Tag: arts

I'm not sure who created the term artrepreneur, but it characterizes the Atlanta art scene very well. I am declaring 2024 year the rise of the independent, self-producing artist. 

These are Atlanta's 500 most powerful leaders. We spent months consulting experts and sorting through nominations to get a list of the city's most influential people—from artists to chefs to philanthropists to sports coaches and corporate CEOs. In this section, we focus on arts, film, music, entertainment, and sports.

Cam Kirk has been working out of Cam Kirk Studios on Forsyth Street for six years, using it as his personal photography studio for shooting celebrities like Lil Baby, Gucci Mane, and Latto, to name a few. But from day one, it’s always been more than just “his” space. The goal of his studio was always to be collaborative. “Anyone can come here and work and use these resources,” he says.

When Liz Roberts saw that Shannon Mulkey and Christie Petterson, who founded the popular Indie Craft Experience in 2005, were selling the business, her interest piqued. "I literally said to my husband that moment, ‘This is amazing, we have to keep it going,’” says Roberts. “It's just too important to the community. We couldn't let it die.”

Atlanta’s long-neglected subterranean corridor is having yet another renaissance, this time as a DIY arts destination. But as redevelopment looms, the creative community wonders: how long can it last?

We teamed up with ArtsATL to create a must-do arts calendar for this fall.

Even with the recent unfortunate closure of a theater mainstay, there is always new life and new energy in Atlanta. I recently spoke to the visionaries behind some of the newest arts spaces, mainly to ask the question, "What on earth would make someone open a new arts venue in the middle of an socioeconomic tilt-a-whirl?"

Tickets often have to be secured months before. I’ve likened performances to family reunions. I don’t know everyone’s names, but there is surely a connection: the love of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. From a dancer’s outstretched body, a tip of a hat, and the twirl of an umbrella, to how fabrics flow with every bend and bow, each act is its own happening and affirmation—as if to say, Everything’s going to be all right.

“There’s always been a fight for visibility for the creative community here. A lot of the artists feel like underground legends, even if they are known worldwide.”

Here’s a look at the state of the arts in metro Atlanta and a few events to look forward to this month.