The Spruill Center for the Arts has selected three finalists for its AMPLIFY mural contest, an annual competition to paint a mural on the historic Spruill Smoke House on Ashford Dunwoody Road. The artists were selected out of 140 submissions and include the first ever out-of-state finalist.
“This year’s submissions were incredibly competitive,” said Spruill CEO Alan Mothner in a press release. “The Smoke House mural is an iconic Dunwoody landmark, and we are excited to add another chapter to its legacy.”
The three finalists include Tamar Atik, a muralist based in the U.S. and Mexico; Chad Creasy, an Atlanta-educated, Atlanta-based oil painter and painting instructor at Spruill Center; and Ayana Ross, a SCAD graduate and Atlanta-based oil painter.
Atik, an English/American artist based between the U.S. and Mexico, has more than 10 years of professional painting experience, including five years of large-scale mural experience, and has painted murals in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala.
Ross is a Savannah-born, Atlanta-based oil painter. She holds degrees from the Savannah College of Art and Design, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Georgia Southern University, and she has shown work in museums and galleries in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and beyond.
She has also taught art for more than 18 years, working with children and adults at schools, museums, and other public institutions.
Creasy is an Atlanta native with more than 35 years of experience across a wide range of artistic mediums. A graduate of the Atlanta College of Art, Creasy is also a full-time graphic artist and a painting instructor at the Spruill Center for the Arts.
Creasy has shown work at Spruill Gallery, the Oddities Museum, the Marriott Hotel, and at several private events.
The winning artist will receive $10,000. The winning mural will be unveiled on November 21 at the Spruill Center at an event open to the public.
