Editor’s note: This article has been edited to reflect the correct date of the exhibition, Sept 14, 2025.
On Sept. 14, Atlanta will meet a new collective of 11 LGBTQ+ artists in their debut exhibition, Being FRANK: It is Because I Am.
Founded in early 2025, FRANK is a community of LGBTQ+ artists based in Atlanta to create safe, inclusive spaces for queer voices and spark dialogue on art, culture, politics, sexuality, and gender.
Member Krista M. Jones, a muralist, told Georgia Voice that she was approached by members Royce Soble and David Clifton-Strawn with the idea for a queer art collective.
“The origin of FRANK traces back to last year, when a few of us dove into the archives of Taboo, a gay artist collective that thrived in Atlanta during the 1980s and 1990s,” she said. “That rediscovery, paired with our creative connections and the urgent need for artistic expression and community support in today’s political climate, solidified our decision to form FRANK and establish the founding members earlier this year.”
The group consists of 11 members: architect and multidisciplinary artist Yousef Bushehri; illustrator and painter Stan Clark; photographer and digital artist Billy Clifton-Strawn; portrait artist David Clifton-Strawn; art therapist Orion Crook; video and sculpture artist Andy Jackson; digital artist kbyte; photographer Just Toby; abstract painter Royce Soble; textile artist Clint Zeagler; and Jones.
The group meets every two weeks, Jones said, to “kick around ideas” and elevate each other’s work. With increasing legislative and executive attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, Jones said the group is a support system that’s crucial “now more than ever,” united under the belief in art as a power of pure, free expression.
“When we look at history and we look at countries that have been under dictatorships and authoritarian governments, art is one of the first things that gets yanked, whitewashed, and censored,” she said. “I think [art] is the only space that a person can be truly free, honestly, because as an artist, I can create whatever I want.”
FRANK’s debut exhibition opens Sunday, Sept. 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. in a transformed retail space at Ansley Mall (1544 Piedmont Ave. NE, Suite 119). The immersive event will include music, new and existing pieces ranging for sculpture and painting to photography and works on paper, and the opportunity for the community to meet the artists.
Being FRANK: It is Because I Am is free to attend; RSVP here. To learn more about the founding artists of FRANK, visit frankatl.org.
Related stories:
• Arts community provides feedback on future LGBTQ+ center
• ‘Art amusement park’ opens Sept. 24 at Pullman Yards
