Atlanta Beltline Art has selected acclaimed Atlanta-based artists
Shanequa Gay and
Ayokunle Odeleye for two major public art commissions that will add enduring new works to the growing Beltline corridor. Planned for the Westside Beltline Connector and Northeast Trail, the sculptures will draw from the histories, environments and communities surrounding each site.
Spanning a planned 22-mile loop and connecting more than 45 neighborhoods, the Atlanta Beltline is the most comprehensive transportation and economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and amongst the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs currently underway in the United States. Since its inception, the Beltline has incorporated art and cultural programming into its design through temporary installations, performances, murals and permanent commissions.
The two new works continue Atlanta Beltline Art’s longstanding commitment to making arts and culture an integral part of the Beltline’s approach to infrastructure and place. Over the program’s 16-year history, Atlanta Beltline Art has helped demonstrate how public art, artist development, and cultural programming can shape the experience and identity of a major urban redevelopment project. Working alongside artists, residents and cultural partners, the program considers not only how public spaces look, but whose stories they carry, what histories and traditions they preserve, and how people see themselves reflected in Atlanta’s continued growth.
Community engagement will be an integral part of the development of both commissions. The artists were selected through a competitive Request for Qualifications process that included Atlanta Beltline stakeholders and community-based selection panels representing neighborhood residents, arts professionals and project partners. As the concepts develop, both artists will engage people connected to each site to ensure the work is informed by the history, identity and lived experience of the surrounding communities.
“The Atlanta Beltline is proud to commission new works by two extraordinary Atlanta artists whose practices are deeply connected to the history, culture and communities of our city,” said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of the Atlanta Beltline. “Public art is an essential part of how we build places that reflect the people and stories of Atlanta. These monumental works will not only enhance the Beltline’s public spaces, but help preserve history, spark dialogue and create a lasting sense of connection and belonging for the individuals and families who call these communities home.”
“These commissions demonstrate what is possible when artists are invited to help shape the places where people live, gather and connect,” said Amina Cooper, director of arts and culture for Atlanta Beltline. “Shanequa Gay and Ayokunle Odeleye bring distinct practices and perspectives to these sites, and their work will be informed by the histories, environments and communities that surround them. We are excited to see these ideas evolve through continued engagement with Atlanta residents and cultural partners.”
Shanequa Gay | Westside Beltline Connector
Greenspace between Jett Street and Western Avenue will be the site of Gay’s work along the Beltline’s Westside Connector. The location sits within a part of Atlanta shaped by generations of prominent Black leaders and institutions, including historic neighborhoods such as English Avenue, Vine City, Washington Park and Grove Park. Gay’s creative process will draw from that cultural context as she develops the work.
She will begin with a two-part public research initiative titled Stewardship of Locality: Care, Conservancy & Commitment to Place, bringing together residents, scholars, artists, students, historians and cultural leaders who will contribute to the intellectual and cultural foundation of the sculpture. The initiative is based on Gay’s premise that “stewardship is the art of staying,” which she explains as “the ongoing practice of caring for people, place and memory so future generations inherit not only land, but a sense of belonging.” It also considers how Black women’s leadership, creativity, hospitality and care have sustained Atlanta’s neighborhoods, families, institutions and cultural traditions, even as those contributions have often been absent from civic monuments and public landscapes.
The first engagement of the initiative, Black Women, Place, and the Future of the American South, will be presented in partnership with the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Structured as a public conversation, the symposium will examine Black women’s leadership, Southern cultural identity, historical memory and civic responsibility.
Gay’s multidisciplinary practice ranges from painting, photography and sculpture to performance, installation and public art. Her work has become known for examining race, identity, spirituality, history and Black womanhood and has been exhibited across the United States, Europe, Japan and South Africa. She previously worked with the Atlanta Beltline as a featured artist through its Business Façade pARTnership Grant program, creating a storefront mural for The BELT Hub.
She is a Do-Good Fellow recipient, an Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellow, and a Hudgens Prize Finalist. Gay has also been the recipient of the Radcliffe Bailey Award for Excellence in Visual Art, was one of five Georgia Women to Watch selected by the Georgia Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and was recently awarded the America250 Grant by Albany Museum of Art. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Spelman College.
Ayokunle Odeleye | Northeast Trail
On the Northeast Trail, Odeleye will create a large-scale public artwork for the greenspace north of Cresthill Avenue near Piedmont Park.
The sculpture will consider the natural environment and activity of the trail while establishing a thematic relationship with Piedmont Park and the surrounding area, which includes local neighborhoods Virginia-Highland, Morningside, Midtown, Piedmont Heights and Ansley Park.
Odeleye has been a professional sculptor and arts educator for over forty-five years. His works can be found in cities across the United States, with many addressing history, collective memory and the people and events that have shaped communities.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University and has taught at Howard University, Spelman College, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University.
Both commissions are currently in the design and community engagement phase. Additional information about the artists' concepts, installation schedules and opportunities for public participation will be announced as the projects advance. For more information, visit
beltline.org/art.
