Welcome
to Our Site

In the early 2000’s, professor Joseph Norman was approached by a group of university students to inquire about establishing a mural organization in order to fund their study-abroad obligations. 

After the organization was approved, professor Norman set about searching for work projects in and around Athens, GA, completing murals of different scale and degree. This kind of work continued for a couple of years until a prominent senior living company proposed a large commission to be done on behalf of their residents. This project was significant in terms of volume and complexity, and would fully fund the study expenses of six students’ trip to Italy. 

Once the commission was accepted, professor Norman formally named the group “Color the World Bright” (CTWB), where it has evolved into one of the most efficient student-led organizations on the University of Georgia campus. CTWB provides on-the-job, quality instruction to a diverse disposition of students who represent America’s multicultural heritage, educating them in the art of painting, finance, public relations, and business management. CTWB is proud to work alongside a number of artists from the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, thus continuing professor Norman’s teaching philosophy, which is to engage, inform, and inspire others in the appreciation of art. 

 

CTWB specializes in the restoration and recreation of ghost signs in the south, and has received regional and national attention for their collaborations with Historical Societies and Community Development Offices across the State of Georgia. CTWB’s public works have been written about in local newspapers and magazines, and have appeared as topics of discussion on television and radio broadcasts, including Georgia Public Radio.

 

As of today, Color the World Bright has done over 80 restorations and original compositions. 

Professor Norman understands the influence of public art, having experienced its power first-hand as a young boy in the ‘60s, witnessing many murals created by the renowned group of artists known as the Afro-Cobra, whose great works are still preserved in predominantly black neighborhoods in Chicago. This exposure changed professor Norman forever; so much so, that he dedicated the rest of his life to understand the potency and magnitude an image possess; how color can impact a person’s emotions, and how transforming a derelict wall into something beautiful can make a blighted area a focal point of pride for a neighborhood. Currently, professor Norman is a distinguished professor of painting and drawing at the University of Georgia, and makes his home in the small town of Colbert, Georgia.