While I was working as the Communications Manager at Living Walls, we worked with MARTA Artbound and artist, Ever Siempre (Nicolás Romero Escalada), to produce two murals at the East Lake MARTA Station in November of 2019. The mural designs are the result of a community-driven anthropological analysis. Nicolás used inspiration from the neighborhood to create 2 large community still live paintings. This is one of my favorite public art projects in the city. 

Nicolás, Living Walls, and MARTA hosted community engagement "show and tell" events to get inspiration for the mural design. We invited people to show their personal objects and tell stories that represented the landscape and history of the East Lake community. 

Nicolás even stayed with a family right across from the station during his time here. He met neighbors, talked to local businesses, and listened to people at community meetings. His research directly translates to the still life design for the mural. It was so fun to watch him interact with so many different Atlantans. 

My role was communications manager. I promoted the community engagement events in our newsletter, social media, and local press outlets. I also secured press for this project, building a relationship with the local new outlet, Decaturish. They covered this process from beginning to end with a 4-part series.  

Decaturish (12/10/19) - East Lake MARTA 4

Decaturish (10/28/19) - East Lake MARTA 3

Decaturish (10/25/19) - East Lake MARTA 2

Decaturish (9/5/19) - East Lake MARTA 1

“These points of connection will represent a cross-section of the anthropology of East Lake. The project relies on interaction as a mechanism for generating meaning. The observer completes the construction of the piece when they enter into dialogue with the elements and items that are from their own daily life.”

— EVER SIEMPRE

Nicolás Romero Escalada, also known as Ever Siempre and often shortened as Ever, is an Argentinian street artist who was born in Buenos Aires in 1985. Ever Siempre started painting graffiti in Buenos Aires in the 1990s, first starting with letter-based works and later including portraits of people influenced by the great Gustav Klimt, Vincent Van Gogh, and Francis Bacon.

Ever’s focus is the common human subject. He embraces the beauty of man while masterfully intertwining elements of raunchiness and vulgarity to depict his culture’s abrasive nature.