Find art popping up in every direction in metro Atlanta this spring
This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
What’s new at museums
Warmer weather is the perfect backdrop for the sun-soaked paintings of Amy Sherald, whose midcareer retrospective, “American Sublime,” comes to the High Museum of Art from May 15 through Sept. 17. Renowned for her vivid portrait of first lady Michelle Obama, Sherald’s work centers Black Americans in scenes of heightened saturation that counterpoint the monochromatic treatment of her subjects’ skin tones. Atlanta is the final stop for this popular touring exhibit and a special kind of homecoming for the Columbus-born, Spelman College-educated artist, who recently made international news for withdrawing this same exhibit from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in July over censorship concerns. Also on display at the High, from April 10 through Aug. 2, is “I am not a designer,” an exhibit showcasing the inventive architectural, landscape and industrial designs of artist Isamu Noguchi, creator of the iconic “Playscapes” in Piedmont Park.
At the Museum of Design Atlanta, “Public Notice: The 2025 U.S. International Poster Biennial” is a global celebration of poster design and visual communication. For this year’s edition, more than 11,800 submissions were received from 93 countries, and the resulting collection addresses topics such as social impact, cultural identity and national heritage. On view now through mid-May.
Love soccer? Look no further than the “Footwork: Where We Gather” exhibition at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum, which highlights traditional sports photography as well as the contemporary works of respected Atlanta photographer Sheila Pree Bright, whose series showcases Atlanta’s sports culture. Presented as part of a broader, universitywide initiative in preparation of the FIFA World Cup, this exhibition will remain on view through July 19.
Spring art festivals
Seeking outdoor inspiration? The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational brings dozens of talented painters to capture Ponce de Leon Avenue’s lush pathways on canvas from April 18-26. The multifaceted event includes gallery exhibits, discussion panels and awards, but the simplest way to enjoy this celebration of plein air painting is to take a relaxing stroll through the park and watch the artists at work.
In other news, the Decatur Arts Festival is postponing its 2026 event because of major reconstruction in the town’s city square, but other spring art fair favorites will return:
Spring Arts Festival at Kennesaw State University, March 21 at Chastain Pointe. Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, March 28-29 at Blackburn Park. Sandy Springs Artsapalooza, April 4-5 at the Century Spring Office Complex. 90th annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival, April 10-12 in Piedmont Park. Festival on Ponce, April 11-12 at Olmsted Linear Park. Inman Park Festival & Tour of Homes, April 24-26 on the streets of Inman Park. Roswell Spring Arts and Crafts Festival, May 3-4 at Roswell City Hall. Chastain Park Spring Arts & Crafts Festival, May 9-10 at Chastain Park. Duluth Spring Arts Festival, May 16-17 at Duluth Town Center.
Immersive outdoor art
Oakland Cemetery will get an evening glow up this April for “Illumine,” a return of an inspiring light and art site-specific installation curated by Cat Eye Creative. From projection mapping to LED and neon sculptures to code-based interactive art, this unique event promises to heighten the historic cemetery experience with ethereal artistic wonder.
This year’s “Illumine” will feature three additional artistic partners — the High Museum of Art, the Neon Co. and Atlanta Downtown — and the artists on view will include Vanna Black, Fabian Williams, Eddie Farr, Christina Kwan, Jordan Graves, Marcia R Cohen, Vayne, Daniel Phelps and a posthumous feature of photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Food, drinks and live entertainment will be available, and special artist spotlight tours will give attendees the opportunity to learn about the installations from the creators themselves. “Illumine” casts its magic spell April 16-19 and 23-26.
For a quieter, daytime outdoor art experience, check out the giant, showy insect sculptures in “Flight of Butterflies” at Fernbank from Saturday through June 7. This family-friendly exhibit will display 25 dazzling sculptures along WildWoods, the museum’s winding forest trail.
More visual art highlights …
— Johnson Lowe Gallery presents “Dangerous Games,” an exhibition of works by Navin Norling, on view through March 28. The show’s title is inspired by a lowbrow French comic book from the ’60s. Using materials such as scrap wood, metal, lace and old windows, Norling playfully explores themes of popular culture, social narratives, folklore and symbolism.
— Atlanta Contemporary offers a robust spring lineup, including “Rejoice, Resist, Rest: Images of Black Liberation” from the Johnson Publishing Co. Archives; “Dokafleh” by Brittany Adeline King; Natalie Ross Eddings’ outdoor installation “A Litany for Shelter” in the Secret Garden; Bleed by Jean Shon; “Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language”; and “Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution.” On view now through May 17.
