Atlanta Contemporary is hosting Open Studios Thursday, April 11 from 6-9pm, and the Young Collectors Club is granting you the possibility of free entry. Compete for one of 12 free tickets to the Open Studios in our YCC LOTTERY event, and you will be able to step into the creative caves of 11 artists, including YCC favorites Donna Mintz, Namwon Choi, and Kate Burke, without charge. The lottery is open now until Wednesday, April 10 at 11:30pm! Click here to compete.

YCC members will convene at 6pm for first glances at the studios of Kate Burke and Donna Mintz, then meet and tour the studios of 9 other artists supported by Atlanta Contemporary. Members will have a chance to meet new Executive Director Floyd Hall and celebrate all that spring offers for the savvy contemporary collector. Along with studio tours, 9 eye-catching exhibitions are currently on-view, such as Coulter Fussell: Pillow Talk and Timothy Curtis: Inkblots and Feeling Charts. In the event that your name is not picked, you can still purchase tickets for $7 on the Atlanta Contemporary's website.

Atlanta Contemporary is located at 535 Means St NW, Atlanta, GA. Parking is free, and we recommend the Carriage Works lot at the intersection of Means St and Bankhead Ave.

Come with us to the ACP Project Lab, located in the Old Fourth Ward, for a private guided tour of Davion Alston: Moments From An Interrupted Dream with the artist. Davion, a spellbinding photographer and Atlanta royal, will debut his latest project since receiving his MFA from Yale University’s School of Art. In this new exhibition, Alston reveals an intimate series of works contemplating suspended states of longing and the desire for closeness.

YCC Members will also have the opportunity to meet ACP Executive Director Lindsey O'Connor and to hear about the expanded mission and vision for the Atlanta Center for Photography.

Featuring Davion Alston: Moments From An Interrupted Dream, 2024

Come along with us on a YCC excursion to the Lamar Dodd School of Art for a private sneak peek of the MFA students’ ongoing projects. Each of these talented young artists have crafted unique and thoughtful approaches to visually expressing their ideas. As they prepare for their theses this May, four MFA candidates—Katie, Lindsey, Meredith, and Kit—will open their studios to us for one-on-one dialogues on art production and what drives their practice. 

At 11am sharp, we'll meet at Katie Ford's painting studio (S365F) on the third-floor of the Main Art Building to hear about her use of mixed media and abstractions. We will then meet with photographer Lindsey Kennedy and print artist Kit Rutter at their respective studios. Before leaving the main art building, we will get a chance to view the exhibition Trust Fall which features a wide variety of artwork by Lamar Dodd School of Art full-time and part-time faculty.

Afterwards, we'll reconvene at Thomas Street to hear from Meredith Emery and enjoy more splendid (surprise) studio visits. We will then head to a local restaurant for a fun and relaxing lunch. 

Featuring the work Soft Trap, 2023 by Katie Ford

Join us Tuesday, January 30th at 6 pm to celebrate our 18th year of great art programming. Meet us for a drinks party, artist talks, and networking at Cabin Winmore, studio to artist Diwang Valdez. 

At 7pm sharp, we will be in conversation with renowned fine art, hip-hop, and editorial photographer Diwang Valdez at his playground (studio) Cabin Winmore on the Atlanta Beltline. We will check out his clubhouse, view his photography, and hear about his art practice.

As an added treat, we will be joined by two up-cycled clothing designers to hear about their artistic pursuits and preview their latest designs at the trendy boutique Social Clothing just next door. Both of these talented artists are committed to sustainability, creating clothing brands that are socially and environmentally responsible. Cooper Barrett, artist and creator of Social Clothing, will show off his detachable clothing designs. Textile designer Caroline Hust , creator of craene studio + archive, will discuss her process for thrifting and repurposing vintage clothing. Next, we’ll stroll over to Social Clothing for a brief shopping spree.

