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Forward Warrior / Cabbagetown Initiative / Atlanta

FORWARD
WARRIOR

Atlanta muralist Corey Barksdale painted live at Forward Warrior, the annual festival that turns Cabbagetown's Wylie Street into one of the city's largest open-air mural galleries.

The festival

A half-mile of wall, painted live in a weekend

Forward Warrior is Cabbagetown's answer to a blank wall: an annual live mural festival hosted by the Cabbagetown Initiative, founded in 2012 by artist and curator Peter Ferrari to turn stretches of tagged and neglected wall along Wylie Street into a rotating, open-air gallery. Dozens of local and regional artists show up and paint at the same time, in public, over the course of the event.

The festival wraps painting into a full neighborhood block party — a vintage and maker's market, food trucks, DJs, and Cabbagetown's own crowd turning out to watch the walls change in real time. Corey Barksdale has been one of the artists on that wall, contributing an original piece to the festival's ever-changing lineup.

Inside "Together We Are..."

Titled "Together We Are...," the piece is a wall wrapped in Corey's signature ornamental linework, dense with color and pattern from edge to edge.

Forward Warrior mural by Atlanta muralist Corey Barksdale, painted live on Wylie Street in Cabbagetown, Atlanta
Corey Barksdale's Forward Warrior piece on Wylie Street, Cabbagetown.

There's no client brief at Forward Warrior, no approval process, no sign-off — just a stretch of wall, a weekend, and whatever an artist decides to put on it. That's a different kind of pressure than a corporate or civic commission. Everybody else is painting right alongside you, in public, at the same time, and whatever you put up has to hold its own next to it.

Corey Barksdale, Atlanta muralist
01 / THE FESTIVAL

Dozens of artists, one wall.

Forward Warrior brings local and regional muralists together on the same stretch of Wylie Street, painting live and in public over the course of the festival — part mural marathon, part neighborhood celebration.

02 / THE PIECE

Portrait, pattern, and color.

Corey's contribution pairs a close, intimate portrait with the intricate ornamental linework that runs through his broader body of work, painted live on-site rather than projected or pre-drawn.

03 / THE PRACTICE

Community and festival murals.

Forward Warrior sits alongside Corey's other Atlanta community mural work — see the mural portfolio, or browse the Work gallery.

Helpful project answers

Frequently asked questions

What is Forward Warrior?

Forward Warrior is an annual live mural painting event and street festival hosted by the Cabbagetown Initiative in Atlanta's historic Cabbagetown neighborhood, where dozens of local and regional artists paint murals live along a half-mile stretch of wall.

Where does Forward Warrior take place?

Primarily along Wylie Street in Cabbagetown, Atlanta, between Powell and Estoria and between Carroll and Pearl.

What did Corey Barksdale paint at Forward Warrior?

An original piece painted live on a Wylie Street wall, rendered in Corey Barksdale's dense, ornamental linework style.

Is Corey Barksdale available for mural festivals and live painting events?

Yes. He paints live at festivals, block parties, and community mural events alongside his studio and commissioned work.

Work with Corey Barksdale

Planning a mural festival or community wall?

Bring live mural painting to your festival, block party, or neighborhood initiative in Atlanta and beyond.