Andrew College associate professor, students complete mural at Albany Museum of Art

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Chris Johnson, an Andrew College associate professor, said that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to paint for the people of Albany.

“As a young kid, I grew up on the Marine base in Albany, so I kind of reflected on my experience at the Marine base and it’s essentially kind of a wildlife preserve and life kind of always revolved around the river. The river was such a big part of Albany’s identity and the turtle is a symbol of strength and resilience. So, I reflected on that experience and wanted to kind of showcase some of the diversity of the wildlife there and kind of made this postcard that was a destination piece for Albany," said Johnson.

Johnson’s mural was one of four to recently go up at the Albany Museum of Art.

Andy Wulf, the executive director of the Albany Museum of Art, said the murals are all different, despite them all being painted by Georgia artists.

“Really, the museum has turned a corner. This is really about experimentation and innovations. These murals and having active artists in the gallery, really is turning the museum into a laboratory," said Wulf.

And although all of the pieces are unique, Johnson’s painting team was non-traditional as well — it was made up of his students.

“So I invited them to come out and I think five students came out total and they helped with everything from preparing the image to putting it on the wall, transferring the image on the wall, base coats of color, really kind of general stuff to actually high-detailed paintings," explained Johnson.

In February, the museum will paint over the murals and start working on its next exhibition.

The mural exhibit is set to open on Nov. 3.

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