The last program feature we will be a visit to Atlanta Worldwide (just around the corner) to view the exhibition Skate or Die, a collection of artwork from eight skaters past & present, including Mike Lottie, Bo Orr, and Jef Whitehead.

Featuring the work Reunited, 2009 by Diwang Valdez

YCC will go to UTA Artist Space to explore the new exhibition of artist Antonio Scott Nichols.

Antonio Scott Nichols (b.1997, lives and works in Philadelphia, PA) is an artist whose work explores and challenges conventional uses of history, present-day social and political culture, and speculative & imagined futures in fragmented visual storytelling. His works evoke feelings of power, freedom, and ownership by romanticizing notions of escape and accomplishment.

Featuring the work The Future Is Black, Octavia Told Me, 2021 by Antonio Scott Nichols

The ACP Ones to Watch artists are selected annually, featuring established and emerging artists that are highly accomplished and collectible, but may be under the radar of serious collectors in Atlanta. This curatorial program began in 2010 and to date there are 123 artists that have been featured including photographers like Payton Fulford, Nydia Blas, Genevieve Gaignard, Eliot Dudik, Matt Eich, William Lamson, Tommy Kha and many more who have become well known to Atlanta collectors and are prominently featured in their collections. 

This year’s list includes Kendall Bessent, Kennedi Carter, Scrill Davis, Joshua Kissi, LeAndra LeSeur, Xin Liu, Renell Medrano, Flo Ngala, Harry Wyman, Sarp Karem Yavuz, and Gillian Laub

Featuring the work of Kendall Bessent

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY &

50 YEARS OF HIP HOP PHOTOGRAPHY

Atlanta Celebrates Photography's annual Auction Gala fundraiser is a world-class photography auction that includes one-of-a-kind art and experiences. 2023 will mark the 25th anniversary of Atlanta Celebrates Photography. Founded in 1988, ACP is dedicated to cultivating the photographic arts and enriching Atlanta's cultural community by expanding public interest in photography and public art.

This year also coincides with the celebration of 50 years of hip-hop music and culture. This year's gala will pay tribute to that history in photography, and Atlanta's contribution to the global phenomenon, with a spectacular evening of music tracing hip-hop history as well as a live and silent photography auction featuring unique works documenting hip-hop.

This year's event celebrates three honorees who are pivotal to the past, present, and future of photography in Atlanta and beyond:

Shannon McCollum documented the early years of Atlanta's hip-hop history, capturing iconic photos of young stars who have cemented Atlanta's place in music and contemporary culture.

Flo Ngala is an emerging photographer selected for 2023 ACP Ones To Watch. She is recognized for her accomplishments in fine art and commercial photography, including her role in documenting one of fashion's most glamorous nights, the Metropolitan Museum's Met Gala.

Anna Walker Skillman, the creative director of Jackson Fine Art, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to contemporary photography and her unmatched cultivation of artists and collectors in Atlanta and around the globe over the past 33 years.

Join Atlanta Celebrates Photography for a world-class fine art photography auction and a festive Gala celebration at the Delta Flight Museum.

Festivities will begin at 6:00 PM with music, cocktails, dinner, and the opening of our silent auction. Enjoy the fanciest Atlanta comfort food you’ve ever experienced with a Southern Luxe menu from Dennis Dean where caviar and lobster meet lemon pepper chicken and mac and cheese. Pass the hot sauce!

The night's highlight will be a spirited live auction of fine art photography. Gala attendees will compete for world-class artworks benefitting Atlanta Celebrates Photography, now in our 25th year of providing Atlanta with outstanding programming, inspiring public art installations, and artist support.

Our Gala Committee has planned an unparalleled experience for you and your guests at the Delta Flight Museum in Hapeville. Ethan Martin & Jamie Gordon, 2023 Auction Gala Chairs, Alex Delotch Davis & DL Warfield, Host Committee Chairs, and Mary Stanley, Gala Committee Chairman, will ensure your happiness for this festive event. The Auction Gala is Atlanta Celebrates Photography’s primary fundraising event supporting Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the annual ACP Festival.

