Next month, a new art fair will debut on art world calendars with the inaugural edition of Atlanta Art Fair, which will be held October 3–6, 2024, and staged at the city’s historic Pullman Yards. Led by AMP Director Kelly Freeman and Artistic Director Nato Thompson, the fair aims to leverage the diverse and dynamic art scene of Atlanta and create a new cultural facet to the city that brings local, regional, national, and international art and artists to the fair’s audiences all in one place.

Amy Rader, Athena (2024). Courtesy of Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta.

Welcoming over 60 exhibitiors and cultural partners from across the Southeast, a core element setting Atlanta Art Fair apart is the emphasis on on public programming and special projects, taking advantage of the moment to create a platform for the art scene of the American South as well as beyond. Thompson and guest curators Lauren Jackson Harris and Karen Comer Lowe are slated to each present exhibitions projects that foreground local artists, engaging with themes around the region’s history, present, and future, as well as wide-ranging influence on the trajectory of contemporary art.

Within Porter Hall of Pullman Yards, large-scale sculptures and installations promise to make Atlanta Art Fair an immersive experience for visitors, and a talks program presented in the Atlanta Art Fair Theater see artists, curators, collectors, and other art world professionals delve into some of the most pressing issues of the today.

An exciting moment for both the fair as well as the greater Atlanta cultural community, ahead of the Atlanta Art Fair opening we reached out to Freeman and Thompson to learn more about what has gone into creating the fair, as well as how the reciprocity between fair and city have shaped the event.

Left: Artistic Director Nato Thompson. Photo: Evelyn Freja. Right: Kelly Freeman. Photo: Genevieve Garruppo. Courtesy of Atlanta Art Fair.

With the inaugural edition of Atlanta Art Fair debuting next month, can you give us some insight into what it takes to pull together an event of this scale for the first time? How long has the fair been in the making?

Kelly Freeman: We’ve been watching Atlanta closely for some time now as the art scene has really been booming over recent years—new galleries are opening, and there’s an incredible amount of talent. Collectors are paying attention to this and the city’s clear potential for growth. We want to meet this need for the city’s art market to have a centralized, commercial meeting point and further empower the local art community. To do this correctly, we made a point to meet the community on their turf, hear from them firsthand what was and wasn’t working, where there were opportunities for collaboration, and how an international art fair could benefit the community, not the other way around.

How has the city of Atlanta itself informed or inspired the development of the fair?

Nato Thompson: The Atlanta art scene has a profound abundance of artists and culture makers, galleries, non-profits, collectors, and overall energy. It is bursting at the seams. What the fair offers is a platform to facilitate the existing incredible work to be seen not only by the national audience, but the local and regional as well. So, the fair will provide a unique microcosm of the American South, from galleries across the Southeast to artists making work in response to the region’s cultural heritage and evolving narratives.

In addition to our two local guest curators Lauren Jackson Harris and Karen Comer Lowe—two women firmly embedded within the city’s art ecosystem—we have a substantial list of local and regional cultural partners. Eight of the cultural partners, including Art Papers, Dashboard Co-Op, Spruill Center for the Arts, The Millennium Gate Museum, Georgia Tech, The Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design, and Cleo The Project Space will have booths at the fair, showcasing their programs, local artists, and the regions’ rich history.

Pam Longobardi, Tangled II (2008). Courtesy of the artist.

What’s something you’d like first-time visitors to Atlanta to know about the city’s art scene?

KF: I was blown away by the sheer volume of activity and talent in Atlanta’s art scene. From decades-old institutions to alternative, artist-run spaces, galleries, and countless emerging to mid-career artists, their impact is visible in every corner of the city. Atlanta is, of course, world-renowned for its music, sports, and entertainment industries, but the fine arts are an overlooked aspect, in my opinion.

Georgia ranks near last in the country when it comes to per capita spending on the arts, and the faith these individuals, institutions, and businesses have put into a first-year art fair really shows their tenacity.

What type of impact do you hope Atlanta Art Fair has on the city, and, more broadly speaking, its place within the international art world?

KF: Along with our mix of local, regional, and international galleries and cultural partners, visitors can expect extensive public programming, panels, and large-scale projects. Atlanta is in need of an international art fair, but we hope that through this balanced programming, we will attract not only Atlanta’s arts community but also all segments of the population. Ultimately, we hope to provide healthy support for the arts, offering another platform for meaningful cultural exchanges between the South and other global art centers. Atlanta’s art scene merits the attention it’s getting nationally, and we want to amplify that.

Navin Norling, Freebird, (Free as a Bird) (ca. 2024). Courtesy of the artist.

Can you tell us a bit about the public projects and exhibitions that will take place? What was the process like crafting the fair’s overarching program?

NT: An art fair is a great opportunity for art lovers to experience all kinds of art and get a feel for the urgent questions being asked. The projects and talks are a great way to get a flavor of that and we are thrilled at the robust programming and large-scale projects throughout Pullman Yards’ Porter Hall, overseen by myself alongside Lowe and Harris. At the core of this programming is a desire to showcase the American South’s dynamic contributions to contemporary art. Honestly, we were overwhelmed with the quality and energy of the artists and curators so we feel very confident about what we have collectively pulled off.

Harris’ exhibition “genteel/gentle,” for example, is set against the backdrop of the South’s complex histories and reflects the region’s ongoing reclamation of its narratives, featuring artists like Shanequa Gay, Emily Mann, Crystal Jin Kim, Horace Imhotep, and Kyle Ford. Lowe’s selection for the fair highlights two artists—Pam Longobardi and Navin Norling—whose works deeply resonate with contemporary global themes while representing the rich cultural fabric of Atlanta.

Atlanta Art Fair will be held at Pullman Yards, Atlanta, GA, October 3–6, 2024.