(Art by Amy Sherald, Courtesy of the High Museum of Art; Melvin Toldeo, Courtesy of Portrait Society of Atlanta; A’Driane Nieves, Courtesy of Atlanta Contemporary.)
Atlanta’s 2026 creative calendar reflects a city expanding how it showcases visual arts beyond marquee museum shows. From juried exhibitions and regional spotlights to outdoor activations and art fairs aimed at collectors, the year ahead underscores how widely—and where—art is being made and seen across the metro area.
Below are some of the visual arts events and openings we’re most looking forward to in the coming year. Together, they show an Atlanta art scene that’s more national, more accessible, and more connected than ever.
Center for Ethics Juried Student Exhibition
Opens: Jan. 26
Where: Emory University Center for Ethics
Launching Emory’s “Year of Compassion,” the Center for Ethics gallery presents a rotating juried exhibition of Emory Visual Arts students’ work. The show reflects on empathy, healing, and ethical responsibility as part of a campus-wide initiative that also honors Emory’s nearly 30-year relationship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language
Opens: Feb. 1
Where: Atlanta Contemporary
“Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language” brings together at Atlanta Contemporary Bethany Collins, February James, A’Driane Nieves, and Atlanta-based Gabi Madrid in a multidisciplinary exhibition—painting, sculpture, film, animation, and installation—that treats language as a physical force.
Spring 2026 Juried Exhibition
Opens: Feb. 14
Where: The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning
A Gwinnett County staple highlighting regional artists and reinforcing the region’s OTP gallery ecosystem, this Hudgens Center for Art & Learning show is juried by Ramón Alexander Hurtado, an oil painter and internationally recognized instructor rooted in 19th-century French academic methodology.
Foot Work: Where We Gather
Opens: Feb. 26
Where: Michael C. Carlos Museum
“Foot Work: Where We Gather” brings together traditional sports photography and contemporary work by Sheila Pree Bright as part of Emory’s Footwork initiative, which ties into Atlanta’s lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
EDGE Award Exhibition
Opens: April
Where: Swan Coach House Gallery
Often an early signal of whom collectors and curators will be watching next, the annual EDGE Award Exhibition spotlights early-career Atlanta-based artists working across printmaking, drawing, painting, and sculpture. The 2026 show features new work by EDGE Award winner Kole Nichols, alongside finalists Demetri Burke, Crystal Jin Kim, Kimberly Fulton Orozco, and Visakha Jane Phillips.
12th Annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational
Dates: April 18–26
Where: Olmsted Linear Park Alliance
From April 18–26, invited artists will paint outdoors in Atlanta’s historic Olmsted parks. The finished works will be shown and sold in a public gallery exhibition.
Read More:
• Atlanta’s Carlos Museum presents ‘Continuum,’ a celebration of Muscogee art
• Two firsts, one vision: Vivian Chavez and Paula Cuevas debut at Swan Coach House Gallery
All the Fixins: Artists From the South 2026
Opens: May 8
Where: Woodstock Arts
This juried regional exhibition extends Atlanta’s art conversations beyond the city’s urban core by spotlighting Southern artists. Curated by Susan Bridges, owner and director of Whitespace Gallery, the show offers a rare chance to see a wide cross-section of contemporary Southern work in one place.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime
Opens: May 15
Where: High Museum of Art
The High Museum’s 2026 marquee exhibition brings a major mid-career retrospective of the Clark Atlanta graduate and painter to Atlanta. Sherald withdrew the show from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery over anti-transgender censorship—turning the Atlanta stop into both a homecoming and a statement.
Atlanta Art Fair
Dates: Oct. 1–4
Where: Pullman Yards
Atlanta Art Fair returns to Pullman Yards for its third year, bringing national and regional galleries together for four days of exhibitions, talks, performances, and installations. A defining Q4 moment, the fair reinforces Atlanta’s growing role in the contemporary art market and anchors the city more firmly on the national art calendar.