Fahamu Pecou
January 19 through April 28
Last year, Fahamu Pecou experienced triumph (he earned a PhD from Emory University in fine arts) and tragedy (a fire engulfed his Inman Park studio space, destroying at least nine paintings). Pecou kicks off the new year with a solo show at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum juxtaposing African spiritual traditions and the ongoing violence against black men in the United States.
Justin Timberlake
January 10
We’ve watched the Tennessee singer grow from a Mouseketeer and boy-band heartthrob to, now, a Man of the Woods. Timberlake continues his tour of the same name at State Farm Arena.
Amy Sherald
January 31 through May 18
Amy Sherald rocketed to national awareness last February with her subdued and striking official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Starting this month, the Clark Atlanta–educated artist gets her first solo exhibition at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Arts, the last stop on a national tour.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s 90th birthday
January 15-21
The King Center kicks off a week celebrating what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 90th birthday with an awards ceremony, a national day of service, and a march through downtown promoting social justice.
Actor’s Express presents An Octoroon
January 26 through February 24
MacArthur Genius Grant recipient (and playwright of the Obie award–winning Appropriate) Branden Jacobs-Jenkins marries a surreal tale of an antebellum plantation with 21st cultural politics in An Octoroon.
This article appears in our January 2019 issue.