MARTA Artbound Residency
Background
Although MARTA has had public art in its train stations since the late 1970s, in 2017 a new program, Artbound, was launched to connect with ridership, build community, and enhance the look and feel of the stations. Since then, MARTA Artbound has installed over 30 permanent and temporary works of art, put on hundreds of live performances, and established a performing arts program called Artbound LIVE. MARTA Artbound strives to build community and pride in the transit system by meeting people where they are with arts and culture.
Some of our most beloved installations have been those that involve MARTA riders in the game. With “Railtalk”, people were invited to “leave a kind word or share a thought” with their fellow passengers on magnetized boards throughout the system. Thousands of people participated and documented their “Railtalk” on social media. Similarly, MARTA riders have played the “Pianos for Peace” located at many of our stations, and often duet or sit in with willing Artbound LIVE musicians at their station gigs. The MARTA ridership is creative, personable, and ready to be a part of the art.
MARTA Artbound is always looking to highlight new mediums that can be used to create and facilitate interactive exchanges and engage MARTA’s ridership with Artbound and artists, inviting them to continue the participatory game.
Challenges
A persistent challenge facing MARTA Artbound is exposure and reach. Although public art at MARTA has been present since the 1970s and the Artbound program has officially existed since 2017, MARTA patrons and Atlantans do not always recognize this artistic side of MARTA. Additionally, Artbound would like to further its mission of enhancing and reflecting the communities we serve.
- Many patrons don’t know that MARTA facilitates access to art in the Atlanta community.
- Atlantans who don’t regularly ride MARTA may not be aware of Artbound or its purpose at all.
- Using only social media can be limited when it comes to dispersing information about MARTA and the Artbound program in a fun, effective, and informative manner.
Prompt
Leverage 3D printing technology found in the Public Art Futures lab to create unique, collectible MARTA-inspired artwork to give away each week in the Atlanta community.
This free art distribution should raise MARTA Artbound’s public profile. It should also disperse information about MARTA into the Atlanta community in an artistically fun manner.
Innovative means or networks will need to be identified to spread the word about the free art distribution beyond the MARTA Artbound social page or the Free Art Friday hashtag (#FAF).
A&E Atlanta Residency
Background
Established in 2017 by Atlanta City Council legislation and managed by the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID), Arts & Entertainment Atlanta (A&E Atlanta) is a neighborhood activation and economic development project for Downtown Atlanta.
A&E Atlanta fuses new media, local art, and performance with advertising to fund cultural and public space programming in the city’s core. The goal of A&E Atlanta is to bring creative energy to the heart of Downtown Atlanta, highlighting the extraordinary work of commissioned artists and livening up the Downtown walls, streets, and sidewalks.
Through a unique partnership with media companies and property owners, A&E Atlanta activates spaces through outdoor media, local art, and advertising, helps to redefine Downtown living, and provides artists a platform to display their vivid ideas and spur conversation, excitement, and reflection.
Challenges
A&E Atlanta is entering its fifth year of programming and intends to elevate its digital sign messaging by exploring innovative and interactive approaches to engage the diverse downtown community of residents, students, workers, and visitors.
Prompt
A&E Atlanta is looking for innovative content to engage the downtown community.
How will your project merge art and technology to transform our screens into dynamic gateways that support the A&E Atlanta digital platform, making it more interactive while simultaneously providing meaningful and exciting content that is authentic to downtown?
What innovative technology and art can be employed on the screens to inform and educate the public about Downtown, the A&E District, and its programs?