Atlanta's Tiny Doors give viewers whimsical glimpse at city's history and culture
They are only a few inches tall, but they have become part of Atlanta's landscape.
Karen Anderson Singer, the artist behind Tiny Doors ATL, told CBS News Atlanta that each one is designed to help people connect with the city and leave room for their own interpretation.
"We know doors are entrances, and I like to think of it as an entrance to your imagination," said Singer.
The doors are placed throughout the city, with some outliers in Kennesaw, Buckhead, and Decatur.
Over time, they have become part of people's own Atlanta.
"It's just cool to me to see that everyone has their own different story and way that they have interacted with it, even if they just see one every day on their run. That's a lot of presence in their life," said Singer.
Her latest project brought that idea to downtown Atlanta.
She created five Tiny Doors ahead of the FIFA Men's World Cup, welcoming thousands of people to Atlanta.
For these, she used the past to inspire what people see today.
"With this Tiny Doors of Downtown project, I was able to look into the history of what used to be there," she said. "I'm looking at Hotel Row, which currently has a bunch of new, fresh, cool businesses, but creating images of the old hotels that used to be there to try to highlight the past and bring it into the present at the same time."
The details may come from Atlanta's history, but what happens beyond the doors, she leaves entirely up to you.
"I think about this time that some kids stopped me on the Beltline and they were a little upset. They were like, 'Why doesn't the Tiny Door open?' And I was like, 'Well, if it did open, and what you saw behind here was something that I painted on the cement, would that be better than your imagination?' And they were like, 'Oh no.' It's like your imagination is infinite."
The door stays closed because what's on the other side can be different for every person who stops to imagine it.
Singer said all of her Tiny Doors are commissioned.
The newest ones stretch from Mitchell Street to State Farm Arena as part of the Tiny Doors of Downtown project.
