In 1990, Atlantans learned that their city
would host the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and when company’s
coming you tend to look at your home with a fresh eye - that is
just what Atlanta did for several years leading up to the 1996 summer
games. Improving upon what was already in place: Atlanta developed
a new stadium, new parks, and renovated the arts center. In conjunction
with the games, Atlanta decided to focus on the arts and also hosted
a Cultural Olympiad - bringing in visual and performing artists
from around the world and showing off Atlanta’s and the Southeastern
region’s finest talent.
The city continues to view its cultural life with the eyes of perspective
visitors; a culture rich with strong regional character, history
and an international and multicultural mix that is not often seen
in the cities of the Deep South.
Atlanta has a lot of art to share with its visitors. Art collectors
view the cosmopolitan character of Atlanta’s artistic community
as a dynamic resource to find up and coming artists. Many first
encounters with Atlanta’s art world begin at Hartsfield International
Airport, a state-of-the-art facility whose art collection has been
featured in Smithsonian magazine. Visitors quickly discover a city
that has numerous museums, galleries, alternative spaces and public
art that is featured throughout Atlanta. Some of the more popular
sites to view art are the High Museum of Art, Nexus Contemporary
Art Center, the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, the
City Gallery at Chastain, City Gallery East and the Fay Gold Gallery.
The annual Arts Festival and First Night Celebration expand the
opportunities artists have to present their work to the public.
Atlanta is also known for its performing arts with many venues
for visitors to enjoy dance, music and drama. The city offers diversity
where one can attend classical, contemporary and experimental performances
that take place in a number of historic or modern facilities such
as the Fox Theatre, 14th Street Playhouse, Barking Dog
Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Hall, the Alliancer Theatre and the Center
for Puppetry Arts to name a few. This fall, the Alliance Theatre
will be producing a project with the Disney Corporation based on
the story of Aida featuring the music of Elton John.
There is so much to do and see in Atlanta that students from all
over the US and abroad select the Southeastern city as the place
to further their education in the arts. Living and learning in an
environment that supports the arts is just what young visual and
performing artists need to nurture their talents. Creativity has
been cited as an important attribute in future employees and for
this reason businesses look for applicants who have experience in
the arts.
Major corporations such as IBM, Turner Broadcasting/CNN, and Coca-Cola
made Atlanta their home and art students find that these businesses
and many more are eager to offer them internships and quite often
future employment. Corporations also contribute greatly to the arts
in Atlanta through the purchasing of art for their collections and
in the development of foundations that support arts events. Atlanta
welcomes newcomers to begin their visual and performing arts careers
in a city known for its hospitality and one that recognises and
embraces the "voices" of its artists.
Authors: Libby Mohr, Director of College Relations and
Carol Lee Conchar, Director of Enrolment Management, the Atlanta
College of Art, USA
This article first appeared in Studying Abroad magazine
