Columbus 2025 is proud to unveil a new mural as part of its Painted Spaces Project in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley. The GREAT Futures Mural will be dedicated at a ceremony on Friday, January 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the East Columbus Boys & Girls Club located at 3835 Forrest Road.

The Columbus 2025 Painted Spaces Project commissions community-inspired murals in areas that have limited access to public art. By offering public art opportunities to local artists and bringing meaningful art to streetscapes, buildings, and schools, Painted Spaces aims to build community pride that connects residents to each other and their neighborhoods.

In the fall of 2022, Columbus 2025 released a Call for Artists and received over 40 submissions from local artists, art collectives, and art students. The Painted Spaces Committee chose Columbus native, Carlie Hedges, for the Boys & Girls Club project as her style and previous works reflect the vision and child- friendly art represented on the Boys and Girls Club mural.

"We wanted to partner a local artist who could bring a vision of the amazing potential each child has within them to life, while also bringing bright, fun colors and inspiring messaging for the students of the Boys and Girls Club to interact with every day when they walk through the entrance at the East Columbus Club," said Tabetha Getz, Executive Director of Columbus 2025.

Columbus 2025’s Vibrant and Connected Places Action Area promotes project and initiatives that enhance quality of life for all our citizens. The partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley reaches students, their parents, and the surrounding neighborhoods to promote its mission to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as responsible, caring, productive citizens.

“We are beyond excited to have this mural as a permanent fixture at our East Columbus Boys & Girls Club. This mural will serve as a consistent reminder of the amazing support system that we hope our

organization will continue to be for years to come,” said Rodney Close, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley.

Painted Spaces has three more murals to be completed in 2024 and is made possible in part by a grant from the Knight Foundation Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, Inc.

For more information or access to photography of the Bright Futures Mural, please contact Tabetha Getz, Executive Director, Columbus 2025 at (706) 761-6215 or [email protected].