ArtsATL’s picks for must-see events this fall

Consider this your fall arts to-do list

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Your 2023 Atlanta fall arts calendar
Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre

Photograph courtesy of Terminus Modern Ballet

Art and Design

We Are Each Other
High Museum of Art
October 27 to February 18
Fiber artist Sonya Clark uses everyday fibrous materials—hair, flags, found fabrics—along with a range of textile techniques including weaving, braiding, and quilting to examine issues of racial injustice while centering the Black experience. We Are Each Other brings together, in one space, Clark’s large-scale, community-centered, participatory projects.

You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography
Emory Michael C. Carlos Museum
September 9 to December 3
In You Belong Here, Pilar Tompkins Rivas curates dynamic photography of Latinx artists across the United States that illustrates a range of histories and geographies, reinterprets watershed social and artistic movements, and holds space for queerness.

In Unity, as in Division
Johnson Lowe Gallery
September 21 to November 11
This early-fall group exhibition will feature new works from Atlanta-based artists Demetri Burke, Danielle Deadwyler, Leia Genis, Wihro Kim, Masela Nkolo, Sergio Suarez, and Ellex Swavoni. Each micro-exhibition will offer a glimpse into Atlanta’s artistic landscape—honoring the unique talents of each artist while emphasizing collaborative and communal relationships within artistic circles.

Dance

Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre Opening
TULA Arts Center
September 23, 24, 30, 31
For the first time, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre will perform at its new white box theater at Buckhead’s TULA Arts Center. The performances will include two world premieres by up-and-coming choreographers: The first is by Terminus cofounder, dancer, and instructor Rachel Van Buskirk; the second is a new work choreographed by Atlanta Ballet dancer Darian Kane, whose narrative was inspired by the war between Russia and Ukraine. In addition, audiences will get a sneak peek of Royal Ballet of Flanders dancer Shane Urton’s new work in progress, which will be presented in full next year as part of the 2024 season.

La Sylphide
Atlanta Ballet
September 15 to 17
Inspired by the original 1836 Royal Danish Ballet production, La Sylphide (one of the oldest surviving masterworks of classical ballet) navigates the capricious high and low points in the tragic story of a Scottish nobleman who falls in love with a fairy-like spirit who is not of his world.

Urban Nutcracker
Ballethnic Dance Company
December 8 to 10
The Ballethnic Dance Company will present its annual performance of the Urban Nutcracker, which updates Tchaikovsky’s original with jazz music and African influences.

Music

Nathalie Stutzmann Conducts Tchaikovsky
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
October 5 to 7
On opening weekend, Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann’s orchestra will swing from string melodies to booming brass and percussion to commemorate the work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The weekend will also feature the debut of world-renowned harpist Xavier de Maistre, who will play Alexander Mosolov’s recently discovered showpiece 1939 Harp Concerto.

The Shining
Atlanta Opera
September 15 to October 1
The Atlanta Opera and Alliance Theatre are collaborating to produce the 1977 thriller by Stephen King, The Shining. Composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell have adapted this riveting story as an opera—a tale of possession and murder that follows Jack Torrance, a father with a troubled past, as he finds new employment as a winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel.

Joe Alterman Plays Jazz Piano
Spivey Hall
December 1
Atlanta native Joe Alterman is set to take the stage at the 400-seat Spivey Hall and will play from his just-released albums Solo Joe: Songs You Know and Joe Alterman Plays Les McCann: Big Mo, Little Joe, a tribute work dedicated to his mentor and friend, the legendary pianist and composer Les McCann.

Theater

Passing Strange
Theatrical Outfit
September 27 to October 22
In Passing Strange, a young man sets off for Europe after finding his musical calling, leaving behind his mother and mundane suburban life in this rebellious, coming-of-age musical filled with sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll.

Cullud Wattah
Actor’s Express
September 21 to October 15
Erika Dickerson-Despena’s Cullud Wattah tells the story of the third-generation GM employee Marion, who is on the cusp of a manager position while being the sole provider for her daughters, sister, and elderly mother during the 2016 Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Tensions rise when her sister begins protesting against GM for the company’s role in poisoning the water supply.

The Light in the Piazza
Jennie T. Anderson Theatre
December 15 to 17
Based on a 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, The Light in the Piazza is the story of Margaret Johnson, a wealthy Southern woman, and Clara, her daughter, who is developmentally disabled due to a childhood accident. While spending the summer together in Italy, Margaret is forced to examine her dreams and regrets when Clara falls in love with a young Italian man.

ArtsATL offers comprehensive coverage of Atlanta’s arts scene, including music, film and TV, books, theater, dance, and the visual arts.

This article appears in our September 2023 issue.

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