Albany Museum of Art awarded National Endowment for the Arts Celebrating America250 Grant for new downtown Albany mural

ALBANY, Ga. ─ [For Release January 21, 2026 – Albany, GA] ─ The Albany Museum of Art is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for Celebrating America250: Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes. The $25,000 grant will support a downtown Albany, Ga., mural honoring Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, and Albany native Ray Charles.

“As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the National Endowment for the Arts is honored to support communities across the country in recognizing the individuals whose contributions have defined our history, NEA Senior Advisor Mary Anne Carter said. “The Albany Museum of Art’s project in Albany, Georgia, plays a significant role in commemorating these heroes’ legacies while affirming the enduring role of the arts in shaping America’s future.”

The NEA awarded 50 grants nationwide, at $25,000 each, for projects throughout 2026. AMA Executive Director Andrew James Wulf, Ph.D., said that the AMA is honored to have one of the two grants awarded to art projects in Georgia.

“We are thrilled to have been chosen by the NEA to participate in this America250 project and are proud to be representing the great state of Georgia with this award,” Wulf said. “This mural will honor Albany native Ray Charles, as well as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Aretha Franklin—musicians who contributed to shaping our nation’s cultural life through their music—and will bring lasting beauty and significance to downtown Albany. Public artwork like this increases access to the arts, fosters a greater sense of place, and provides a communal landmark for our community to gather around for generations.”

Through a Chair’s extraordinary action award, Atlanta-based artist Shanequa Gay will produce the mural.

“This mural celebrates a key facet of American music history,” AMA Curator of African Collections and African Diasporic Art Sidney Pettice said. “These four figures, who traveled and performed on the Chitlin’ Circuit, very likely passed through our own South Georgia town. In alignment with the semiquincentennial, the mural is expected to be produced in early May 2026.”

Gay’s work draws on the environment and spiritual symbolism of the American South. Blending motifs from regional life, she explores identity, culture, and power through storytelling, highlighting formidable female figures and intergenerational relationships. A native of Atlanta, Gay earned her MFA from Georgia State University and her BA from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“It is our delight and pleasure to invite Shanequa Gay back to Albany to create another mural for this latest project. She was one of four artists who participated in a 2020 murals exhibition in our main gallery, and we are pleased she agreed to work with us again on this next mural project,” Director of Curatorial Affairs Katie Dillard said.

Her mural Uninterrupted, I Can Give Birth Over and Over and Over Again, a giant Rorschach Test with repeated images of a woman, evoking thoughts of reproduction and repetition, was part of the 2020-21 On the Wall exhibition by four muralists in the Haley Gallery.

“Gay is a perfect fit for this mural,” Pettice said. “Her work celebrates Black womanness and, very importantly, Black history. This mural is intended to celebrate the Chitlin’ Circuit, a hidden or lesser-known chapter in American history that brought life and enjoyment to many Southern communities.”

In addition to a public unveiling celebration, the creation of the work will be accompanied by public talks and panel discussions, educational resources on American music history, hands-on arts activities for students, and an informational plaque commemorating the featured heroes. The project will benefit students and adults who participate in engagement activities, as well as residents of and visitors to Albany who view the public artwork.

The NEA was named as a key partner in President Trump’s Executive Order 13978, “Celebrating America’s Birthday,” which calls for the establishment of the Garden of Heroes. The National Endowment for the Humanities is supporting the design and creation of the statues that will make up the National Garden. The 50 NEA-supported Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes will honor these individuals highlighted through a variety of artistic disciplines.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

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