Atlanta muralist Charity Hamidullah risks it all to transform the city’s walls
Nothing stands in the way of Charity Hamidullah creating art. Not even physical hurdles stall her visual storytelling.
Before painting each day, Hamidullah takes her mini pit bull Umi on an early morning walk — usually around 6 or 7 a.m. Then, she heads to the site of her current work. Sometimes, she’s propped 40 to 50 feet in the air on a lift, with her fiery red locs piled on her head. Other times, for larger projects, she paints suspended from a swing stage lowered from a rooftop.
She knows other muralists who have died falling from dangerous heights.
“You are risking your life,“ she said. ”There has been muralists who have died on lifts and in swing stages and all that kind of stuff. So, it happens."
In a crowded Atlanta landscape, where there are more than 2,000 documented murals and works of street art by various artists, Hamidullah has been able to paint her way to prominence.
Most recently, Hamidullah painted “Revival” for The CTR, the former CNN Center. She has other murals around Atlanta, including “Riding through Atlanta” in Pittsburgh Yards and “Wildseed Wildflower” on the edge of Mechanicsville and Castleberry Hill.
Hamidullah has worked as both the lead artist for projects and assisted other muralists on commissioned work.
Behind every mural is a list of proposals, permits, grant applications and city approvals.
That is before any paint ever touches her concrete canvases.
Painting may stretch into 14- or 16-hour days, and the workweek can be a continuous cycle of Monday through Sunday.
No matter the exhaustion of the process, Hamidullah dedicates every part of her day to her craft as a muralist.
“From eating good, health, workouts, rest — it’s to show up better for my art,” she said.
Raised in Rochester, N.Y., Hamidullah was introduced to art as a child. Her grandfather was an avid documentarian, collecting cameras and constantly photographing family life.
But ultimately, Hamidullah found her direction as an artist at 4 years old when her father introduced her to the book “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” which featured paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and poetry by Maya Angelou.
“That really empowered a lot of me becoming an artist,” she said. “To see, read something that ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,’ it struck me right then.”
As an adult, she said the book still inspires her to look past things in life that are “deemed scary.”
Like, standing 50 feet in the air on a lift.
She also credits Tupac Shakur’s poetry book “The Rose That Grew From Concrete” with expanding her understanding of how poetry, painting and storytelling can say the same thing in different forms.
“As artists, we’re able to go in all these different realms,” she said.
At 20, Hamidullah moved from Rochester to work at City of Ink, a premier tattoo shop and art gallery in Atlanta.
By then she had already experimented with abstract painting, portraiture and tattooing.
But she said she wanted a bigger challenge. City of Ink required their tattoo artists to draw directly on the skin rather than use templates. Hamidullah said she loved the innovation of the technique and the organic artistry of the tattooists.
Working alongside tattoo artists exposed her to new mediums, like street art.
Atlanta tattoo artist Wherz Wally (Wally Brock) called Hamidullah’s work “inspiringly contagious.”
“Anyone who has had the opportunity to work alongside her definitely feels the energy and playfulness that comes with it,” he said. “She supports the arts and is always encouraging others to participate.”
From the other tattooists, Hamidullah was exposed to other mediums and found street art. After opening her own tattoo shop, she practiced painting on those walls and found her way to the Krog Street Tunnel. In 2022, she decided to become a full-time muralist. She said splitting her time as a tattoo artist stalled her progress.
“It was an easy decision. I knew for a long time that I wanted to do something with even more impact,” said Hamidullah. “I felt like not only for what I was trying to accomplish, but for myself — my soul — I needed to get out in the streets.”
Gaining access to more robust projects has also taught Hamidullah the way of the business.
Many muralists, she said, never learn the formal process behind commissioned public art.
Hamidullah has had to learn the contractual jargon and become licensed through the Sunbelt company to be a commissioned artist with lift accessibility. Through trial and error, artist residencies and informational sessions, she was able to wrangle the administrative side of the industry.
Now at 36, she’s tasked with continuous projects.
The mural industry is constantly evolving, she says. Each day is different, and no project is going to be the same — all for the purpose of delivering influential messages through her visual stories.
Dr. Dax (Dax Rudnak) has been part of the Atlanta street art scene since 1985. After contributing to the mural at The CTR alongside Hamidullah, he applauds her dedication and work ethic.
“This stuff’s hard to do,” Dr. Dax said. “Painting murals and designing this stuff, getting it cleared, acquiring all of the supplies, the logistics of it all, even painting at some of these places. I don’t think people realize (it).”
Street artist Fabian Williams, who also worked on The CTR mural, commended Hamidullah’s progression from tattooing and developing a “completely different style” within her mural work.
Outside of creating and assisting with murals, Hamidullah finds solace in her Midtown studio where she creates fabric and food-inspired collages.
Linens draped throughout the studio echo the bold textures and colors seen in her paintings.
“These things are going to change people’s lives in different ways. You might not always be present (as the artist) and they might not even know who you are, but your art might change them and impact them in some type of way,” she said.
Hamidullah says an artist never knows what will happen while they’re on a lift, but she continues to figure it out and adapt to the environment with each mural. She understands the goal is to get paid and, above all else, make the art.
“I’ll risk it all for that. That’s what I’m here for,” she said. “That’s why I create my art.”
This story is part of UATL’s 404ward series, a yearlong project dedicated to telling the stories of Atlanta’s Black community with a particular focus on voices under 40. The series highlights the next generation helping to define the city through the people who call it home.
About the Author
Brooke Leigh Howard is a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Black culture team, UATL.