My Five: Muralist Fabian Williams on the local artists and works that inspire him

“I don’t believe in art for the sake of art; that’s just not what I do.” Atlanta artist Fabian Williams has never shied away from creating work that challenges viewers to confront politics, race and history. “I don’t have a problem with beauty, but I like my beauty to mean something, intelligent beauty,” Williams explained. Williams said his larger-than-life murals are meant to communicate complex issues surrounding Atlanta’s history. His goal is to make people stop, think and consider how the past can inform a better future, drawing inspiration from the historical figures who helped lay the foundation of the city. You can see that philosophy interpreted in his murals Atlanta DNA at the CTR, Hosea Williams on Edgewood Avenue, and the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre in South Atlanta. His latest endeavor, Mothership , takes that vision in a new direction. The three-story immersive installation at 12 Jackson St. is a collaboration with his wife, Sindy Guerrero-Williams. He calls it part art exhibition and part think tank, with the experience exploring how science fiction shaped society, particularly in Atlanta. As one of Atlanta’s most thought-provoking creative voices, Williams has plenty of inspiration to draw from across the city. For this edition of “My Five,” Williams shared five of his favorite art-related people, places and spaces in Atlanta. More “My Five” coverage Where he goes to be inspired : I like going to Little Five Points because I like places with weird people, the outcasts. I like to people watch, go into the stores, browse and just look at the weird oddities. They spark ideas or conversations. Favorite mural in Atlanta: The OutKast piece in Five Points by street artist JEKS goes hard. It’s created from a photograph by Jonathan Mannion. That’s just a cool picture. Favorite gallery: I like ZuCot even though they’ve never let me show anything. I like that they have a bunch of different artists, especially Horace Imhotep . Black Art in America and ABV Gallery are both dope. Nina Baldwin Gallery in Castleberry Hill shows up-and-coming young Black and Latino artists. Up-and-coming Black artists to follow: Charity Hamidullah is one to watch. A lot of her stuff is abstract and what’s interesting is when I do buy art, I tend to buy abstract art, which is weird because I’m a figurative artist. I can’t do abstract art because it’s very hard for me. I don’t know if it’s because I am too fixated on communicating, whereas abstract art is a little more free, and it’s a different way of talking. I like George F. Baker , too, because his stuff is uplifting and happy, a lot like his personality. Favorite restaurant for food artistry: Lazy Betty is amazing. They offer a seven-course meal, and it’s like a magician doing his trick in your mouth. It’s like a chemical reaction; it just hit sensors in my mouth that I didn’t know were there. This is a place where you take a loved one that you’ve been with for a long time. It’s a mortgage payment, straight up, but it’s amazing.