I shook Abigail Bennett’s hand, and as I did so, I noticed her pink sweater, soft and unassuming. She carried herself like someone accustomed to listening closely. She looked young, but not at all uncertain. The kind of confidence that comes from having done the work.
Abigail, a student at the prestigious William and Mary University, did not come to Cornelia to unveil a finished mural or sell a prepackaged vision. She came because she was invited to help residents shape history and culture into color and definition. Audrey Davenport organized her arrival not as a guest appearance but as a collaboration. Audrey first encountered Abigail during a webinar, where a question about revitalization without displacement revealed a shared passion. How can public investment honor a neighborhood without hollowing it out? That question carried Abigail from North Carolina to a room at Cornelia City Hall.
The gathering took place in City Hall, but it was not an official meeting. There were no votes or resolutions. The podium became a place for stories rather than statements. Dee Anderson, the city manager, and other residents gathered. Yet, the mood felt more like a workshop than a presentation, a space where unfinished ideas still mattered.
Audrey opened the evening by framing the project not as a mural, but as a process. Brushstrokes of Change, she explained, turns stories into landmarks. Not monuments imposed from above, but symbols shaped by the people who live with them. The murals planned for Jim Smith Park marks only one part of the work. The larger goal asks a simple question. What else can underused spaces be? Even a large, overlooked parking lot. A gathering place. A children’s fair. A block party. A garden. A place that belongs to people when cars are gone.
Bennett spoke about her work with CASA, where a mural emerged through intentional dialogue with the people it represented. She shared early sketches, deliberately rough, faces suggested rather than fixed, surrounded by words like care, courage, family, education, and love. The goal was not polished. The goal was participation. As Bennett explains, “a mural fails when it reflects only the artist.”
One of the meeting’s goals was to propose concepts for murals at Jim Smith Park, located across from Shady Grove Baptist Church. These works of art are intended to preserve and honor the memory, history, and cultural legacy of Cornelia’s historically Black neighborhoods; accordingly, the murals under discussion should reflect and represent that heritage.
The work continues beyond this one meeting, however. A memory-mapping workshop at The Cafe on MLK Day will invite residents to share stories tied to place. Another community gathering is scheduled for February 19 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, where ideas will sharpen, and plans will take clearer shape.
These murals not only enhance Cornelia’s visual landscape but also help establish a distinct identity for the city as a destination for public art. This growing reputation has already contributed to increased tourism and local appeal—and, importantly, these works appear to be here to stay.
When asked about long-term maintenance, City Manager Dee Anderson explained that a protective sealant was applied once the murals were completed, helping them withstand time and weather. “If we see that one needs some work or a touch-up, we’ll put money in the budget and take care of it,” Anderson said.
Notably, Miss Sally’s portrait has been largely community-driven, brought to life through the leadership of Mrs. Davenport and the contributions and support of residents.
These are not ceremonial occasions for a select few, but a broad invitation. As the room emptied and conversations lingered, one thing felt clear. The upcoming murals at Jim Smith Park, funded through a Vibrant Communities grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts, are not about the mural itself, but rather the method. Hence, the invitation remains open. The work continues. And the city, for a moment, feels unfinished in the best possible way.
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