Pittman Park / ELEVATE / City of Atlanta
PITTMAN
PARK
Corey Barksdale was commissioned by the City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs to bring a community mural to Pittman Park — spread across a large-scale wall, the picnic tables, benches, and pavilion — as part of ELEVATE, the city's annual public art festival.
Three themes, one park
Civil rights, family, and the sound of the city
The Pittman Park commission spread across the park's everyday gathering spots — a large-scale wall, picnic tables, benches, and pavilion. The imagery moves through three connected ideas: a tribute to the civil rights slogan "I Am a Man," a mother-and-child scene capturing the love and care of family, and musicians and dancers set against Atlanta's skyline — a snapshot of the vibrancy and hope that keep the city moving.
I Am a Man
Mother & Child
I Am a Man / Detail
A citywide public art festival.
ELEVATE is the City of Atlanta's annual public art festival. It took over the historic Pittsburgh neighborhood in partnership with the African Diasporic Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) — a stretch of murals, exhibitions, and community events across the area.
Community-inspired, built to last.
Every one of those surfaces got Corey's brush — picnic tables, benches, pavilion, grill — then a protective seal against the weather, so the park's everyday furniture doubles as lasting public art.
See more of Corey's civic work.
Pittman Park sits alongside Corey's other City of Atlanta commissions, including the Blandtown FIFA World Cup mural — see the full Atlanta murals gallery. And as an Atlanta muralist, he welcomes private clients too, for anyone who wants to commission a painting outside the civic and public art world.
Faith and family
A church, a family, a saint
Another wall of the Pittman Park commission carries a quieter scene — a small white church, a family walking hand in hand, and a portrait haloed in gold — painted by Atlanta mural painter Corey Barksdale alongside the park's civil rights and music panels.
Church & Family Panel
Saint Portrait / Detail
Mother & Child / Floral Portrait
Music and movement
A guitarist, a skyline, and dancers in motion
Near the Pittman Park "PARK" lettering and just up the wall from Turner Field, Corey Barksdale's mural breaks into a full band of color — a guitarist, a trumpet player, and a row of dancers patterned against the Atlanta skyline.
Guitarist & Dancers / Full Wall
Guitarist Panel / Detail
Dancers & Skyline
Trumpet Player & Dancers
More color across the park
Joy, pattern, and abstraction
Beyond the mural's central figures, Corey Barksdale's Pittman Park paintings spill into pure color and pattern — joyful portraits, an abstract paisley wall, and a vertical panel painted onto one of the park's utility boxes.
Laughing Faces Panel
Abstract Pattern Panel
Profile Portrait / Utility Box
About the project
A City of Atlanta community commission
Corey was selected through the City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, then worked directly with the office and the Pittman Park community to shape the final design before painting began.
That same process — proposal, community input, a City of Atlanta service agreement, on-site painting, and a protective finish — still carries through Corey's public art commissions today, including his FIFA World Cup mural in West Midtown.
Helpful project answers
Frequently asked questions
What is the Pittman Park mural?
A community mural created by Corey Barksdale for Pittman Park in southwest Atlanta, commissioned by the City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs as part of the ELEVATE public art festival.
What does the mural depict?
Three connected themes across the park's picnic tables, benches, pavilion, and grill: a tribute to the civil rights slogan "I Am a Man," a mother-and-child scene representing family love and care, and musicians and dancers set against the Atlanta skyline representing the vibrancy and hope of the city.
Who commissioned the mural?
The City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, as part of ELEVATE, the city's annual public art festival, held in the historic Pittsburgh neighborhood in partnership with the African Diasporic Art Museum of Atlanta.
Where is the mural located?
Pittman Park, 950 Garibaldi St SE, Atlanta, GA 30310.
Public art & civic commissions
Planning a community art project?
Cities, community organizations, and civic partners can commission Corey directly for public art rooted in a neighborhood's own story.