Vivid New Placemaking Project Coming to Midtown MARTA Station
Midtown Alliance and MARTA are partnering on another fun project to create a unique sense of arrival at an area transit station. Building on the two-year success of a collaboration with the Woodruff Arts Center to introduce art and creative installations at the Arts Center station, the next stop for the transit station enhancement partnership is the Midtown station’s south plaza, fronting Peachtree Place.
Selection Process Yielded 40+ Submissions
Announced earlier this year via a call for interest, the Midtown station enhancement project attracted creative submissions from more than 40 artists from all over North America, three of whom were asked to produce site-specific proposals for the station. Midtown Alliance populated a selection committee that included MARTA leadership, Midtown community members and professionals who work in the local art industry.
At the end of the rigorous review process, Atlanta artist Andrew Catanese was chosen for his lush natural imagery and narratives, borrowed from Aesop’s classic fables, that celebrate diversity and unity. View bio and representative examples of Andrew’s work here.
"Andrew’s tapestry inspired painting style will create a unique setting with intimate vignettes telling stories throughout the plaza," said committee member Anne Tracht. "The use of lush natural imagery will transform the concrete into an urban oasis. We're all excited to see how this work will add a calming, yet invigorating mood to the MARTA station."
What’s coming to the plaza?
A bright mural that will introduce color into the space, lighting features, seating, new landscaping, a stage for busking performances, and more. These elements all contribute to making a livelier open space outside the station that sees some 200K combined rail and bus boardings in a given month.
"Art at transit stations tells transit riders they are valued, and we hope it provides an uplifting moment in their day," said MARTA Arts Administrator Katherine Dirga. "MARTA Artbound is pleased to continue a great partnership with Midtown Alliance as we both strive to serve the community with arts and culture.”
Construction to Begin Soon
The phased buildout will occur this spring at the station, and will involve some light construction activity around the south plaza. Stay in the loop on Midtown Alliance’s social media channels for updates.
Plaza Enhancements: One Strategy to Achieve a Robust Open Space Network
In addition to large projects, like the proposed Art Walk, small parks and plazas are a key component of Midtown’s long-range open space plan, which envisions a network of publicly-accessible open space. By repurposing vacant and underutilized plazas, like those at Midtown’s MARTA stations, we are able to create highly-localized, drop-in experiences that function like an urban backyard. These lighter-quicker-cheaper projects make it possible to steadily build out an open space system that puts everyone in Midtown within a 5-minute walk of publicly-accessible open space.
