort aims to embrace the legacy that Atlantans—now and next—are charged to carry forward.

The initiative will include a series of digital experiences, and later in-person events, designed to garner input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the Atlanta community to inform a public artwork to be located at the intersection of Peachtree Street. and Auburn Avenue.

"The vision for this project has lived in the minds of community leaders for a long time now, and we're excited to finally bring it to life," said Fredalyn Frasier, Project Director of Planning and Urban Design at Central Atlanta Progress. "Honoring these two Atlanta mayors and their remarkable legacy is not just a curatorial effort. We're looking forward to inviting the community to build this tribute project alongside us, resulting in a public archive and artwork that speak to the larger theme of a united Atlanta community."

BACKGROUND
The idea for an artistic tribute to Mayors Allen and Jackson was born in 2018, when local developer Gene Kansas invited Gary Pomerantz, author of Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, to speak at the Auburn Avenue Research Library to celebrate the opening of Constellations, a shared work space in a neighboring historic building on Auburn Avenue. During the talk, Pomerantz highlighted the significance of both Atlanta mayors in the history of Atlanta.

Inspired by the talk and feedback from guests in attendance, journalist Maria Saporta (Saporta Report) wrote an opinion piece encouraging the city to commemorate the special relationship between the mayors in the form of a sculpture at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Auburn Avenue.

In 2019, Central Atlanta Progress convened an exploratory committee, and the idea for a selection process for a new piece of public art was formalized.

PARTICIPATE IN THE INITIATIVE
Originally intended to launch as a series of events across the city, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta Legacy Makers will now kick off through a series of shared online experiences, including:

  • Atlanta Legacy Makers: The Podcast, featuring local leaders and visionaries discussing the themes and historic events featured in the book Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn
  • Streaming film screenings of two documentaries with viewing guides, Maynard and A Different Road
  • Oral history prompts for the general public to submit their own stories to the public archive
  • And more. Visit www.atllegacymakers.org to sign up to receive updates and invitations to participate

THE PUBLIC ARTWORK, LOCATION: PEACHTREE & AUBURN
Central Atlanta Progress, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, will invite architecture and design firms to assemble collaborative teams inclusive of contemporary artists, landscape designers, and urbanists to submit qualifications for an exciting project at the nexus of Atlanta's beating heart, Woodruff Park. This project will honor the legacy of our past, it will provide aspiration for our future, and it will activate our present. It will do so by:

  1. Creating a monument to honor the legacy of two pivotal Atlanta mayors: Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. and Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr.
  2. Commissioning a landmark artwork by a contemporary artist who aspires to Dr. King's vision of Beloved Community as fervently as Atlantans do. 
  3. Reimagining the public space on the north side of Woodruff Park, considering how the plaza meets the street at both Peachtree Street and Auburn Avenue, as well as how the space can be utilized for this project and other public activations and gatherings.

The RFQ will be released in late spring by Samara Minkin, Mayor's Office, Manager of Public Art. After a short list of artists has been chosen, the finalists will participate in community engagement activities and receive inspiration and context from the digital archive that will be created during the first weeks of the initiative's online experiences.

Curatorial Committee
Tristan Al-Haddad, Curatorial Committee Chairperson, Principal, Formations Studio
Anne Archer Dennington, Executive Director, Flux Projects
Andrew Kohr, Senior Project Manager, Landscape Architect, Community Development, Pond
Beth Malone, Executive Director, Dashboard
Carlton Mackey, Director, Ethics and Art, Emory Center for Ethics
Carolina Montilla, Design Strategist, Gensler
Clint Flucker, Assistant Director, Engagement, Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library
Fahamu Pecou, artist
Gregor Turk, artist
Joe Peragine, Director, School of Art and Design, Georgia State University
Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Principal, Preserve Black America
Lauren Tate Baeza, Director of Exhibitions, Center for Civil and Human Rights
Leatrice Ellzy, Director, Hammonds House Museum
Lisa Tuttle, administrator (retired), artist
Oscar Harris, architect (retired), artist
Ryan Gravel, President, Sixpitch

FOR STUDENTS
Through collaboration with the Atlanta Public School System (APS) students throughout the city will have numerous opportunities to engage with the project. Teachers in Social Studies, Art, English, Business, and Production will have access to digital resources that they can use to incorporate the Mayors' stories into classes ranging from 2nd grade citizenship studies to high school dual enrollment courses. Eighth grade Georgia Studies classes especially focus on the Mayors' legacies, and beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, students will be able to study their impacts in a new, more personal way. Families will also be encouraged to take advantage of the free, public educational events that will be offered.

FAST FACTS

  1. Name of Initiative: Atlanta Legacy Makers, A Tribute to Mayors Allen and Jackson
  2. Primary Partners: Central Atlanta Progress, City of Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools
  3. Primary Elements: 
  • Community activities (online now and in-person when public health concerns cease): https://www.atllegacymakers.com/podcast
  • The solicitation and production of a new piece of public art honoring Mayors Allen and Jackson to be located at Peachtree and Auburn Ave
  • Atlanta Public School children in certain grades will incorporate the Mayors' stories into classes beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.

     4. How to learn more and join the effort to create the art and the archive?

  • Visit www.atllegacymakers.com and sign up for our newsletters and invitations.
  • Also follow #atllegacymakers on social media.

About Central Atlanta Progress / Atlanta Downtown Improvement District: Central Atlanta Progress, Inc., is a Downtown business association with approximately 240 members. Its mission is to champion a vibrant community with strong leadership and sustainable infrastructure that is safe, livable, diverse, economically viable, accessible, clean, hospitable and entertaining. The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable corporation created by CAP to make Downtown safer, cleaner and more hospitable.

SOURCE Central Atlanta Progress

Related Links

http://www.atlantadowntown.com

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