At Midtown MARTA Station, muralists sought for first step of ‘placemaking’ overhaul

Muralists of Atlanta: The Midtown Alliance wants to see your bona fides, pronto.

In the vein of what Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District did with a dirty wall at MARTA’s Five Points Station last year, the Midtown Alliance released a request for qualifications Monday in search of the right artist to enliven a high-profile transit hub.

Central Atlanta Progress

With a budget of $20,000, Midtown Alliance is partnering with MARTA on a mural—or, rather, several mural pieces—along the Peachtree Place façade at Midtown MARTA Station.

The mural is planned to “set the tone” for a broader “placemaking enhancement effort” at the station this year, not unlike Arts Center Station’s “The Porch.” Officials said plans for enhanced lighting, sculptural seating, and “other activations” will be revealed this spring.

“Midtown Station is one of the district’s most visible stations, and a key connection point for Midtown residents, workers, students, and visitors,” reads a Midtown Alliance announcement. “While the station has long served Midtown as a central business district, the last several years have brought increased residential investment around the station as well.”

As for the artwork itself, the RFQ specifies that it should be “artistically engaging and sufficiently stimulating to ignite conversation, foster interaction, and evoke appreciation by the general public.”

All credentials must be submitted by Feb. 2. Plans call for installing the artwork by April.

• The RFQ [Midtown Alliance]
• Five Points gets spruced up with new 100-foot-long mural [Curbed]
• Photos: the evolution of a massive HENSE mural at Midtown’s Icon tower [Curbed]