Atlanta Art Ecosystems

A two-day series of public programs focused on the Atlanta visual art community’s resilience, adaptability, and sustainability

Saturday, March 1 & Sunday, March 2

Hosted by Atlanta Contemporary
535 Means St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Art Papers presents a series of public conversations that bring together members of the visual art community who are invested in addressing challenges faced by the nonprofit visual arts sector in Atlanta.

In 2024, Art Papers convened a steering committee of thought leaders in the Atlanta visual art community to design a series of public programs that would address the challenges facing our nonprofit art ecosystem while celebrating the abundance of innovative practices and adaptive strategies that offer exciting paths forward. This two-day program is the outcome of that steering committee’s shared urgencies and spaces of inspiration.

The series will be accompanied by a limited edition risograph-printed booklet that—in addition to introducing each conversation and its speakers—will include an annotated “yellow pages” style collection of Atlanta visual art resources such as listings for exhibition-presenting spaces, awards and fellowships, studio space providers, art handlers/installers/shippers, residencies, fiscal sponsors, and more. The booklet will be available on-site for program attendees.

We invite artists, arts administrators, institutional experimenters, collectors, funders, and anyone who is invested in the future of Atlanta’s Art Ecosystems to join us.

Attendees are invited to choose individual program elements, or attend the full series – we just ask that you RSVP for each element that you will attend.

Full speakers list for each event is coming soon!

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

DAY 1: Saturday, March 1

11 am Crash Course—Art Organization Models 101
Led by Art Papers staff, this seminar-style program will define relevant terms and lay a foundation of knowledge for the conversations to come.

1 pm Adaptive Forms Panel – moderated by Sarah Higgins, Executive + Artistic Director of Art Papers
This panel spotlights adaptive, nomadic, temporary, and experimental projects that expand the boundaries of our notions of what an “art institution” can be.

3 pm Support Models Panel – moderated by Laura Hennighausen, Director of Strategic Philanthropy, Purpose Possible + Metro Atlanta Arts Collaborative
This panel presents various forms of support for artists and institutional projects including funding, residencies, studio and space resources, and more.

DAY 2: Sunday, March 2

11 am Thinking Publicness Panel – moderated by Miranda Kyle, Curator of Indigenous Arts of the Americas, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
This panel looks beyond notions of “public art” to consider how visual art engages with publicness—with particular emphasis on projects and institutions that push beyond mere beautification to engage deeply with a broad audience.

1:30 pm Cross-Sector Collaboration Panel – moderated by Roshani Thakore, Artist, Director, Community Engagement & Culture Program, Atlanta Regional Commission
This panel focuses on finding sustainability and new audiences for the arts through working across, and beyond, multiple sectors—whether they are conceptual, such as with technology and medicine, or structural, such as with city and industry partners

3:30 pm Houseguest Talk
This lecture style presentation will feature an invited guest speaker to talk about a large scale project they’ve realized.

Each program will include time for audience Q&A.