What we carry
May 7 — I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the things we carry: the bowl passed down from a grandmother, a song that reminds us of home, the way movement holds memory even when words fall short.
At the Alpharetta Adult Activity Center, Deb Hunter Snow asked her students – many of them rediscovering art after decades away – to paint still lifes using objects that reminded them of their mothers.
And over at Spelman, Corinne Bailey Rae’s visit turned a student dance performance into something sacred. Rae’s album, “Black Rainbows,” offered students a creative doorway into themes of identity and history, while Amanda Williams’s exhibition,”We Say What Black This Is,” gave those ideas space to deepen, expand, and take visual form.
These are the kinds of stories that keep me grounded in Atlanta’s creative pulse – where art is personal, intergenerational, and always in conversation.
If you’re looking for more of that energy, check out How Do You Atlanta? for the best arts and culture events around our community. Because the connections are out here.
—Sherri
Painting memory: Debbie Hunter Snow helps seniors connect with creativity – and their mothers – through art
🖌️ At the Alpharetta Adult Activity Center, longtime teaching artist Debbie Hunter Snow asked seniors to create still lifes using objects that reminded them of their mothers. What followed was a moving meditation on memory, aging, and the power of picking up a paintbrush – sometimes for the first time in decades.
➡️ Read more about the Bridging the Gap: Drawing and Painting class here.
Data meets art at the High Museum!
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
✨ Ready for a sensory journey? Immerse yourself in the data-verse and get ready for a mind-bending experience – Ryoji Ikeda’s captivating light and sound installations are a must-see.
➞ On view now at the High Museum.
Corinne Bailey Rae’s visit anchors Spelman collaboration between dance and visual art
💃🏽 What started as a Spelman Department of Dance Performance and Choreography class project became a full-circle moment for students – on April 29 they performed “Inscribed: New Visions of Black Femme Freedom” in front of Grammy-winning musician Corinne Bailey Rae and artist Amanda Williams. The interdisciplinary piece, inspired by Rae’s “Black Rainbows” album and Williams’s exhibition, “We Say What Black This Is,” turned an evening at Spelman’s new Center for Innovation and the Arts into a celebration of connection, creativity, and legacy.
➡️ Read more about “Inscribed: New Visions of Black Femme Freedom” here.
🌿 Reflections is Dunwoody’s newest public art installation at Two Bridges Park, 50 Perimeter Center East, created by Huelani Mei and designed by Andrea Perez. Visitors are encouraged to “take a photo, create a moment, and let Dunwoody be a part of your story.” Learn more! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Art Happenings
🏺 Anywhere but Here: Angelyn S. Chandler Solo Exhibition | 5:30-8 p.m., May 9, opening reception | Chastain Arts Center & Gallery.
✏️ Evelyn Breit’s Color Pencil Workshop | 10 a.m., May 17 | Abernathy Arts Center.
🧑🏾🎨 Journey 2 Rmbr: Charles Middleton III Solo Exhibition | 6-9 p.m., May 23 | The Goat Farm.
🖼️ About Face, a Portrait Show | 6-8 p.m., June 6, opening reception | dk Contemporary Gallery.
📸 Photography’s New Vision: Experiments in Seeing | Opens June 13 | High Museum of Art.
Post of the Week
👨👩👧👦 Mamas, makers, and magic – this one’s for you.
DEVOTED: A Mothers’ Group Show returns May 9 with an evening of art, community, and celebration. Hosted at San Francisco Coffee’s Virginia Highland location and curated by Nuestra Creación x @atlartgals, the exhibit honors the creative journey of motherhood through powerful, personal works.
🗓️ May 9, 6:30-9 p.m.
📍 San Francisco Coffee, VAHI (1192 N. Highland Ave. NE)
🎨 Presented by Nuestra Creación + @atlartgals
🖋️ Today’s Sketchbook was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