— The Atlanta Photography Group presents “Choice 2026,” an open call exhibition featuring a wide array of photographic processes, genres and styles. Juried by Madeline Beck, curator at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, it is on view through April 3.
— Gallery Anderson Smith, now settled into its new home in Midtown, is hitting the ground running with exhibitions this spring. “I Said What I Said!” a women-led exhibition dedicated to National Women’s History Month, debuts Saturday and continues through March 28. Later, the gallery will host ″15 Minutes,” a submissions-based pop art show from April 18 to May 2.
— The Sun ATL’s one-year anniversary show “Brilliant!” features more than 100 works by 21 international artists spanning four generations. Works on view include printmaking, installations, photography, paintings, assemblage and even neon art. Through March 21.
— CBrooks Gallery presents “Journey of a Black Girl,” a celebration of more than 40 Black women contemporary visual artists whose works span painting, collage, mixed media, photography and sculpture. This invitational exhibition remains on view through March 28.
— Swan Coach House Gallery offers two exhibitions this season, starting with “Field Notes,” featuring works by Atlanta artists Heather Bird Harris and Joel Silverman through March 26. An exhibit that the gallery says “invites us to pause, engage, and look deeper at the world around us,” “Field Notes” was curated by EC Flamming. The artists will present a gallery talk Saturday. Later, the 2026 Edge Award Exhibition, “Just Passing Through” by Kole Nichols, will be presented alongside award finalists from April 2 through May 14, with an artist talk May 2.
— African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta celebrates 2026 Seeds and Flower award winners Lynn Marshall Linnemeier and Ayana Ross in “Spinning a Yarn,” on view through April 4. Linnemeier, the museum’s 2026 Flower recipient, explores the intersections of memory, history and place through photography, mixed media and site-specific installations that are informed by Southern and Black visual traditions. Ross, the 2026 Seed honoree, works in traditional oil painting and figurative realism to produce layered narratives that investigate intergenerational themes.
— Jackson Fine Art’s spring lineup includes Cooper & Gorfer’s “Altered Gaze,” a culmination of nearly two decades of the artists’ exploration of female identity, dualities, mythology and narratives. Through the medium of collage, they present hybrid portraits of women amid immersive visual worlds. Through March 21.
— Atlanta artists Hannah Ehrlich and Thomas Flynn II are highlighted in “Night Swim” at Spruill Gallery. Opening Friday, the exhibition brings together Ehrlich’s textiles with Flynn’s multilayered sculptural paintings to explore themes of growth and decay, memory and perception. An artists’ engagement event is planned for April 19, and the show will remain on view through April 24.
— “EmpowerHER: A Celebration of Women in Art” at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum & Conference Center celebrates Women’s History Month. This group exhibition features works by more than 140 women artists from across Atlanta alongside a new installation by Lillian Blades titled “Sanctuary: Forms of Shelter and Light.” Opens Friday and continues through April 25, with an artist talk March 28.
— Cat Eye Creative, which relocated from south Downtown to Decatur last year, will present a number of exhibitions in addition to the return of “Illumine” to Oakland Cemetery in April. Upcoming shows include an “Abstraction” group exhibition from Saturday through April 5; Erin Nicole Henry’s solo show “Generation Error” from April 10 through May 9; and the annual “May Flowers” floral exhibit, which will coincide with a cultural crawl through Decatur on May 1.
— Melissa Harshman’s “A Delicate Balance,” a Lifetime Teaching Award Exhibition presented by Eyedrum Gallery, will showcase works that explore grief, loss, mindfulness and resilience through printmaking and papermaking. Harshman pulls inspiration from the recent Walk for Peace led by Buddhist monks from Texas to Washington, D.C., for a vibrant and colorful exhibition. The show opens March 22, with a closing reception and artist talk April 19.
— Atlanta Center for Photography will present its sixth annual Virtual Portfolio Review Weekend from March 26-28. Through a selection of virtual a la carte artist talks, peer reviews, critiques and workshops, lens-based artists will have the opportunity to engage with leading experts in the industry.
— On April 12, Art Papers will celebrate the launch of its final issue after 50 years, Fire Ecology, with a party at Whitespace Gallery, inviting past staff, writers, interns, board members and volunteers as guests of honor. A processional second line led by members of the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable will depart the gallery and make its way to the Art Papers office at the Little Five Points Community Art Center at 4 p.m.
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