Atlanta now knows the identity of the 10th artist to plaster the city with murals leading up to its third Super Bowl.
Muhammad Yungai was selected through a local selection committee review and public voting process, which brought in more than 1,200 votes. "Off the Wall" is a partnership between the city, the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committeeand WonderRoot to create up to 30 public murals related to civil rights and social justice movements.
"It has become my personal mission to introduce young black students the to the greatness of their history," the Atlanta artist says on the Off the Wall website. "It is a calling to create murals in schools where young people see positive images of themselves, or African-American people who fought for the rights and freedoms of others."
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The murals are slated for two areas: the neighborhoods around the Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Vine City, English Avenue and Castleberry Hill — and downtown Atlanta. The designs are being developed through a series of community conversations attended by the artists.
The artist group includes Atlanta residents Shelia Pree Bright, Shanequa Gay and Sean Schwab, the creator of the John Lewis mural on Auburn Avenue. It also includes Yehimi A. Cambron Alvarez of Mexico and Atlanta, Brandan "B-Mike" Odums of New Orleans, Andrew "Gaia" Pisacane of New York City, Ernest Shaw of Baltimore, Reginald "L.E.O" O'Neal of Miami and Gilbert Young of Cincinnati.
The complete collection of works will become part of the city of Atlanta’s permanent public art collection, to be maintained by the city. The city’s first two Super Bowls were held in 1994 and 2000.
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