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Cutting Edge in College Park
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a simple, inexpensive way to bring art to more people — and breathe life into a struggling downtown retail district: put art in vacant storefronts. That’s what the fledgling College Park Arts Council has done in their historic community near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The program costs virtually nothing, promotes the work of local artists, beautifies the street, and draws attention to the fact that retail space is available.
Most of the artists live in College Park, says Don Shomaker, who heads the arts council. Many — like Mandy Sussey, whose work is shown in the photo above — have never had a gallery show. “It’s been great,” Sussey told me. “I’ve sold a couple of pieces.”
This isn’t an entirely new idea. Los Angeles has a very successful “phantom gallery” program that places paintings, sculpture, installations and even performance art in storefronts. You can read more about it here. But it’s not done very often in metro Atlanta. Think of the possibilities for dusty downtowns, empty stores in malls, and even unoccupied ground-level retail in new condo towers.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Visual arts
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By Msyvone
November 7, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this
Brilliant Idea!