Midtown Alliance has announced the inaugural class for the Midtown Heart of the Arts Residency Program.
The program provides established visual artists with studio workspaces inside various commercial properties for one year, a $2,500 stipend and the opportunity to increase their audience.
Midtown Alliance held an open call for artist applications in March and received 94 submissions. Six artists were chosen to receive studio space:
- George F. Baker III, muralist and painter
- Jamaal Barber, painter and printmaker
- Lillian Blades, mixed media artist
- Dr. Bojana Ginn, interdisciplinary science and technology-based artist
- Patricia Hernandez, muralist and painter
- Jasmine Nicole Williams, printmaker and muralist
“We are thrilled to welcome these artists into our community,” said Lauren Bohn, project manager of urban design and placemaking at Midtown Alliance. “In addition to their exceptional talent, these artists were chosen because we could really imagine them connecting with Midtown — engaging the community in their work and being an energizing presence in the district.”
The Heart of the Arts residencies are made possible through partnerships with Midtown property owners. Founding partners of the artist-in-residence program include the Atlanta History Center (Midtown Campus), Portman Holdings (CODA Crum & Forster Building), and Dewberry Group (Peachtree Pointe).
“Midtown has shown a propensity for putting the arts first and is a role model for the rest of the city in how to find cohesion between design and community,” said Baker, one of the new artists- in-residence. “I’m so thrilled to be a part of the Midtown Alliance artist residency program and I’m looking forward to collaborating with the community at-large to produce public art that’s as intentional as Midtown itself.“
For more about the Heart of the Arts program visit MidtownATL.com/arts. Follow Midtown Alliance on Instagram (@Midtown_ATL), Facebook (@MidtownATL) and Twitter (@MidtownATL) with hashtag #MidtownATLarts for updates about the program.