Atlanta Contemporary

Atlanta Contemporary Free admission every day! Atlanta Contemporary is a non-collecting contemporary art institution founded by artists in 1973.

Founded in 1973 as Nexus, a grassroots artists’ cooperative, Atlanta Contemporary has since become one of the southeast’s leading contemporary art centers. We play a vital role in Atlanta’s cultural landscape by presenting six–10 exhibitions within four seasonal cycles each year, featuring consequential artists from the local, national, and international art scenes. We are one of the few local ins

titutions that commissions new works by artists, paying particular attention to artists of note who have not had a significant exhibition in the Southeast. We organize 50+ diverse educational offerings annually, unrivaled by other local organizations of our size. We are the only local organization to provide on-site subsidized studio space to working artists through our Studio Artist Program, removing cost as a barrier to the creative process.

We’re a 2026 Artist Choice Winner! Atlanta Contemporary is among 28 organizations chosen by artists to receive an unres...
05/22/2026

We’re a 2026 Artist Choice Winner! 

Atlanta Contemporary is among 28 organizations chosen by artists to receive an unrestricted grant from Ruth Arts. This year, artists—including choreographers, visual artists, performers, writers, and musicians—were invited to nominate organizations that are generating and encouraging deep study and strengthening their communities’ critical understanding of and investment in art and ideas.  

We are so excited to be among such a great group of organizations and are thrilled to have our work recognized by artists. 

About Ruth Arts: National in scope, Ruth Foundation for the Arts (Ruth Arts) is dedicated to meeting the evolving needs and lived experiences of artists, communities, and arts organizations whose work is anchored by the visual and performing arts. For more information about the awarded organizations, visit rutharts.org.

Closing May 17: Curator Anna Akpele brought together Jean Shon, Natalie Rose Eddings, and Brittany Adeline King for an e...
05/14/2026

Closing May 17: Curator Anna Akpele brought together Jean Shon, Natalie Rose Eddings, and Brittany Adeline King for an exhibition season that has unfolded across the building’s most intimate spaces. 

In Sliver Space, “Bleed” by Jean Shon works with paper, text, and trace to explore how memory surfaces through stain and absence. In the Secret Garden, “A Litany for Shelter” by Natalie Rose Eddings examines labor, rest, and who gets to feel protected in public space. In Chute Space, “Dokafleh” by Brittany Adeline King conjures dolls from archival images, fabric, and video, weaving Liberian histories together with her own story of homecoming. 

Don’t leave without seeing all three. Admission is always free. 

🔗 atlantacontemporary.org

Artist Makiko Maekawa (.art) leads kids of all ages through a hands-on workshop where paint, paper, and curiosity are th...
05/13/2026

Artist Makiko Maekawa (.art) leads kids of all ages through a hands-on workshop where paint, paper, and curiosity are the only materials required. Drop in anytime, make something, then stay and explore the galleries. Free and open to all ages. 

📅 Sunday, May 17 | 12 – 2 PM 

🔗 Register at atlantacontemporary.org

Rejoice, Resist, Rest: Images of Black Liberation from the Johnson Publishing Company Archive closes May 17. This exhibi...
05/13/2026

Rejoice, Resist, Rest: Images of Black Liberation from the Johnson Publishing Company Archive closes May 17. 

This exhibition was made by students from the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective and Spelman Photography Program, directed by curators Nydia Blas, M.F.A., and Chad Dawkins, Ph.D. Working in response to the Johnson Publishing Company Archive, photographs and ephemera documenting 20th century Black American life, they made new artworks, photographs, texts, and zines that put the past and the present in direct conversation. 

Come see what that dialogue looks like. Admission is always free. 

🔗 atlantacontemporary.org

Last chance to see Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language, on view through May 17. Curated by Karen Comer Lowe, the exhib...
05/08/2026

Last chance to see Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language, on view through May 17. 

Curated by Karen Comer Lowe, the exhibition gathers Bethany Collins, February James, a’driane nieves, and Gabi Madrid around a shared question: what happens when language leaves the page? Across painting, sculpture, film, and installation, these four artists locate words, histories, and memories inside the body where they’ve been living all along. 

