Macon-Bibb County Transit recognized with culture award for bus and facility murals

The Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority (MTA) was honored with the Macon Arts Alliance Cultural Award for a series of murals it developed on its facilities and a bus. The award recognizes individuals, organizations and businesses who have made significant contributions to the cultural life of central Georgia through their work or philanthropic efforts.

On January 28, MTA unveiled a vibrant, wrap-around mural on the corner of Fifth and Poplar Street at the end of the Transfer Station, Macon’s public transportation hub and the unofficial gateway to Macon’s industrial area.

Titled “Spirit of Macon” by its creator, Abraham Abebe, a graphic design professor at Georgia College and State University who hails from Ethiopia, the mural depicts an MTA bus and sweeping cityscape with a mix of Macon’s historic and modern buildings. Around the corner, three majestic birds take flight into brilliant sunshine.

Six-months later, on July 29, MTA revealed professor Abebe’s “Spirit of Macon II” mural spanning Macon’s long-neglected Poplar Street Tunnel, funded by a Linda Harriet Lane grant and MTA.

By continuing his kaleidoscope of colors Abebe seamlessly melds his two works, so they appear to be a single, expansive canvas. “Spirit of Macon II” is an ohmage to Macon’s rich, diverse musical history and heritage.

To illuminate the power of music in our lives, the mural features a woman of indistinct origin plucking the strings of her violin. A soulful jazz musician hits a high note on his trumpet and three small birds, their tiny claws clinging to a real wire that runs the length of the tunnel, chirp in unison, the artist’s nod to the harmonious sounds of nature.

MTA’s murals have transformed a neglected section of downtown Macon with a bold injection of public art immediately embraced by the community.

In addition to the vehicular and pedestrian traffic at Fifth and Poplar Street, every MTA bus on every route travels back to the Transfer Station through that busy intersection 16 hours a day, 6 days a week — a lagniappe for MTA’s riders and hardworking bus operators.

MELODY, MTA’s Macon Music Masters bus

There’s not another bus like MELODY, the Macon Music Masters bus, and she’s electric! Completed in secret over 17 months between March 2021 and July 2022, more than 20 of Macon’s music stars, on stage and behind the scenes, are honored on the 35-foot, electric, zero emission bus crafted by BYD in Lancaster, Calif.

“The stars, family and friends were overwhelmed by the Macon Music Masters bus. They wept, and those whose family members had passed away threw their arms around MELODY and hugged her,” said Craig Ross, MTA’s president and CEO.

MTA was Georgia’s first transit authority to operate electric buses on public roadways. The University of Georgia and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport had them first but run them solely on their own campus. MELODY is MTA’s fourth electric bus, with delivery of 10 more expected by the end of 2023.

“It’s certainly atypical for a community’s transit agency to foster and grow the arts, but MTA has taken on amazing initiatives in 2022,” said Aaron Buzza, vice president of development and COO of Visit Macon, the city’s tourism arm. “It’s vision to embrace and advocate for the arts is incredibly unique and makes Macon a more vibrant community for residents and visitors alike. The “Spirit of Macon” murals and MELODY, a mobile music exhibit that travels citywide, are substantial additions to Macon’s public art offerings."