Featuring the work Shock G as Humpty Hump by Jesse Frohman

Show some love to the grooviest new collective Artist Forum as we come upon its one-year anniversary. Artist Forum is the brainchild of two Atlanta-based visionaries Emmanuel Rivas and Aliya May, who have worked tirelessly to spotlight local emerging and underrepresented artists and carve out a blossoming marketplace for them here in the city. Creatives themselves, you will catch Rivas’ and May’s artwork alongside several others in this breathtaking exhibition, which will debut at Studio House Atlanta over in the heart of downtown. Expect to see live painting and much spontaneity, which pairs perfectly with the high-powered works on-view, and later in the evening hear a word by the lovely founders themselves.

Since 2020, Studio House Atlanta has operated as an epicenter where young artists in the downtown can "imagine, create, and monetize" their vision. It is led by the Studio House Collective, spearheaded by Sonia Booker, and houses over 10,000 square feet of white-walled studio space. Studio House Atlanta sits close to GSU's College of Law and the APEX Museum; parking is available in a public garage next door.

featuring the painting Stigma, 2022 by Emmanuel Rivas

Come party at the beautiful home of Grant Henry of Sister Louisa’s Church on Sunday, August 13 from 4-7.

Grant’s home is filled with midcentury modern treasures and an art collection of abstract works, folk art, found art and vintage oil paint portraits of families he has never met. His expertly renovated bungalow and dreamy outdoor poolscape will give you design inspiration galore and make you feel like an extra in Blake Edwards’ trippy “The Party.”

And while you are gaping at the Barcelona chairs and unicorn statuary don’t forget to give to another Atlanta unicorn, rare for their generosity and commitment to the arts - Idea Capital - funder of dreams and visions, artistic hallucinations that metamorphose into reality.

Tuck into our mood food buffet, have a sorta psychedelic cocktail and unleash your inner beneficence as you sign, sign, sign those donation checks away!

Dressy Tie-Dye is encouraged!

Put on your rhinestones and slick back your hair! YCC is heading to the Georgia mountains for an Elvis extravaganza! We will travel to Cornelia, GA on Friday, August 4th for a tour of artist Joni Mabe's amazing collection of Elvis memorability, which according to Ripley's Believe It or Not and The Guinness Book of World Records is the LARGEST collection in the world! See the legendary Elvis’ Wart and the "Maybe Elvis Toenail". The gift shop features original art and a variety of special Elvis items.

From the Panoramic Encyclopedia of Everything Elvis, to the monumental Glitter Mosaics , to the Dead Southern Icons of the 20th Century at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Joni Mabe has cemented her place as a distinctive Georgia artist. Her 30,000 piece Elvis collection is on display at the Loudermilk Boarding House which was built in 1908 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Just a stroll away from the the Loudermilk is the The Food Factory on Main, where we'll be attending the Championship Show at the 19th annual Big E Fest from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. Prepare yourself for spirited performances and some dazzling costumes. This fiery production will feature appearances by World Champion David Lee, 18th Big E Champion Jordan Poole and 18th Big E Youth Champion Grey Galloway.

We hope you can drop out of the city scene for an unparalleled country experience!

Please note the Loudermilk Boarding House Tour begins at 3pm. We will be day-drinking in Cornelia afterwards till the Big E starts at 6pm. YCC will only be attending the Friday night’s Championship Show but the Big E Fest is featuring events on Saturday and Sunday as well.

Featuring Elvis, 2019 by Amanda Greene

Where Shadows Cross features new, large-scale color photographs by renowned image maker Jim Fiscus. Each masterly orchestrated frame invites the viewer to explore the many layers and fine details in these images. YCC will travel to the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens for the opening of the exhibition to discuss the work with Jim and his motivations behind it which began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a combination of impeccable technical skills and boundless imagination, Fiscus weaves togethers grand and immersive images that can feel like moments from a dream or a glimpse into an unfolding story. His cast of characters are carefully directed and their settings treated as more of a natural stage. The resulting magic is a frozen moment from an untold story for the to viewer unravel.

