WonderRoot’s Off the Wall mural project calls on local artists to put civil rights front and center

December 3,2018

The brainchild of Atlanta arts organization WonderRoot and the Super Bowl LIII Host Committee, the project is designed to honor the city’s role in the Civil Rights Movement and address modern civil rights issues—including but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. The project was inspired by work WonderRoot had previously done in the gentrifying Vine City area that focused on community storytelling as a way to amplify and preserve the cultural legacy of the neighborhood.

“The project is less about speaking to the Super Bowl audience and more about leveraging what the Super Bowl will bring to Atlanta and catapulting the amazing work that people have done and are doing in Atlanta to further catalyze movements for justice,” says WonderRoot executive director Chris Appleton.

The participating artists—Cambrón, Sheila Pree Bright, Shanequa Gay, GAIA, Brandan “B-Mike” Odums, Reginald “L.E.O.” O’Neal, Ernest Shaw, the Loss Prevention Arts, Muhammad Yungai, Gilbert Young, and Charmaine Minniefield—will create a combined total of more than 30 murals across the city that will be on display leading up to the Super Bowl. Following the game, they’ll become part of the City of Atlanta’s permanent collection and will be maintained by the city.

“The Off the Wall project visually represents the contributions, hopes, and dreams of all Atlantans and provides an opportunity to share our collective stories with the world,” said Camille Russell Love, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, in an email.

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