Oh hey look: Art on the Beltline, eastside edition!

Beltline Art!

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In late September, I joined a group of Atlanta Beltline officials and members of the media to tour some works selected for the 2012 Art on the Beltline.

We concentrated on the project’s Eastside trail — which officially opens today — and toured the artwork along the segment that stretches from Ansley Mall through Piedmont Park to 10th Street and Monroe Drive. This section of the Beltline is more like a hiking trail then a road as the now-paved Eastside trail has become. Beltline officials hope to build a trail network along the entire 22-mile loop and develop public transport alongside the trail (officials “optimistically” estimate the transit component will start construction in five to seven years). The Beltline is six years into the life of a 25-year project.

Art on the Beltline started in 2010 and is Atlanta’s largest temporary public-art exhibition. This year’s exhibition covers nine miles of the 22-mile trail and includes more than 70 works. The series is structured as a walking tour with pieces grouped fairly close together. The part we toured featured a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography, tile mosaics, murals and mixed media. Several live performances are scheduled to take place during the exhibition (check out the schedule) before it winds down in November.

The ultimate goal of the exhibition: to change the notion of the former railroad corridor from something that divides Atlanta into something that connects the city.

More Beltline Art Photographs