EXTRAORDINARY POWERS: As you club-crawl your way through the AthFest Music and Arts Festival this weekend, you’ll notice a duo of friendly, mini superheroes soaring over the streets of downtown by way of T-shirts, banners and the festival’s compilation CD. The colorful cast, which will return this October for the sixth annual AthHalf half marathon, is the creation of artist and curator Matt Blanks. Being selected as AthFest Educate’s official theme artist, a year-long role in designing merchandise and signage, is a certain rite of passage for local artists.

“This is easily the coolest thing I've ever done with my art,” says Blanks. “I’ve had a massive crush on Athens since I was a teenager. Some of my favorite artists that have ever come out of this town have done the AthFest art in the past: Jeff Owens, Lauren Gregg, Mike Groves, David Hale. It really is an honor to be part of something like this.”

Hoping to pitch a theme that would appeal to all ages, Blanks decided to design superheroes who embody the charm of the city through their love of music and art. His direction was a smart choice, considering the popularity heroes have played this year through other local events including Boybutante AIDS Foundation’s “Dragvengers” Ball, Canopy Studio’s “CanopyCon” and the Athens Regional Library System’s summer reading program, “Every Hero has a Story.”

“I’ve spent months with my little superheroes. I've never spent this much time doing this many different pieces with the same characters,” he says. “I think I'm going to get a little tattoo of the one little dude with the headphones. I call him ‘AthMan.’”

Blanks currently serves as art curator of The Grit, scouting out established and emerging artists alike for exhibitions that rotate every three weeks. After nearly two years of bringing predominantly local artists to a larger audience through the restaurant, it seems only fair that his own artwork should be incorporated into a large-scale local festival with such high visibility.

“[Curating] is the most invigorating experience as an artist. Being able to see the work of longtime Athenian artists as they grow older and their work grows, as well as being able to help out people that have never shown work before, has been life-changing,” says Blanks. “I’ve seen dozens of artists' work come and go over the last two years, and I've been inspired by every single show in some way or another.”

His AthFest imagery marks an interesting turning point in his artistic approach, breaking away from painting—a medium he’s worked in for nearly two decades—in order to focus on fine-tuning his skills in digital design. Two previous solo exhibitions at Flicker Theatre & Bar, “Hibernation” in 2013 and “Renascence” in 2014, increasingly incorporated digital works, serving as public documentation of his experimentation. This September, the third installation of his annual Flicker residency will be solely dedicated to digital works. Regardless of medium, his color-saturated, cartoonish pieces pop with texture and depth.

So, what’s at the top of Blanks’ own festival itinerary this year?

“I might be slinging some tofu burritos to the hungover AthFest masses for a little bit on the weekend, but I'm not going to miss a chance to spend some real time at the festival,” he says. “Shade and Deep State are two of my favorite bands right now, and I can't wait to see them perform. And of Montreal performing for the first time is going to be pretty special. They always put on a great show. I was in a video of theirs years ago, ‘Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse.’ Blink and you'll miss me. I'm the bulky, weird angel monster that picks up Kevin Barnes and throws him real far. That was fun.”

SNAP UP CRAFTS: One of the year’s greatest local opportunities to buy artwork directly from creators is at AthFest’s juried artist market. Over 60 artists from Georgia and the Southeast will line up along Washington Street, offering everything, including paintings, jewelry, mixed media, clothing and accessories, ceramics, photography, woodwork, metalwork, glass and caricatures.

The open-air market will be held on Friday, June 26 from 5–10 p.m., Saturday, June 27 from 12–10 p.m. and Sunday, June 28 from 12:30–8 p.m. To make a wishlist ahead of time or to follow up with an artist after the festival, visit the market’s Pinterest board.