Mercer Public Art Coalition seeks to connect Macon and Mercer through art

One of Mercer’s newest campus organizations brings together students from various artistic disciplines for the purpose of bringing more art into the Macon community.

The Mercer Public Art Coalition was founded during the spring of 2017, and this fall, founding member Anna Stallings now serves as the coalition’s president.

“We use our art skills and our skills from Mercer to help the community in different ways,” Stallings said.

The club was created after Stallings and other founding members noticed a gap between Mercerians of different art disciplines, and between Mercer and the downtown Macon community.

Although the Mercer Public Art Coalition is a young organization, they have plans set for the upcoming semester.

“We’re looking to potentially raise money for students who don’t necessarily have access to musical instruments,” said Kevin Sabusay, who works as the Mercer Public Art Coalition’s community relations director.

The group also plans to participate in the upcoming Open Streets Macon and the One City Arts Festival, and hopes to complete a mural on a nearby water tower. Last semester, the Mercer Public Art Coalition was involved with First Fridays and Kid’s Day Out, where they engaged with the Macon community through arts and crafts.

“We want to just make art accessible to everyone in the community,” Stallings said.

The Mercer Public Art Coalition had their first meeting on Sept. 5, but prospective students are welcome to attend their next meeting. The location and time are still to be decided, but details will be provided on the organization's Facebook page, ‘Mercer Public Art Coalition’. Sabusay said that is the best way to contact the group.  

“You don’t necessarily have to be the most artistic,” Sabusay said. “You just have to have the drive, the passion to grab a paintbrush, grab an instrument.”