The Spirit of Macon is renewed with the visual representation of music in the streets.

In a press conference last week, the Macon Transit Authority formally presented the expansion of a public art installation that has enlivened a drab corner of downtown with vibrant colors, dynamic images of native wildlife and graphic renderings of Macon’s iconic city skyline.

Georgia College Associate Professor of Art and Graphic Design Abraham Abebe updated his Spirit of Macon mural to feature the musicality of the city that launched the careers of Little Richard, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers Band, Robert McDuffie and Jason Aldean.

In his new artist statement, Abebe writes:

The Spirit of Macon II builds upon Abebe’s original Spirit of Macon mural that transformed an MTA bus stop into a focal point for the city’s urban revival.

“Public art is very important for the city, for the community,” Abebe said. “We need to continue bringing artists into public art [so we can] serve the community by bringing the visual arts to the public.”

The Spirit of Macon mural is located at the corner of Poplar and Fifth streets in downtown Macon.

The Spirit of Macon II mural is the beneficiary of a grant from the Linda Harriet Lane Fund administered by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. It is a joint venture between the MTA and the Community Foundation.

You can learn more about the mural and see day-by-day documentation of the creation of the Spirit of Macon murals on the MTA’s Facebook page.