Admission is always free. 

🔗 atlantacontemporary.org

On Sunday May 3, artist and educator Amanda Grae Platner brought together artists, scholars, and cultural professionals ...
05/07/2026

On Sunday May 3, artist and educator Amanda Grae Platner brought together artists, scholars, and cultural professionals at Atlanta Contemporary to ask questions the field doesn’t ask often enough, including not just who can enter the arts, but who gets to stay. 

“Who Gets to Sustain a Career in the Arts? Accessibility, Career Attrition, & Institutional Barriers” examined how professional norms, financial structures, and inaccessible environments shape long-term participation for disabled artists. Dr. Jennifer Sarrett opened with a keynote on what structural inclusion actually requires. A panel with artists Amanda Grae Platner, Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn, Megan Mosholder, and Victoria Dugger followed, moderated by Bethany Stevens. 

The conversation was candid, rigorous, and necessary. We’re glad it happened here, and we hope that it is the beginning of deepened sustained dialogue around making spaces, opportunities, and structures more accessible. 

If you weren’t able to make it, the full symposium is available on Amanda’s YouTube channel. Even if you did make it, we encourage everyone to read through the accompanying booklet Amanda has thoughtfully prepared, which includes several elements beyond the conversation. 

🔗 You can find both at amandagraeplatner.com/disabilitysymposium  

📸

Before May 17, spend some time with Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution. Eliza Bentz, Hannah Israel, Cyn...
05/06/2026

Before May 17, spend some time with Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution. 

Eliza Bentz, Hannah Israel, Cynthia Lollis, Serena Perrone, and Eileen Wallace are five Georgia artists who have turned the book into something else entirely: a site for experimentation, protest, and memory. Curated by Cynthia Nourse Thompson, the exhibition asks what the physical book can still hold in the 21st century. The answers are worth seeing for yourself. 

On view through May 17. Admission is always free. 

🔗 atlantacontemporary.org

Who Gets to Sustain a Career in the Arts?Accessibility, Career Attrition, & Institutional Barriers🗓️ Sunday, May, 3 2-4:...
05/02/2026

Who Gets to Sustain a Career in the Arts?
Accessibility, Career Attrition, & Institutional Barriers

🗓️ Sunday, May, 3 2-4:30 pm

This symposium brings together artists and cultural professionals to examine how accessibility, professional norms, and financial structures shape long-term participation in the arts, not just who enters, but who is able to remain.

The event will be livestreamed and recorded for future viewing on YouTube at @ amandaplatner.

The digital booklet is available online at:
www.amandagraeplatner.com/disabilitysymposium

🔗 RSPV link in ’s bio

Please share with artists, curators, arts administrators, educators, funders, and anyone interested in building more accessible arts institutions.

🛑 Sorry folks, we’re closed tomorrow May 2 for a private event.Sunday, we are hosting “Who Gets to Sustain a Career in t...
05/01/2026

🛑 Sorry folks, we’re closed tomorrow May 2 for a private event.

Sunday, we are hosting “Who Gets to Sustain a Career in the Arts?: Accessibility, Career Attrition & Institutional Barriers.”

The symposium brings together artists and cultural professionals to examine how accessibility, professional norms, and financial structures shape long-term participation in the arts, not just who enters, but who is able to remain.

2-4:30 PM
🔗 Register to attend at the link in ’s bio

Congratulations to Atlanta Contemporary Studio Artist Amanda Grae Platner, named the 2027 Edge Award winner by the Forwa...
04/29/2026

Congratulations to Atlanta Contemporary Studio Artist Amanda Grae Platner, named the 2027 Edge Award winner by the Forward Arts Foundation! The award includes a $10,000 prize, a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center, and a solo exhibition at Swan Coach House Gallery in April 2027. We’re proud to have her in our studios and can’t wait to see what comes next.

Address

535 Means Street NW
Atlanta, GA
30318

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 8pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

(404) 688-1970

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