Tag: Goat Farm Arts Center

On McLendon Avenue in the heart of Candler Park, across the street from Gigi’s, there’s a new storefront with desks, comfy chairs, and shelves filled with books. It’s a workspace, a bookstore, and a venue all in one. Lostintheletters, a writing studio and bookstore, is the new center for creative writing operated by the long-running Atlanta literary organization.

What started as a scrappy volunteer effort in 2009 to share foraged apples with vulnerable families has matured into a statewide nonprofit. Concrete Jungle rescues and distributes 1 million pounds of fruits and vegetables [4 million servings] annually to meet the increased demand. To date, the nonprofit has moved 3 million pounds of produce to local food banks and shelters.

While the new development will include nonartist residents, artists have been and always will be the focal point. Each residential building features studio and performance spaces on the ground level. By creating a sustainable funding source for art, the residential model affirms a central Goat Farm mission: Everyone involved contributes to the arts ecosystem.

Atlanta's Goat Farm Art Center is a 12-acre complex of 19th-century industrial warehouses. They’re usually populated by artists, but on Saturday, the Bravo-lebrities took over. Also in attendance—Ludacris, Young Thug, Gunna, Questlove, CeeLo Green, Ty Burrell, and more.

Whether Allie Bashuk is working to empower women and nonbinary individuals through her nonprofit, Dream Warriors Foundation; producing large-scale event installations as codirector of Brutal Studio; or bringing the city’s artists together as a director at the Goat Farm Arts Center, this creative powerhouse is helping foster culture and community in Atlanta.

Following the tradition of cityscape artists like Edward Hopper, Ana Guzman often has a sketchbook in hand, ready to capture urban life in front of her. Passengers usually keep to themselves on MARTA, earbuds in place and eyes locked on their phones. But when Guzman pulls out her paint pens and starts drawing, fellow riders begin to interact.

Ryan Shepard launched Human Capital Theory to connect local businesses and nonprofits with talent from underserved communities. Allie Bashuk is helping artists create studio space in vacant downtown buildings. Rohit Malhotra founded the Center for Civic Innovation. Dar Vanderbeck develops opportunities for Teach for America alumni to flex their entrepreneurial muscle.