MACON, Ga. — The owners of stARTup Studios in Macon have been working on a project since 2018 to bring the art community together, and now the end result is about to be revealed.
The Macon Art Map is not only a large physical painting of many art galleries, studios and sculptures, but it's also a website connecting artists with the community.
Yen-Ting and Bryan Beck got the idea after seeing similar posters when they were in college in Illinois.
“We thought it would be really good for Macon to have this kind of thing to showcase all the different creative arts and studios and galleries, and artists as well,” said Beck.
There is also a place on their website where artists, galleries and studios can submit their information to be added to the directory.
“During the pandemic everything basically shut down, but we kind of added another feature where people can just search where is the artist and what’s their medium, so people can find an artist and give them a commission job,” said Yen-Ting.
As for the painting, stARTup Studios has only released portions of the painting for public viewing, but they will be showcasing the full piece during the next First Friday on March 4.
Artist Heidi Clinite is the painter behind the work and she says it was really difficult to pick which places to include in the final piece. She eventually settled on several well-known places, as well as a few hidden gems.
“There is always so many little things. You’re like ‘Oh yeah...this' and 'I know where that is' and 'I know where this is' and 'Oh I didn’t know this was here.’ So, it’s like a little scavenger hunt of downtown Macon,” said Clinite.
The painting and website are also completely funded by Macon’s art community. There was no grant to fund it and instead the money to fund it came from places like Macon Arts Alliance, Rock Candy Tours, Triangle Arts Macon, Visit Macon, NewTown Macon and many more, including individual art patrons.
“It felt good to know that there’s still support for ideas that we have and projects that we want to do,” said Beck.
He says if the event goes well, then they plan to commission a different artist for the next map.
Guests at the event will also have the opportunity to buy the painting. You can also pre-order a copy of the poster on the Macon Art Map’s website. You can find out more about stARTup Studios on their Facebook page.
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