Featuring The Crossing, 7:59 pm, 8-21-22 by Jim Fiscus

For the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Contemporary, attend the ART PARTY on Saturday, June 24, 2023. This is a YCC LOTTERY event. YCC members have the opportunity to compete for one of eight free tickets to the ART PARTY ($50 value). If you don't win the lottery, you may also purchase tickets thru the Atlanta Contemporary's website.

Thirteen of their current artists will give Open Studio tours throughout the night alongside music performances and fabulous programming events in the plaza. Catering will also be provided from local Atlanta vendors. The Open Studios offer excellent collecting opportunities for our young collectors, so this event must not be missed. Take a peek at each of these artists and their work:

Chloe Alexander
Sergio Suárez
Diana Settles
Namwon Choi
Kate Burke
Sabre Esler
Jane Foley
Carol John
Jeffrey Wilcox Paclipan
Casey McGuire
Donna Mintz
Ato Ribeiro
Tokie Rome-Taylor

Our proceeds will go to helping establish the 50th Anniversary Endowment Fund so PLEASE come and support Atlanta Contemporary.

Jackson Fine Art's elegant new space and expanded program is clearly a jewel in the crown of the Atlanta scene and an impressive response to the evolution of contemporary art and photography. Gallery Co-owner and Creative Director, Anna Walker Skillman, and Coco Conroy, Gallery Director, will give YCC members an insider look at their inaugural exhibition and discuss their vision for the future.

Take an intimate look at the work of an array of gifted artists now on display at Jackson Fine Art's brand new, custom-built space. Jackson Fine Art is a world-renowned gallery with a 33-year history of supporting artists and collectors. The gallery cultivates and guides both emerging and established collectors to the best fine art photography of the 20th and 21st century, across both traditional and innovative photo-based mediums. The gallery's current exhibitions include Shelia Pree Bright: The Rebirht of Us, Cooper & Gorfer: When We Are Giant, and an intimate exhibition of Francesca Woodman & George Lange: In the viewing room.

Featuring the work Satoko Arms, 2022 by Cooper & Gorfer

Join us for a private tour of the vast and impressive art collection of Tim and Lauren Schrager. Beginning in 1995, the couple initially pursued an interest in abstract painting, but during the first decade of collecting this interest widened to include drawing, sculpture, figurative and minimal painting, photography and video work. The collection now includes a wide range of objects by a diverse group of artists in terms of age, gender, race and geography. Just a few of the diverse range of artists in the Schrager collection include Chris Caccamise, Callum Innes, Dana Schutz, Peter Saul, Carroll Dunham, Richard Aldrich, Albert Oehlen, Gedi Sibony, Joe Camoosa, Craig Drennen, Dana Haugaard, Shaun Doyle and Mally Mallinson.

 Lauren and Tim are committed to supporting artists by both building their collection and by being involved in the arts community. They still dedicate time to seek out young, emerging artists and believe that this is one of the most effective ways to support artists and the creative community, both locally and nationally. They also strongly believe in the intrinsic value of art and they enjoy sharing their collection, which is installed in their Atlanta home and at Tim’s place of business. 

Tim is the founder of Perennial Properties, Inc., an Atlanta based multi-family and commercial real estate development and management company. Tim is Chairman Emeritus of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. He is also a High Museum board member and has served, or presently serves on the Collections Committee, Exhibitions Committee and Finance & Operations Committee. Lauren is an ex-health care consultant turned domestic engineer. 

Featuring the work Voyage of the Beagle, 2007 by Rachel Harrison

Come along with us to Athens to see the work of renowned artist Kara Walker. In this exhibition Walker presents works on paper that deal directly in the contradictions of misremembered histories, most pointedly in her career-long representation of the horrors beneath the antebellum South’s genteel facades. In the drawings presented in the gallery, Walker mingles washes of watercolor, gouache, ink and graphite to create a series that calls forth the past at once mythological and real, ancient and contemporary. 

