One hundred and sixty years ago, East Atlanta Village was on the front lines of the Civil War’s Battle of Atlanta. Today it is a hip mash-up of restaurants, music venues, beer halls and designer shops, but free of national fast food outlets and drug store chains. Instead, you will see local businesses where the fun lies in the chance you’ll meet the owner.
Perhaps the best part of East Atlanta is the street art. The OuterSpace Project is the single largest contributor to the neighborhood’s extensive mix of murals by local artists and by street art illuminati from around the world. Starting on Glenwood Avenue, a one-mile loop through this quirky district will reveal some of the best murals the city has to offer:
Two whimsical pink flamingos created by muralist and graffiti writer Matt Letrs (detail above) fly through a representation of Atlanta’s Krog Street graffiti tunnel. Matt explains the thinking behind this work: “This piece was mostly homage to artists and friends I admire. A lot of the people whose names you see painted are artists who have used their hard work, determination and individual style to transcend their humble beginnings — as if growing wings and flying.”
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When we think of pandas, we visualize cute, cuddly cartoon characters with happy smiles. Hawaiian born Aaron “Woes” Martin paints outside that box. In the alley behind Glenwood Avenue, on the side of the Black Cat Tattoo Shop, is Woes’ large mural of four angry pandas whom you would not want to pet. Aggravated pandas are a common theme in the internationally famous artist’s work. To Martin, pandas represent “the story of struggle, humble beginnings and rolling with the punches.”
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Turning onto Flat Shoals Avenue, a work by Shaun Thurston comes into view. Thurston’s work is colorful, fantastical and usually involves animals. This mural of a fox and a dragon is no exception. Thurston lived in Atlanta for a while before returning to his native Jacksonville, Florida. Early in his career, he felt hurt when his murals were painted over, but has now accepted the temporary nature of street art.
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Farther north on Flat Shoals you might be puzzled by the yellow horizontal man (with his feet circled by dolphins in a cone-shaped ocean containing a galaxy) painted by a pair of Ukrainian artists who collectively go by Interesni Kazki. Aleksei Bordusov and Vladimir Manzhos got their start writing graffiti, but soon moved beyond lettering. They are now known worldwide for their bright and surrealistic large scale murals. Even if you don’t speak Ukrainian, just looking at their bizarre artwork (detail above,) you might guess that Interesni Kazki translates as ‘”interesting fairytales.”
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The folks at the Atlanta School of Burlesque on Metropolitan Avenue asked Erica Arndts to paint a mural depicting elements of burlesque with hints from the 1950s. Arndts says: “In the 1950s, seeing an elegant woman in a classy dress with chainsaw would not have been a common sight. Or the woman next to her, housewife by day and burlesque dancer by night. They may look like typical 1950s housewives, but they are quite unorthodox.”
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Across Metropolitan Avenue, five graffiti writers created a gallery of stylistically unique graffiti pieces united by a common color theme and wrapped around the back of a building. The writers include: NELS, a.k.a. Nels Guzman, a much-loved Atlanta graffiti icon who died tragically in 2020; WHIMS, a member of the all-women artist collective Few and Far; VAYNE, one of Atlanta’s preeminent writers; JEKS, best known for his photorealistic murals; and LETSGOPAINT, a.k.a. Matt Letrs, creator of the tour’s first mural.
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At the north end of East Atlanta Village, on Oak Grove Avenue, is an abstract mural by Wolfdog (Ash Hayner.) His work has been described as simultaneously minimalistic and complex. Drawing on his graphic design background, he has distilled his visual language to the bare necessities of color, line, form, value and texture. A key focus of his work is mark making, the very process of placing lines, dots, patterns and other visual structures onto a surface.
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Turning south on Flat Shoals Avenue we duck into the parking lot behind the Kaboodle home furnishings store. Chris Veal’s satirical, retro pop art style is evident in this romantic scene where a Waffle House sign replaces the moon. Veal’s tongue-in-cheek artwork has addressed issues ranging from gentrification to malicious partisan politics and the infestation of rental scooters that began in 2019. Veal is also an accomplished graffiti writer.
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Emerging from the parking lot and turning onto Joseph Avenue, we see a multi-purpose artwork by George F. Baker III on the side of the Southern Feedstore restaurant (detail above.) This combination advertisement, mural and menu shows three food stalls, giving viewers a preview of what awaits them inside this multi-purveyor food court. This mural was one of Baker’s favorites because it allowed the artist to experiment with several different styles.
These are the highlights, but there’s a lot more to see in person. So, head over to East Atlanta and post your street art photos on social media.
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Arthur Rudick created the Atlanta Street Art Map in 2017 after retiring from a successful career as an engineer with Eastman Kodak and the Coca-Cola Company. His first experience of art was seeing an Alexander Calder mobile as a child in the Pittsburgh airport. Rudick is ArtsATL’s street art expert and a regular contributor.
