Founder of the Foundry has a vision for a creative campus with staying power

The Foundry opened on a bet: that if he built it, artists would come

Artist Adam Bostic largely self-funded his vision for a new arts collective in an industrial building in Southwest Atlanta. His serendipitous timing ended up giving artists displaced by a fire a new home.

As the Foundry’s grand opening party was winding down Aug. 15, the sounds of the place hit late-arrivers before they could see much of it: skaters somewhere in the dark, a band setting up on the outdoor stage and faint chatter inside the brightly lit warehouse at the edge of it all.

The opening of the Foundry in the former Bronner Bros. manufacturing building brought out an enthusiastic audience that enjoyed skateboarding demonstrations, bands and art large and small on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Courtesy of Thomas Forman)

Inside, the room displaying works on paper was scattered with red “sold” dots and empty spaces where pieces had already been taken home by their new owners. Vendors and artists still on-site scurried around with excited energy and the feeling of catharsis that comes only after a night this big wraps.

The Foundry is a 23,000-square-foot creative campus that opened inside the old Bronner Bros. manufacturing building in Southwest Atlanta, a few blocks from Eyedrum, Met Atlanta and Day & Night Projects. It houses private studios, welding and woodworking shops, a shared materials and tool bank and a growing community of resident artists who use it all.

Bostic, an artist, fabricator and entrepreneur who runs the fabrication studio ARC Design, laid the foundation to open this new space. The problem he aimed to solve is one Atlanta artists know well: The city’s creative economy keeps growing, but affordable industrial workspace constantly comes and goes.

Bostic knows what it means to be displaced as an artist in this city, first being priced out of a space he occupied for years on Glenwood Avenue and then losing a temporary spot at Lee & White. When a contact pointed him toward the Bronner Bros. building, a historic Black-owned beauty brand’s former manufacturing hub, he called other artists, knowing he couldn’t keep the space stable alone.

Atlanta artist Dr. Dax (left), who painted at the Foundry's opening party, poses with the artist studio facility's founder, Adam Bostic. (Courtesy of Thomas Forman)

While Bostic was on the move, a fire tore through South River Art Studios in East Atlanta and left several dozen artists and makers without studios, tools and, in many cases, without years of their finished work. A number of them believed in his vision and expressed interest in joining him. Bostic put down a deposit, using savings he’d built up from his art and fabrication work, and the group and other artists started building out the complex.

An artist studio isn’t just a room one rents — it’s where the work lives and where artists find and support each other. For some affected by the South River fire, the Foundry has become a place to rebuild both their practice and community. Atlanta Style Writers Association, the graffiti and style-writing collective, is among those renting studio space at the Foundry.

What Bostic is building isn’t structured like a typical arts nonprofit. “The vision,” he says, “is that we would have a place that’s not funded by nonprofit grants.”

Bands entertain until late at the Foundry's grand opening Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. The Foundry plans nine band rehearsal spaces in a future phase. (Courtesy of Thomas Forman)

In practice, that has meant funding the buildout largely with savings he’s generated through his own work. He described waking up some nights wondering if he’s lost his mind, taking on a building this size with no guarantee to maintain it long-term. What kept him going, he says, were a multitude of people repeatedly telling him not to quit.

Some of the clearest proof that his investment is paying off predates the grand opening.

In April, visitors walking through Oakland Cemetery for its annual Illumine exhibition probably encountered the Vayne Mausoleum. A full-size tomb, it was painted to look like aged marble, covered in graffiti and built so it could be taken apart at the Foundry and put back together again on-site.

Atlanta Style Writers helped oversee that project. The artist Vayne created the concept and contributed his building skills. Vayne would draw a beveled letter or show photos of a spray-painted bevel, and Bostic would convert it into perfect angles to make the shapes real. Bostic’s ability to translate artist ideas at a large scale has encouraged many of the creatives at the Foundry to trust him with his biggest idea yet.

The Atlanta Style Writers truck — part of the art on view on the Foundry. (Courtesy of Jasmine Hentschel)

After decades spent collaborating with and mentoring other artists, Bostic speaks about the Foundry as if it’s his legacy, not just a business. He wants the space to carry some of the raw, underground edge he found in Long Beach and Los Angeles’ downtown warehouse galleries when he was living in California years ago — the kind of alternative art scene that’s not playing it safe.

That vibe could be sensed at the Foundry’s grand opening, which Atlanta Style Writers helped organize. There was a deliberate mashup of skateboarders on freshly built ramps, a works-on-paper show featuring artists such as Mr. Totem, Dr. Dax, Vayne, Cheak, Daze and Koast, graffiti going up on the walls in real time and live music.

The front facade of the Foundry. (Photo by Jasmine Hentschel)

Bostic says the future vision includes nine rehearsal spaces for bands, more workshops and a gallery built out in the back corner. It will exist somewhere between studio space and what Bostic calls a third space.

Standing in front of huge walls freshly painted with pieces that didn’t exist mere days before, it was not hard to envision a future where everybody keeps showing up for this new community.

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