culture
Atlanta Artists Reveal Personal Stories Behind New BeltLine Murals
Atlanta artists detail the personal histories and neighborhood ties that shaped recent BeltLine murals completed this month.
How we reported this
A team of five painters wrapped up work on three new murals along the Eastside BeltLine trail on July 10, each piece drawing directly from oral histories collected in Inman Park and Edgewood.
Street art in Atlanta has gained fresh attention this summer because city funding for public installations rose to $1.2 million in the 2026 fiscal year, up from $850,000 the prior year, allowing more projects to move from proposal to paint on concrete.
Neighborhood anchors and local programs
The largest of the new works sits on the support wall beneath the Moreland Avenue bridge, a 60-foot panel that references the 1970s jazz clubs once clustered near the old Atlanta Municipal Market. A second piece on the trail near Krog Street Market shows abstracted maps of Edgewood Avenue before the 1996 Olympics reshaped the corridor. Living Walls, the nonprofit that coordinated the project, paired the artists with residents through its year-round oral history program that began in 2018.
Another organization, the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, supplied scaffolding and safety permits for the July installation window, which closed two days ahead of schedule after crews worked through overnight shifts to avoid peak trail traffic.
Scale and next steps for viewers
City records show 47 permitted murals added along the BeltLine since 2023, with average production costs running $4,800 each when materials and artist stipends are combined. The current set of three pieces brings the 2026 total to 19, according to the Department of Cultural Affairs quarterly report released July 8.
Residents can view the finished murals during the next BeltLine Art Walk scheduled for July 18, with maps available at the Ponce City Market information desk and at the Edgewood Retail District security office.