Macon-Bibb Transit Authority asks for help after ‘Diversity in Motion’ art vandalized

MTA requests community support after downtown Macon’s "Diversity in Motion" art installation suffers heavy damage

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority (MTA) is seeking the public’s help after the “Diversity in Motion” art installation at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Cherry Street was vandalized earlier this month.

A downtown business owner discovered the damage to the “Art Stop” on Sunday, August 18, according to a news release from MTA. The artwork, which was unveiled in February 2021 as part of a collaboration between the MTA and the Macon Arts Alliance, had been severely damaged. Larger pieces were found broken off and dumped on Cherry Street, and several smaller pieces were missing. Only three of the 22 original rings remain, and the six-and-a-half aluminum balls that topped the sculpture are gone.

The installation, funded by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia’s Downtown Challenge 2019 and grants from the Peyton Anderson Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, was intended to enhance the downtown area with its vibrant display of multi-colored balls and metal rings. The artwork was designed by Jim Bodell of JR Bodell Sculpture, Inc. to reflect the diversity of people and transportation in Macon.

“The damages to the popular ART STOP run in the thousands of dollars, and it’s particularly brazen that the crime occurred on the corner of a major downtown intersection,” MTA CEO Craig Ross said. “We hope the public will work with us and law enforcement to solve this crime and to help prevent future attacks on public art.”

The vandalism is believed to have happened between the evening of Saturday, August 17, and the morning of Sunday, August 18. MTA says an incident report has been filed with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and an investigation is underway.

“This mindless destruction flies in the face of the love, talent, and funds it takes to create art that enhances our city,” MTA stated in an email. “We need to send a message as a community that we are watching and will report criminal activity and pursue perpetrators.”

MTA is urging anyone with information to call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME. Tips can be given anonymously, and rewards are offered for information that leads to an arrest.