10 Sep NEW MURAL BY AORT REED
IN PROGRESS: NEW MURAL BY AORT REED
Funded in part by a grant from the City of Augusta and The Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Westobou is pleased to announce a new mural in progress by Augusta-based artist, Aort Reed on 11th Street outside the Cyber City Circuits building. It is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement along with other social subjects of importance long ago and today. The mural will reference artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his determination to exceed limitations despite discrimination and uphill challenges. It is a timeless message that Aort wants to pass on to generations to come.
This project is funded in part by a grant from the City of Augusta and The Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Shoutout to Rex Property and Land for allowing Aort the artistic freedom to paint one of their buildings in downtown Augusta. We are grateful to live and work in a city dedicated to supporting artists and their work.
About the Artist
Aort Reed was born in small town Augusta, Georgia in the year 1982. His parents, being from two different parts of the world, created an interesting ecosystem for him to learn & dwell. His mom, Anna Phimsoutham, was a native of Bangkok, Thailand and his father, Oscar Reed, a native of Augusta, Georgia. As a child, Aort’s imagination ran wild with all kinds of colorful imagery and exciting ideas. Any surface that he could find automatically became his canvas. Whether it was blank pages at the beginning of a book, his grandmother’s recipes, or even the walls of his closet, he made sure that he expressed what was in his mind’s eye.
Being biracial had a big impact on Aort’s creativity. Combined cultures enabled diversity throughout his childhood which broadened his perspective and paved the way for the rest of his life and artistic journey.
After grade school, Aort attended three different colleges but ended up earning his BFA in painting and drawing at Augusta State University (AU). During the early years of his creative credibility, Aort’s work was selected for two juried art exhibitions, one in 2012 and another in 2014. This also marked the time period his work began to take off conceptually. As a result, his artwork became published in magazines, online platforms, social media, and news articles, and continues to be featured today. For example, multiple large-scale local mural works (including Georgia Cyber Center & Jackie M’s & Son Restaurant) have recently been shown in the 2020 Augusta Visitors Bureau Experience Guide as well as the 6 o’clock news on channel 12.
Today, Aort expresses that inspiration comes from multiple sources; “I could name multiple artists from throughout the history of Fine Art, but I think that would be too typical. Outside of artists, what really drives me the most is empiricism, emotions, and communication. All three sort of create somewhat of a diary or pictorial journal of the journey.”
Follow @Westobou and @aort1982 on social media to see updates on the mural.