Artist inspired by William Shakespeare and love of Atlanta for new mural in Midtown
In the heart of Midtown, you'll find an artist hard at work intertwining the words of William Shakespeare and the spirit of Atlanta.
On Peachtree Street, right across the street from Emory University Hospital, Demetri Burke is adding new touches to his mural.
"The idea was to make a portrait and make a story that connected Atlanta with literature and history," Burke says.
The mural was commissioned by Midtown Alliance via the Midtown Heart of the Arts program. The creation is intended to engage pedestrians and brighten the sidewalk experience on this highly visible section of Peachtree Street.
The wall where the artwork is being created is part of Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse.
"It's theater, it's Shakespeare; it's everything that you love about storytelling," Burke says.
Last year, when he was a residential artist with Midtown Alliance, Burke finished a mural near the site where he's now working.
He saw potential in this wall and asked permission to create a masterpiece here.
"Earlier in February I asked them, 'Hey, is there any more space available for a mural, potential collaboration, just let me know.' And they said, 'Of course, yes.' That's kind of how we got into the project that we're working on now," he said.
The quote on the new mural says "What We May Be". It comes from "Hamlet."
"His female counterpart, Ophelia, she says, 'We know what we are, but not what we may be,' and in those quotes, I saw a lot of potential—potential of myself, potential of the future, what we can make out of ourselves," he said.
That's what Burke hopes people take away when they walk past the mural.
"You know, it's hard to tell what's going on right now. It's hard to unpack everything around us, but there's this hopefulness, this potential of what we may be," he said.
Burke expects to finish the mural is about a month.