Georgia Magazine - June 2024 - 24

My GEORGIA
By Natalie Bradley
How public art helped
bring life to a rural town
T
he power of public art is amazing
to me. While I've always
appreciated beautiful murals and
artwork, I never realized how powerful
it can truly be until I moved back to my
hometown.
A few years ago, I was attending
the Georgia Academy for Economic
Development led by Jenny Robbins
of Tucker-based Georgia Electric
Membership Corp. (EMC). She asked
the class, " How do you know when a
downtown is healthy or unhealthy when
you're driving through it? "
People said that healthy downtowns
were filled with activity, shoppers,
businesses, murals, parks, public art and
beautiful landscaping and that they were
clean and attractive. The class also
agreed that unhealthy downtowns had vacant and
blighted buildings, trash everywhere, tired-looking
paint and signs, poor or no landscaping and lack
of activity.
Residents knew that downtown Oglethorpe
The mural in downtown Oglethorpe was the first one installed through Flint Energies'
Rural Murals program, which is designed to revitalize small towns in the cooperative's
service territory.
created the atmosphere our town was lacking.
From there, we installed another public art project featuring work by
was " sick " and needed help, but hearing people talk
about unhealthy downtowns and how that perfectly
described mine was heartbreaking.
Our Downtown Development Authority (DDA)
board started paying attention to what made other
downtowns feel vibrant, happy and appealing. The
first thing that we noticed was public art. It made
the area feel alive, exciting and sometimes funky.
It really made you " see " the people and the
community behind the town, and we loved that!
About that time, Flint Energies announced
the Rural Murals grant program, and I knew that
this was the key. At the time, I was the director of
Oglethorpe's DDA, so I applied for the grant, and we
were awarded the first one.
It changed everything for downtown
Oglethorpe. The town rallied behind the mural,
and people stopped to watch, ask questions and
document the process as artist Jackie Fontenot
painted the building at the corner of Chatham and
Sumter streets for weeks.
When the mural was finished, there were a lot
of smiles, joyful tears and hope shared collectively in
the community. It instilled community pride and
24 Georgia Magazine June 2024
artists from throughout the community on the new lampposts downtown
and put giant rural photography by Lauren Turner in empty building
windows to give them more life and beauty.
This was another huge hit with the residents and visitors in the area.
People started spending more time downtown, photographing the art and
enjoying it with family and friends.
At the same time, we hosted various downtown events, inviting locals
to go downtown to shop and do business, and the excitement became
contagious! Investors started buying blighted, vacant buildings. Renovations
began, and new businesses started moving into the spaces downtown.
Now, just four years later, 10 buildings are inhabited with thriving
businesses, thanks to the public art that started it all. Oglethorpe's
downtown has vintage and antique shops, salons and barbers, a produce
market and restaurants.
There is a lot of activity downtown, and events are happening
throughout the year.
I will never look at a mural or public art installation the same again.
Stop by my hometown sometime, sit a spell and see for yourself the
beautiful art and activity downtown.
Natalie Bradley is the community connections specialist at Flint Energies
in Reynolds. She is a prolific watercolor artist and lives in Macon County.
This essay originally appeared in Flint Energies' newsletter inside the October
2023 issue of Georgia Magazine.
Learn more
Follow downtown Oglethorpe on Facebook at fb.com/oglethorpega to see events
and activities.
EDWARD BRADLEY
http://www.fb.com/oglethorpega
Georgia Magazine - June 2024

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