Charity Hamidullah and Living Walls teamed up to paint a massive mural to unify an affordable housing community

Affordability has become very important to all of us in recent years. Our story starts with affordable housing, showcases artwork by Charity Hamidullah that made the housing attractive and examines the process facilitated by Living Walls that made the artwork possible.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) — a nonprofit development arm of the Housing Authority of DeKalb County — created two adjacent but distinct residential properties within walking distance of the Kensington Transit Station on land leased from MARTA. Kensington Pointe (at 4160 Memorial Drive) offers affordable housing to qualified seniors. Kensington Place (at 4200 Memorial Drive) offers both affordable and market rate multifamily housing. Their proximity allows seniors and families to live side-by-side with easy access to MARTA.

A large concrete parking deck towers between the two communities. That deck was recently painted with a 17,000 square-foot mural.

Nine artists were invited to submit proposals to cover three sides of the deck. Charity Hamidullah — an on-the-rise tattoo artist turned muralist whose work covers many Atlanta walls — won the call.

Development Coordinator Jennifer DeBarr said the HDC wanted the mural to “be visually pleasing, thoughtful and timeless.”

“The word legacy was shared as part of the inspiration,” she said. “We hoped the artwork would create a deeper sense of connection between the senior and family communities while allowing Charity full creative freedom in how she brought that vision to life.”

Just about the time Hamidullah was wrapping up a different colossal project — her 10,000-square-foot World Cup mural on Windsor Street — the HDC gave her the good news that she had been selected to complete the Kensington mural. They delivered the good news alongside a challenge: She would need to move quickly. The project was on a very tight schedule. Hamidullah understood she couldn’t possibly go at it alone.

She remembered Living Walls and the resources the organization can bring to a project. She had previously worked with Living Walls on several projects, including the I am mine, We are Ours multi-artist mural project on Arizona Avenue and the World Cup mural on Windsor Street. Rather than turn down the Kensington job, Hamidullah reached out to Living Walls for help.

“This project is significant in that it shows the power of calling on your community as an artist,” said Living Walls Creative Director Tatiana Bell. “Although Living Walls usually commissions artists, this project was the opposite. Charity reached out to us for support in securing and managing the project, assembling teams and leading the production. This allowed her to focus on her role as the artist.”

Many of the assistant artists on the project had worked with Living Walls on the World Cup murals and were already familiar with what was required.

“Living Walls and I were very intentional about the crew that we wanted to bring there,” Hamidullah said. “We wanted artists that just were very focused in their craft.”

The mural also required the artists to utilize swing stages, hanging work platforms suspended by cables.

 “It was a huge thing to do something this big,” Hamidullah said. The HDC was very supportive in providing resources.

They hired a separate paint crew to prime the wall and paid the expense tab to supply the swing stages.

Miranda Kyle, founder and principal of Fulcrum Arts Consulting, was brought in as the project manager to oversee the complexities of the construction and timing and coordinate the teams.

“Understanding the scope and scale and how many beautiful souls and moving parts we would have rolling, the weather and the time frame restriction, I knew one of the most important elements of making sure this project was going to be successful was team morale,” said Kyle. “This kind of care can make all the difference when your day starts at 6 a.m., and it is going to be 100 degrees before lunch. For me, it was important to match that physical care with emotional and mental care for the team.”

Kyle added an element of fun to the otherwise daunting task. She gave whimsical names to the boom lifts: Black Betty, Blue Devil and Orange Crush. Coordinating the activities of the boom lifts with the other construction machinery became the “boom ballet.” Kyle also gave nicknames to the teams performing various painting activities. The boom lift operators were the “sky pirates,” those on the swing stages were the “sky chariots” and those working with their feet on the earth were the “ground crew.”

“These shorthands and inside language helped us build such an incredible spirit of camaraderie,” Kyle said. “I think it is important to remember how important joy and play are to the act of creation.”

In the end, the mural came together and the result is breathtaking.

Titled Rooted in Legacy, Growing with Change, the mural is an abstract design intended to awaken intuition and invite personal interpretation.

“Within the composition, different visions emerge,” Hamidullah explained in her artist’s statement. “Some may see leaves symbolizing growth and transformation, while others may experience a sense of freedom, safety and softness. For some, the work offers a place of visual rest; for others, it represents the strong foundation of a vibrant community shaped by generations of change and uplifted through continued growth.

“As the mural moves fluidly across the wall, it honors the rhythm and energy of the space itself. Layered colors reflect the rich diversity that lives within this community — distinct yet interconnected — coming together to form narratives that are both deeply personal and collectively shared. This piece is intended to embody evolution while remaining grounded in heritage.”

In addition to the vast abstract spaces, the design also features silhouette-like figures modeling different demographics and ages so that all the residents can see themselves reflected in the artwork.

The work builds a visual bond between the seniors and families who share the space.

“We hope to always create places that feel meaningful,” said DeBarr, “to honor the people and legacy of DeKalb County while fostering connection for generations to come.”

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Arthur Rudick created the Atlanta Street Art Map in 2017 after retiring from a successful career as an engineer with Eastman Kodak and the Coca-Cola Company. His first experience of art was seeing an Alexander Calder mobile as a child in the Pittsburgh airport. Rudick is ArtsATL’s street art expert and a regular contributor.