Students painting the mural on Barrel 118

The objective of this community-driven initiative was to repaint unique “ghost signs” to reclaim their original places in our downtown historic district. Our goal with this project is to restore a piece of our community’s history and tell the story of our town through art that is public and accessible to all.

Restoration of these first 3 ghost signs became a matter of civic pride with residents stopping to talk, take pictures, and cheer words of thanks as they passed by.  One of the overall goals of The Artisans Village is to generate tourism by strengthening the marketability of Eatonton’s historic downtown as a destination location, offering exposure to art forms not commonly seen.  This project also provides an opportunity to partner with lake country civic and nonprofit groups, schools and local businesses in marketing this as an educational and entertainment experience.

Click on the images below to open a full-size image of each mural.

About the Artist – Joseph Norman

Joseph Norman is a Professor of Art at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, as well as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Art at Johnson & Wales University. He is the former Chairman of the Painting and Drawing Department and Founder of Study Abroad Latin America, Cuba, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. His works are housed in America’s most important museums and public collections including, The Museum of Modern Art, NY, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The National Gallery, and Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC.

A highly regarded educator and artist, Joseph Norman is widely considered a world-class draughtsman and printmaker. Many scholars and art historians place Norman among the most important African American lithographers of his generation. Norman has worked with the youth populations of the Caribbean, Central, and South America for decades. A sensitive voice in the art world, he dedicates time and energy to empowering young people through the creative process of mural painting. Through his community outreach and service-learning initiatives in the arts, Norman has touched the lives and sparked the imaginations of thousands of youths throughout the Americas.

Prof. Norman orchestrated a restoration initiative named “Color the World Bright”, which for the past 14 years has provided talented art students the opportunity to participate on mural projects. Last year, The Artisan Village partnered with Prof. Norman, who led a team to complete Eatonton’s first 3 ghost signs giving new life to old walls.

A recent Urban Institute report, commissioned by Knight Foundation, revealed the value of art in communities nationwide, citing “Arts and culture are key to cities’ vibrancy and quality of life.” Unfortunately, the study also revealed there is a disparity regarding access to art. The Artisans Village is committed to making art accessible to everyone. This project establishes public art in Eatonton accessible to all and is unique in that it also provides a window to our town’s history with each ghost mural telling a story. Based on our experience restoring the first 3 ghost signs, we know the project is a vehicle for “engaging, informing and inspiring” that will generate a sense of civic pride.

In alignment with our mission, it will also serve as a catalyst for economic development through the arts – strengthening the marketability of Eatonton’s historic downtown with this unique exposure to art. Further, the project provides an opportunity to promote a number of public-private partnerships, e.g. The Artisans Village will work with the Chamber and Main Street to incorporate information about each ghost sign into Eatonton’s walking tour guide, which will in-turn, promote the downtown district.

Last, the partnership with UGA will benefit artists. Artists will benefit from stipends and but Prof. Norman says learning life lessons are even more important – teamwork, disciple and how to paint outdoors using special materials within detailed parameters. The project provides art students an unparalleled interactive educational benefit to engage with residents and experience firsthand community transformation through art, which is what students working on Color the World Bright past projects have reported enjoying most.

Overall, the project advances art to build community vitality by not only changing the way residents view the historic downtown district, but also how visitors view unique aspects of Eatonton and what we are capable of accomplishing in our community.

Funding for Phase I Ghost Murals came from several different donors in the community including Putnam County, The Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce, Main Street, EPTAH, Blackwell Furniture, Kevin and Sara Tomson-Hooper, and Jerry Gregory.

For more information about the mission and vision of The Artisans Village – click here.