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Most conferences — boring, regular ol’ conferences — are simply about something. But in Atlanta, a couple of creative artists have developed a conference that actually is something. In this case, it’s a multi-day art-in that results in a fleet of new murals and public art pieces throughout the city.
Called Living Walls, the project coordinates with the owners and administrators of various blank walls throughout Atlanta and recruits street artists from around the world to come to town at and paint them all. Monica Campana is co-founder and executive director of the project, and she’s been working to both grow the street art culture in Atlanta and enliven the city’s public spaces.
Launched in 2010, the first Living Walls conference brought out 15 acclaimed street artists flown in from around the world to paint murals on donated walls throughout the city. The 2012 conference — this one consisting of an all-female roster of artists — filled in 28 different mural locations with new artworks. Building on this growth, Campana is now looking at ways to turn the once-a-year event into a local art movement that can last all year long.
Nate Berg is a writer and journalist covering cities, architecture and urban planning. Nate’s work has been published in a wide variety of publications, including the New York Times, NPR, Wired, Metropolis, Fast Company, Dwell, Architect, the Christian Science Monitor, LA Weekly and many others. He is a former staff writer at The Atlantic Cities and was previously an assistant editor at Planetizen.
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