The walls of the Chamblee Rail Trail are about to get a splash of color. Babe Walls, a nonprofit arts organization that coordinates mural festivals featuring female and non-binary artists, is bringing their celebration of public art from Colorado to Atlanta next month.

Artist and Babe Walls Executive Director Alexandrea Pangburn recently took the time to chat with me about the festival; why it started, how it evolved, and what we can expect to see during the local debut taking place from Nov. 7-10, 2024.

Originally from Kentucky, Pangburn considers herself a lifelong artist. After moving to Colorado in 2017 she got involved with the River North Art District (RiNo). Soon she noticed a distinct lack of representation in the mural festivals in particular. Time after time, male artists were shown preferential treatment and picked over women in the same field. 

As her connections to the artists in the community grew, she got to talking with the other artists and the idea for Babe Walls, an annual festival of female and non-binary mural artists, came to light. Alongside eight other women, non-binary, and trans artists, Pangburn started the organization in 2019 in Denver and launched the first festival in Westminster, Colorado in 2020. 

“We did 13 installations and had to fundraise everything in the middle of COVID,” said Pangburn. Their fundraising was so successful they actually raised more than their goal amount, and saw an outpouring of generosity and support as they brought the idea to walls across the city. 

“It gained traction really quickly,” recalled Pangburn. Their next festivals brought artists to Arvada in 2021, and later to Adams County and Standing Rock in 2022. Pangburn shared that working on the Standing Rock Lakota Reservation for a mural festival was eye-opening, and presented an altogether new experience both for the organization and for the artists, nine of whom had never created a mural before.

After that festival, Atlanta’s own Elaine Stephenson (AKA Artsy Elaine) reached out to the organizers of Babe Walls directly, and asked if they might consider bringing the festival to Atlanta. Pangburn’s brother lives in Atlanta, so it made some logical sense that the next expansion would come our way. Unfortunately circumstances didn’t align for the inaugural Atlanta festival to occur in 2023 as planned, and instead the festival was rescheduled for November, 2024. 

When Pangburn and her team began reaching out to various entities and cities in and around the Metro Atlanta region, she connected with Teneisha Jones, the Public Arts Coordinator of the City of Chamblee. 

Now, in just a few short weeks, the Rail Trail in Chamblee is set to receive some stunning new works. After weeding through more than 400 applicants to the festival, the Babe Walls committee selected a final 30 to contribute works to this year’s festival. Pangburn explained that all priority spots were given to Georgia artists, and that applicants are not asked to give mockups or proposals, instead being chosen based on the strength of their portfolios. 

“We really try to have a mix of emerging and established artists because we want to give opportunities to emerging artists,” said Pangburn. The selection committee sought to ensure that the artists chosen for the festival would have a mix of emerging and established artists as well as balanced representation. “There is so much talent in Atlanta.”

During this year’s festival, 12 artists will paint 12 columns, a pedestrian tunnel will host 6 installations featuring collaborations with 2 artists each, and a community wall as well as 3 additional installations will feature 6 additional artists. 

Pangburn explained that the committee selected some of the pairings of the two-artist collaborative pieces, but also were open to artists requesting particular pairings. Outside of the placement of these murals, Babe Walls organizers don’t give much feedback or oversight to the content of the works.

“We really like to provide a space where artists can do whatever they want to do, what they are feeling, or something that they want to try out on a large scale,” Pangburn continued. “We don’t want to provide any creative direction; we want them to have creative freedom. Working with the City of Chamblee has been really great. We asked the artist to send in a rough sketch of what they want to do, and the majority of those received no edits.”

In addition to providing the walls and facilitating the mural festival, the City of Chamblee also is supplying lifts and stipends. All artists are paid a stipend based on the size of the wall they will paint, and that structure has established a sense of equality for artists across the board. Babe Walls endeavors to pay their artists more than they would in a typical festival scenario, and they cover the paint supplies, ensuring that all the artists have to worry about it showing up and making art.

“Originally Babe Walls Mural Festival was just going to be a one time thing,” Pangburn told me. “But because of the feedback and support we got from our first festival, we decided this is something we should hold annually.” Their mission is to highlight women and non-binary muralists in various cities and communities beyond the bounds of the state of Colorado by bringing this festival to them. 

“Our hope is to go to these communities, do these festivals, work with and uplift the artists who are there, all in the hopes that they are given tools to be able to continue doing this in their hometown.” 

“We are creating this giant community, right?” said Pangburn. “We just want to be a resource for artists and a way to uplift and highlight them in their communities.”

With attendance of over 2200 people in four days during their inaugural festival back in 2020, the following years had closer to 3500 attendees. Now, landing here in Chamblee, the team expects even larger crowds. 

The 2024 Babe Walls lineup for Chamblee, Georgia will feature works by Angela Bortone, Angela Faustina, Angie Jerez, Aziza Andre, Brianna Gardocki, Charity Hamidullah, Cherry Chandra, Dear Alphabet, Drew Borders, Artsy Elaine, Gabi Anderson, Jaliyah Nicole, Hellaleah, Liliana Penagos, ARRRTADDICT, Michelle Kee, Nicole Kang Ahn, Nicole Mallarino, Nicole Merizalde, Shea O’Connor, Snailgravy, Sway, and Verations. 

Pangburn told me that Stephenson was instrumental in the organization of this festival, and is not only one of the participating artists but also joined the committee for the 2024 Babe Walls festival.

The Babe Walls Team is composed of volunteers, and this effort is a labor of true love for female and non-binary artists who often don’t get a fair shake in the mural world. I asked if she ever received pushback from others with regard to their selection process for artists, and she shared that while some are critical of their mission, the positive reception from within their featured communities overshadows any negative chatter. 

“We could not do this without the amazing crew that we have leading this effort,” said Pangburn. “It’s a true group effort, and I think there’s so much that we gain from outside of the festival that just makes all the hard work worth it.” 

Babe Walls will take place from Nov. 7-10, 2024. Festivities include a 21+ Industry Party at Block & Drum on Fri., Nov. 8 from 7-10, an Artist Market on Sun., Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and self-led Art Walk along the rail trail as artists finish their works on Sun., Nov. 10 from 12-5 p.m.