In the heart of Downtown Chattanooga, at 300 East Martin Luther King Boulevard, the AT&T Building features one of the most stunning and monumental murals in the Scenic City (and the country, for that matter).
The mural honors Martin Luther King Jr. and the surrounding community, is entitled “We Will Not Be Satisfied Until…,” and was created by world-renowned artist Meg Saligman.
The mural was developed and worked on in the summer of 2015 and dedicated in 2016 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, marking this MLK Day as the tenth anniversary of the mural's official dedication. Covering a little over 42,000 square feet, the mural is the largest in the Southeast, one of the five largest in the entire country, and the first to wrap an entire city block. The mural took over 6 months to paint and was painted by a team of 11 artists.
The artist, Meg Saligman, is an internationally recognized and lauded American muralist and public artist known for her larger-scale, more community-engaged works that transform public spaces and different buildings into stunningly beautiful, community-enriching art.
For over thirty years, Meg has been creating some of the largest murals in the country. In fact, her world-class public art studio out of Philadelphia specializes in creating large murals that are always socially engaging and site-specific.
Meg and her team of artists have been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts, and Meg herself was recognized by Public Art Review as one of the top ten most influential muralists in the nation.
Depicted on the mural are roughly 20 people, all of whom are either historical figures or living fixtures of the Chattanooga community, with several of them being chosen because of their impact on the surrounding MLK neighborhoods.
The colors are bold and lush. The mural has a multi-directional narrative, too, with each side of the building acting like a new chapter in an unfolding visual story. Portraits of people are mixed in with larger, more symbolic imagery and depictions of local landmarks and Chattanooga’s skyline. There are also images of Lookout Mountain, as well as a view of the Tennessee River weaving its way through downtown from the view atop Sunset Rock.
Each section of the mural contributes to the overall theme of the past, present, and future vision for Chattanooga and was inspired by MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It also stands as a tribute to the rich cultural history of the African-American community that has long been anchored to MLK Boulevard.
Commissioned by Public Art Chattanooga, the mural was made possible through a partnership with AT&T and generous grants from the Benwood and Lyndhurst foundations. Sponsors for the project included NES Rentals, Wafflez, Sherwin-Williams, and community participation of over 560 locals, who provided their input and assisted in painting.
Overall, the look and feel of the mural is one that evokes complex emotions, with layered storytelling and deep, symbolic imagery, all while balancing a hope for the future with sincere reflection and solemnity for the past. It is not only a fixture on MLK Boulevard, but it is also likely one of the most culturally significant pieces of art in the Scenic City, representing a bold reminder for the people of Chattanooga that there is still work left to be done. In short, “We Will Not Be Satisfied Until…”