On September 18th at 6:30 pm, Fierce will present a public talk on the history of style writing in the Tom Smith Auditorium, Ketner Building. The event is open to the public and free of charge. His talk will explore the origins of graffiti as a powerful form of self-expression, its evolution through the years, and its cultural significance in urban environments.
Antar Fierce's career spans multiple disciplines, including writing, visual arts, and education. His work in graffiti has been recognized globally, and he has been a prominent voice in advocating for the artistic merit of style writing. Fierce brings a unique perspective that blends creativity with social commentary, making him a sought-after speaker and educator.
This event allows attendees to better understand graffiti culture and its role in shaping public art and personal identity. Through his storytelling and insights, Fierce will challenge common perceptions and highlight the artistic value of a medium often overlooked by the mainstream art world.
Join us for what promises to be an inspiring evening of artistic exploration and cultural discovery.
About Antar Fierce:
Sometimes operating under the nom de plume "Cole Only," Antar K. Fierce was born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1971. When Hip Hop was coming into its own in the late 1970s, Fierce was there to experience and witness it as it swept in from uptown. In 1985, Fierce took an interest in the elaborate, highly stylized writings on the New York City subway and began documenting, collecting, and archiving them. He relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1989 to attend Clark Atlanta University. Upon arriving in Atlanta, he quickly noticed this same brand of writing had already arrived there. Not just on public walls, painted by local artists, but it was also starting to appear on the freight trains that passed by the Clark Atlanta University campus and traveled all over the North American continent. He immediately took out his camera and began documenting. After graduating with a B.A. in History, Fierce entered the workforce. He spent the next 20 years in the corporate sector as a Training Instructor and Customer engagement manager. In 2015, He joined four friends and co-founded the Right Track Program, which is an educational organization that uses the traditional Hip Hop disciplines to inspire creativity for learners of all ages. With his work at The Right Track Program, Fierce realized it was his calling to combine his passion for training with his graffiti art experience. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Creative and Innovative Education at Georgia State University. His goal is to advance the idea that creativity, art, and technology can work together to include authentic learning and equity and ensure that the educational experience is created so that all people can thrive. Simultaneously, Fierce is working to incorporate the history of graffiti and Hip Hop as a course of study at the college and university level. Antar currently lives in the City of South Fulton, Georgia, with his wife and children.
About The Pursuit
The Pursuit, supported by a grant from the Teagle Foundation, is an interdisciplinary humanities program available to incoming first-year students. In its third year, The Pursuit offers students a scholarship to participate in a two-course sequence in which they engage with transformative texts while grappling with the big questions: What is good, true, and beautiful? What does it mean to be successful? How do you live a good life — a life of purpose, virtue, and fulfillment? The first course provides students with a broad intellectual awareness of the humanities tradition through a shared set of foundational texts across sections. The second course, organized thematically around Business, Environmental and Natural Sciences, or Health Sciences and Human Performance, encourages students to see a connection between the humanities and their potential field of professional study while strengthening their skills to think and write critically, argue civilly, and listen with empathy.
