Mark your calendars now. And perhaps get out your sketch pad. Art on the Atlanta Beltline, which is fast becoming one of the metro area's favorite fall al fresco activities-meets-cultural experiences, is slated for a September 10th return.
That's the date of the wildly popular Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade, which annually kicks off the South's largest temporary public art project. And that date's not as far off as it seems. Atlanta Beltline Inc. has issued a request for proposals for visual and performing artists hoping to be featured in the 2016 "show" that will take place along Beltline corridor greenspace from September through November.
The submission deadline is 5 p.m. on May 2. The RFP is available for download from art.beltline.org and will also be available for submission through callforentry.org. There will also be four information sessions beginning on March 22nd (check the RFP for additional dates and details).
Last year's event attracted over 300 proposals and saw everything from hanging sculptures and Bollywood production numbers to immense photo displays and whimsical painted benches making the cut. Some of the pieces literally and figuratively become giant stars almost from the moment they're installed.
And to think we could've all been looking at art in the downtown railroad "gulch" instead. Well, maybe not. Still, the Atlanta Beltline might not ever have become the big-and-getting-bigger success story it is now had then-Georgia Tech grad student Ryan Gravel chosen to focus on the gulch for his thesis project in the late 1990's instead.
Go here to read more about other close calls for the Beltline and Gravel's new book, "Where We Want to Live."
About the Author
