Forward Warrior represents some of the best and brightest stars of the Atlanta art community, and as such we believe its merit is measured by the strength of our city. The consistently high quality, thoughtful, and imaginative work reflects well on the exceptional talent present in the greater metropolitan area.
Forward Warrior currently consists of over 100 individual extant murals, but a deeper understanding reveals a temporal element as well. With the historical trend to create new work over older murals, and incorporate them into hybridized paintings, the evolution of the works is also that of the artists, who grow to work together and collaborate, recalling previously painted content and ideas.
It is its own story.
Some of the work references the struggles of the community, the climate, political or otherwise, and pop culture. It is easy to argue that the Wylie Street Wall is alive and breathing, speaking, growing, and telling a longer narrative that includes lives lost, love rekindled, and promise for the future.
Indeed, there is renewed attention from the event organizers to archive the entire installation as it exists across time. Some grant funds are specifically dedicated to the important process of organizing photos and footage into a larger work, that in itself becomes part of the piece. We hope the tradition continues to inspire for generations to come.
Words like iconic, legendary, and monumental seem bold, but are not so far fetched when discussing Cabbagetown’s impact on this wall in the past decade or so. The exceptional curatorial work of Monica Campana, Samuel Tovarisch Parker, and since 2015, Peter Ferrari, has undeniably shaped the City’s landscape. Across the years, scores of artists invited to the community have left an indelible mark on the art scene of Atlanta.
It is interesting to note that the same neighborhood leaders who visioned this half-mile muralists’ paradise were the same community activists who pushed for a permanent “free wall” inside Krog Tunnel. The dichotomy of these two areas may not be readily apparent to every passerby, but the yin and yang of public art meets at that intersection, and that energy was not accidental.
