An Artistic Equation: Alum’s Campus Mural Adds GSU Spirit to New University Club

ATLANTA - Artwork by a Georgia State graduate graces the university's new faculty and staff social hub.

Demetri Burke (B.F.A. '20) created the mural inside the University Club at Edgewood, showcasing scenes and symbols from across elements of the university's collective identity in a work more than 42 feet wide and as tall as 12 feet at its highest point.

From a mathematical equation provided by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics that equals 1,913 - a nod to the university's founding year of 1913 - to the formula of a new chemical compound synthesized by a Georgia State researcher, the mural highlights work across subject areas.

The chemical compound, developed in Professor of Chemistry Maged Henary's lab, is in Phase 3 clinical trials for use as a fluorescent agent during image-guided surgery.

Located prominently on the back wall of the University Club's main gathering space, the mural also depicts the musical notation of GSU's fight song, "Fight Panthers."

"It was fun to include cultural and academic markers that people could identify with as soon as they see the mural," Burke said. "Really, the thinking was, how can we identify and represent the people who will make this space an active, vibrant location?"

The University Club at Edgewood opens this fall on Edgewood Avenue, serving as the first on-campus social hub for faculty and staff. The venue offers a collegial setting for impromptu gatherings and planned events, and contributes to the university's strategic plan pillar of Identity, Placemaking and Belonging.

Since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking in 2020, Burke, an Atlanta area native, has gone on to build a successful career as an artist and advocate for the arts. He recently completed a stint as an artist-in-residence with the Midtown Alliance and he'll soon finish a three-year administrative fellowship with the High Museum of Art.

The Georgia State mural is Burke's fourth commissioned mural and his first to be completed indoors. During his residency with the Midtown Alliance, Burke completed a collaborative mural along Peachtree Street, near Emory University Hospital Midtown, with the artist Sayma Hossain. After the completion of his residency, Burke teamed up again with the Midtown Alliance to create a mural on the wall of Shakespeare Tavern. His first mural, supported by the public art nonprofit Living Walls, can be seen prominently at the corner of North Highland and North avenues in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.

Burke said getting his art degree at Georgia State was a "no-brainer."

"It always seemed like a place that was accessible and supportive of my interests," he said. "It has really great teachers who encouraged my artistic practice in general and were interested in pushing me to the next level of my craft."