ATLANTA, GA.- It is not often that a marketing program is turned around to help the community. An Atlanta-based real estate campaign that launched with a guerilla art installation featuring more than 100 mannequins has done just that, by helping develop young artists and supporting two growing art organizations.

Created by eon at Lindbergh, the “Bring Art to Life” mannequin art scholarship program and display recycled mannequins used to launch and market its new EarthCraft-certified condominium residences. In late 2006, more than 100 mannequins were placed in the dark of night as a mass contemporary art installation on Piedmont Road to launch eon’s “Bring Lindbergh to Life” campaign.

As a green community, eon at Lindbergh felt is was important to repurpose the mannequins. By partnering with the Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta (SCAD) and the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), the mannequins were recently transformed into a two-week art display featuring 25 unique pieces and attracting more than 1,100 visitors to this growing museum. The program also awarded four scholarships to SCAD students to help with their education and the development of Atlanta’s future art community.

Winning a $500 scholarship for her piece “Real Estate,” Saray Gill was named the “People’s Choice” winner at the completion of the display. Visitors to MODA from April 5-19 voted for their favorite, with the majority selecting Saray’s piece. Her piece portrays the artistic and visual scope of Atlanta’s real estate boom and is adorned with a road, miniature cars and 3-D depictions of Atlanta real estate developments. A new real estate agent and first-year Interior Design major at SCAD, Saray is also the twin sister of the overall winner selected by a judging panel of community leaders prior to the display.

SCAD student Andrea Gill was named the overall winner, receiving a $2,000 scholarship and $2,000 to donate to the Atlanta art organization of her choice. Her piece “Connections” depicted the importance of the digital and personal connections in urban life with a mannequin meticulously adorned with actual computer chips and parts, combined with depictions of hands and interlaced wires that transfer information and communications.

Andrea selected eyedrum as the beneficiary of the $2,000 donation. eyedrum is a burgeoning arts non-profit located in Downtown Atlanta that incorporates contemporary art, music and new media. This donation is a needed financial boost to eyedrum, which has a small yearly budget of under $50,000.

“It was important for us to find a resourceful way to reuse the mannequins and these student art pieces have truly surpassed our expectations,” said Gigi Giannoni, president of Evolv, a full service real estate solutions group serving as eon at Lindbergh’s marketing and sales agent. “We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the continued growth of the artistic community in Atlanta.”

The judging panel also awarded two additional scholarships of $500 for use toward SCAD books and supplies. These pieces included Saray Gill’s “Real Estate” piece and a piece titled “My Heart is a Remote” created by the team of Mary Wall and Trevor McCarl. “My Heart is a Remote” showcases modern urban living through the human interaction within a big city, and the impact that mass media has on that interaction. Pictures of the artists and their mannequin taken around Atlanta cover the piece, which is also topped with a TV as a head.

The three winning pieces will be on permanent display at the eon at Lindbergh sales gallery, located in Atlanta’s Lindbergh City Center at 520 Main Street.