Take a short drive down Atlanta Highway, and you’ll find a new nature-inspired mural on one of Evergreen Memorial Park’s oldest mausoleums. It’s the latest work completed by Color the World Bright, a group made up of students and alumni from the Lamar Dodd School of Art
The cemetery first opened in 1952, and the building has been around since the ’80s. Location manager Jessica Hurt says that while walking through the cemetery and discussing upgrades, including a new garden that will be added this summer, she was inspired to give the building a facelift as well. She contacted UGA about creating a mural and was connected with Joseph Norman, founder of Color the World Bright.
“They don’t solicit or advertise,” she says. “I respect that because you’re reliant on what your community has to say about you. How they embodied themselves—it was a privilege to meet and work with them.”
Hurt had a specific vision, which she typed into ChatGPT. The AI-generated image was printed out, and a three-person team consisting of artists Alondra Arevalo, Katie Eidson and Meredith Lachin transformed the 15-feet by 22-feet mausoleum wall into a peaceful scene of native trees, plants and wildlife in just 16 hours.
“We wanted the painting to not just be beautiful, but something that you can intentionally see or look past because it blends in so beautifully with the rest of the park behind it,” Hurt says.
Color the World Bright prides itself on efficiency. According to Eidson, the team strategically plans every step of the project, allowing large-scale murals, like the one at Evergreen, to be completed in a matter of days at a competitive price.
“Weather holding, we always complete our projects in 24–72 hours,” she says. “And because we’re students, we work for a third of the price of a professional artist.”
Norman, also a professor and successful artist in his own right, supervises each of the student-led mural projects. “They are given tasks,” he says, “and they execute those tasks flawlessly.”
Norman founded the organization over a decade ago as a way for students to pay for study abroad programs. Since then, it’s grown significantly, with all money going to the students. They’ve been able to pay for weddings, debts and master’s degrees while getting on-the-job experience in painting, finance, public relations and business management.
“We paint in every style, from graffiti to classical painting,” Norman says. “As you can see with the painting that we did at the cemetery, that’s a very classical painting. I like to say you have self-invested capital—sort of putting in the time to learn the many things that you can do with your degree.”
Regardless of growth, the program remains grounded in sharing knowledge and the practical application of degrees. Currently, seven undergraduate students, all of whom must have excellent grades to participate, and several alumni make up the group.
“The older students help the younger students, and it’s a beautiful teachable moment to see these young women totally control their destiny by understanding how to utilize the possibilities of their degree on their way to become great artists,” he says.
According to the organization’s website, Color the World Bright specializes in “the restoration and recreation of ghost signs in the South.” They’ve received regional and national attention for their collaborations with historical societies and community development offices across the state, including the restoration of Coca-Cola signs in Columbus, Hawkinsville and Danielsville.
You might recognize the bulldog mural at the Epps Bridge Waffle House, or the recently completed mural inside the new Eastside Kroger. Beyond Athens, their work brightens the walls in towns like Madison, Elberton, Conyers and more.
“We’re happy to bring this little joy to these communities and hamlets around the state,” Norman says. “We’ve been just so remarkably rewarded. Not just through treasures, so to speak, but the fact that people really embrace these young people who are trying to do something with their lives.”
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