New York-based artist Kara Walker is best known for her candid investigation of race, gender, sexuality, and violence through silhouetted figures that have appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide. Born in Stockton, California in 1969, Walker was raised in Atlanta, Georgia from the age of 13. She studied at the Atlanta College of Art (BFA, 1991) and the Rhode Island School of Design (MFA, 1994). She is the recipient of many awards, notably the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Achievement Award in 1997 and the United States Artists, Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship in 2008. In 2012, Walker became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2015, she was named the Tepper Chair in Visual Arts at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Her work can be found in museums and public collections throughout the United States and Europe including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Tate Gallery, London; the Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (MAXXI), Rome; and Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt.

Featuring the work Tar pit, 2021 by Kara Walker

ART PAPER’s 24th Annual Art Auction features over 200 works of art from emerging to established artists from Georgia and around the United States. Back by popular demand is the Emerging Collectors Section featuring works valued at $200 or less available for outright purchase starting at 7pm on Auction night. These works go fast, so be prepared!

The theme this year is fittingly all about LOVE. Come find that special work of art that makes your heart sing. In keeping with the theme, suggested attire is Valentine's festive, think shades of blush and bashful!

Featuring the work Going Steady With Disaster, 2022 by Sarah Emerson

Head to FreeMarket Gallery to see the immersive work of Brandon Sadler in his exhibition Beyond Time that focuses on the transformational seasons of life and features a range of works such as sculpture, calligraphy, painting, and environmental instillation.

Brandon Sadler (b.1986) is a multi­ disciplinary artist based in Atlanta Georgia, and graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A in Illustration. Sadler is renowned for his public mural works and his solo and group exhibitions have brought him accolades as one of Atlanta's most prolific artists, collected by individuals, as well as the High Museum of Art. In addition to activating the fine art and public art worlds, Brandon's creative studio Rising Red Lotus has also workedwith several major brands to successfully bring his unique vision into the commercial space. Major mural projects for the Atlanta Beltline, and internationally acclaimed work on the set of MARVEL Studios' Black Panther have brought great attention to Sadler's work in recent years. Recognized for his work on the film and career to date, he was awarded SCAD's Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Featuring the work God Was- Is Here by Brandon Sadler

Join us for a special look at the Deana Lawson exhibition with Maria Kelly, Assistant Curator of Photography at the High Museum. In this body of work which spans over two decades, Lawson employs a wide range of photographic styles to investigate and challenge conventional representations of Black identities and bodies.

Deana Lawson was born in 1979 in Rochester, New York. She is an educator and photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She studied photography at Pennsylvania State University, graduating with a BFA in 2001, and continued her studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, earning her MFA in 2004. In 2012, Lawson joined the faculty of Princeton University, where she was named the inaugural Dorothy Krauklis ’78 Professor of Visual Arts in 2021. In 2013, she received a Guggenheim Foundation grant, facilitating her travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, and Jamaica.

Lawson was the recipient of the 2020 Hugo Boss Prize—the first artist working in photography to receive the award—which led to Centropy, an exhibition at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum featuring her photographs and a visual essay in the form of an eponymous film. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

Featuring the work Shawntel, 2016 by Deana Lawson

Come check out Wolfgang Gallery, a contemporary art space located in Atlanta, GA that features mid-career and established artists. Their mission is to introduce a new foundation for discovering and supporting contemporary art by focusing on inclusivity and diversity within the framework of contemporary culture.

Featuring the work The Creation of Woman, 2020 by Alison Blickle in the current exhibit Virgo.

We are headed to the historic Shankle House in Commerce, GA for the opening of Atlanta sweetheart Jody Fausett’s Baby Doll. Stick around for a swank after party, 4:00 pm til we drop.

Meet at 211 for cocktails and a chat! If you missed New York, come live vicariously through our slideshow recap.