The artist behind the Colin Kaepernick mural that was torn down last week led a charge to replace it with eight new ones in a Super Bowl Sunday effort he named the “KaeperBowl”.
Fabian Willams, who paints under the name "Occasional Superstar," raised $8,779 in a GoFund Me campaign that was launched just one day ago. He initially set out to create seven murals to replace the one lost when an abandoned building on the corner of Fair Street and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard in the West End was torn down.
Sunday, Williams announced on his Instagram page that eight locations were confirmed for new murals. Several other artists signed on as partners to create new tributes to Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Kaepernick faced criticism for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem as a protest of police brutality against black men during the 2016 season. He has not played since 2017 and has accused NFL team owners of conspiring to keep him off the field.
Williams expressed disappointment about his mural being torn down in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week. About six months ago, a fire ravaged the building, but the wall remained intact. He said he had recently touched up the paint in anticipation of the Super Bowl.
“Symbols matter man,” he said. “You destroyed the whole building it was on? If I were an interpreter of performance art, what message would you take from that?”
The artist himself painted a new mural Sunday at 400 Northside Drive. Krog Street Market, a popular Atlanta destination for street artists, was also the site of new Kaepernick tributes.
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