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MARTA's Quest to Be Cooler will Include Murals, Bus Wi-Fi

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MARTA's ongoing efforts to become a more pleasant, viable transportation experience will include new public art murals across the city and Wi-Fi on buses, officials tell Curbed. On the aesthetic-enhancement front, MARTA has partnered with nonprofit artist hive WonderRoot and The TransFormation Alliance for a new program called "En Route," which aims to install fresh public art pieces at select MARTA stations. The King Memorial station — already home to MARTA's finest skyline views — will receive the first installation, a mural by celebrated Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou. Three more murals by Pecou are slated for the Oakland City and Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA stations and another that's TBA.

Officials say each mural generated by the program will be "meaningful, aesthetically imaginative, high quality (and) text-based," exploring "issues of access, mobility and public transportation." With a fascinating backstory and a style that combines "observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture," Pecou has exhibited work (including provocative portraits of himself) in the Smithsonian, Societe Generale in Paris and The High Museum of Art.

In MARTA's quest to be cooler, they could've done much worse.

Also this week, MARTA leaders announced a media briefing on Thursday where the system's GM/CEO Keith Parker and others will discuss the rollout of Wi-Fi on MARTA buses, among other topics.

· Presenting ATL's Most Comprehensive Transit Map of All Time [Curbed]
· The Terrific Vantages from MARTA's Most Scenic Station [Curbed]
· Art of survival [AJC; subscriber]