MACON, Ga. — The Macon Transit Authority is asking for help after their downtown "ART STOP" was vandalized, according to a press release from the transit agency.
They say the colorful bus shelter — located at MLK Boulevard and Cherry Street — was installed back in 2019 thanks to funding through the Peyton Anderson and Knight Foundations.
Originally, the "ART STOP" included a colorful sculpture of rings stacked on top of each other. But what was once 22 rings is now down to three, broken off the sculpture and dumped on Cherry Street, according to the press release.
"An attack on one piece of public art is an attack on all public art," the MTA said in an email. "This mindless destruction flies in the face of the love, talent and funds it takes to create art that enhances our city."
They say the vandalism was discovered last Sunday by a downtown business owner. While some of the rings had disappeared, 13 of them were found detached from the sculpture, scratched and lying near the corner of Cherry Street and MLK Boulevard.
Metal balls, which connected the sculpture to a wall with multi-colored balls "floating in space" embedded in it, had been broken off as well. At this point, the MTA says those metal balls are still missing along with some of the rings.
An artist who is storing the discarded rings for the MTA said in the release: "The metal rings are heavy, and it would have taken 2 or 3 people rocking the metal back and forth several times to snap it off. This was deliberate. 12 rings would have been very heavy to carry, so they were dropped on the street."
The article continues beneath the photo gallery:
Before and after of Macon Transit Authority's "Art Stop" vandalized
The Macon Transit Authority says they filed a report with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, who have taken over the investigation.
They say the sculpture was reportedly intact as of Friday, Aug. 16 and it appears the vandalism occurred sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
In a statement, Macon Transit Authority CEO Craig Ross urges the public to help law enforcement find the people responsible.
"The damages to the popular ART STOP run in the thousands of dollars, and it’s particularly brazen that the crime occurred on the corner of a major downtown intersection," Ross said. "We hope the public will work with us and law enforcement to solve this crime and to help prevent future attacks on public art."
They say you can call the Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
The Art Stop, also known as "Diversity in Motion," was created by Jim Bodell of JR Bodell Sculpture. It was a project spearheaded by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.