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Public Art at Atlantic Avenue
Funded by the 2017 Transportation bond, the City of Raleigh hired artist David Wilson to create public art as part of the Atlantic Avenue Improvement Project. The final artwork, The Living Community, features large metal tree rings that incorporate silhouettes of people, flora, and fauna along with poems by Johnny Lee Chapman, III.
As a form, tree rings carry the quiet record of a life lived in seasons—growth, stillness, resilience, and renewal. In this piece, the art serves as a vessel for collective memory, linking individual experience with shared stories. Chapman's words echo through the rings like voices across time, illuminating how we grow, endure, and imagine together. The art becomes both an archive of lived experience and an invitation to reflect on the bonds that shape us.
About the Artist
Durham artist David Wilson's current body of work charts iconic treatments of the natural world through representations of the universal as symbols of collective dignity and identity and are based in a collage approach. A primary driver in his public works is the creation of interpretation by all with an overall goal to foster introspection, communication, and provide a platform for education. Wilson brings a scientific approach to the creation of both fine and public works of art. He has researched and developed firing and glazing techniques for glass paintings studied the effects of light in spaces and discovered techniques for bending and welding metal, free-standing public structures.
About the Poet
Johnny Lee Chapman, III is an interdisciplinary artist from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. Chapman started writing as a “Tumblr poet” in 2010 during his first year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a student in the Dental Hygiene program. In 2014, he leaped from the page to the stage, beginning his career as a spoken word artist. Since then, he has performed regionally and nationally and is an active voice within his Triangle community. His professional range includes spoken word performances, screenwriting and acting, facilitation of poetry showcases, craft workshops, and artist mentorship. Chapman also operates as a visual artist under the name, The Golden Moment, utilizing the mediums of film and photography to convey emotion without explanation.
Read the selected poems (pdf)
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About the Project
The Atlantic Avenue Public Art Project was funded by the 2017 Transportation Bond. Located between Highwoods Boulevard and New Hope Church Road, the improvements targeted improving safety and mobility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. Atlantic Avenue is currently four lanes from Highwoods Boulevard to New Hope Church Road with a posted speed of 35mph. Commercial land use occurs mainly along the west side of the roadway while the east side is primarily residential. Improvements included a median, sidewalks along the east side of the street, a multi-use path along the west side, street lights, and landscaping.
