The AJC Decatur Book Festival, metro Atlanta’s largest literary event, has invited more than 40 Atlanta arts groups to the Decatur Square and to venues around its downtown. Here is a guide to the groups participating in this super-sized (and all free) arts sampler. The overall festival begins Aug. 30, but arts DBF is Aug. 31-Sept. 1.
High Museum of Art
One of the country’s leading regional museums, the High has struck extended partnerships with the Louvre and the Museum of Modern Art in recent years to enhance a busy exhibition schedule.
The Midtown institution boasts a permanent collection of more than 13,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American art; significant holdings of European paintings and decorative art; a growing collection of African-American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High also supports and collects works by Southern artists, with a growing focus on Atlanta makers, and is the only major North American museum with a curatorial department devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art.
At Decatur Book Festival: Represented in Atlanta PlanIt Pavilion to promote the museum as well as with a tent next to the Children's Stage where it will promote its family exhibit opening Oct. 12, "Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney." The show will include more than 140 watercolor illustrations by the Caldecott Medal winner.
Coming this fall: "Go West! Art of the American Frontier From the Buffalo Bill Center of the West" and "Paris on Peachtree: The Art of the Louvre's Tuileries Garden," both opening Nov. 3.
Web: www.high.org
The Lucky Penny
A presenter, curator and creator of innovative contemporary performance events since 2011. Artistic directors Blake Beckham and Malina Rodriguez produce work that pushes boundaries, advances artistry and cultivates a strong cultural community. The Lucky Penny’s offbeat offerings include Dance Truck, the mobile movement project that delivers dance to Atlanta’s doorsteps via trucks and trailers converted into performance spaces. The group recently received a three-year Robert Rauschenberg Foundation SEED grant.
At Decatur Book Festival: Performing "Hidden Away: The Library at Night" at Decatur Library from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7. Created by choreographer Nicole Livieratos and writer Phillip DePoy, it's a genre-defying work melding dance, theater, literature and sound. "Hidden Away" is described as an experience in which "characters from books rush past, movement and music are all around you, everything is transformed." Book Festival patrons are encouraged to arrive early and gather at the library's Sycamore Street entrance before the 7 and 8:30 p.m. shows Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
Coming this fall: Free "Hidden Away" performances continue at the Decatur Library at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Sept. 5; and 7, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Sept. 6-7. Free.
Web: www.theluckypennyatl.blogspot.com
No Strings Attached
Emory University’s first a cappella group, launched in 1994, performs two major campus concerts each year as well as at community events and has toured internationally, most recently to Rome in 2012. It plans to release its eighth album next spring on iTunes.
At Decatur Book Festival: noon-12:30 p.m. Sept. 1, Community Bandstand
Coming this fall: Singing Dec. 8 on the Emory campus (White Hall, Room 208).
Web: www.facebook.com/nsamusic
Serenbe Playhouse
Based in the southern Fulton County town of Chattahoochee Hills, Serenbe Playhouse is a professional theater company committed to site-specific performances and programs that connect art, nature and community. “With 1,100 acres at our disposal, no space has been used the same way twice,” company founder and executive artistic director Brian Clowdus told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the launch of its fourth season this summer. “The possibilities are actually limitless.”
Serenbe Playhouse produces plays with a commitment to social responsibility and environmental stewardship. All productions are performed outdoors; repurpose existing structures; and use natural light and 90 percent LED theatrical lighting. Sets are designed for disassembly and constructed with reclaimed and recycled materials with the goal of minimizing a production's waste and impact on the environment.
At Decatur Book Festival: 3-3:45 p.m. Aug. 31, Decatur Recreation Center Dance Studio; 7 p.m. Aug. 31, DBF After Dark on the festival plaza; 1:15-2 p.m. Sept. 1, Decatur High School Performing Arts Center
Coming this fall: Its first-ever fall production, "The Sleepy Hollow Experience," Oct. 10-31. It's described as a cross between a haunted house and a play with roving storytellers guiding audience members through the Serenbe Stables, complete with horse-riding stunts.
7 Stages
The longtime Little 5 Points troupe enters its 35th season guided by a new creative team, artistic director Heidi S. Howard and associate artistic director Michael Haverty. The mission remains much the same, however: to produce and present “adventurous new plays and performances in a wide range of artistic mediums, engaging diverse audiences by focusing on the social, political and spiritual values of contemporary culture.”
7 Stages’ theaters also host performances by many Atlanta-area artists as well as touring works from the national and international stage.
At Decatur Book Festival: 7 p.m. Aug. 31, DBF After Dark on the festival plaza; 3:45-4:30 p.m. Sept. 1, Decatur High School Performing Arts Center
Coming this fall: The season opens with a roving, fantastical, large-scale production presented at the Goat Farm Art Center of "The Navigator," adapted by Haverty from the young adult novel by Irish writer Eoin McNamee, Sept. 26-Oct. 13.
Web: www.7stages.org
Soul Food Cypher
Soul Food Cypher (SFC) seeks to reverse the rap about rappers. Believing in the power of speech to transform the lives of individuals and their communities, the organization presents cypher events in which emcees are challenged and rewarded for their quick-wittedness in lyrics, depth in content and personality in presentation. SFC seeks to solidify the art of freestyling as a genuine aesthetic to the wider artistic community and carry this rich tradition to the next generation.
At Decatur Book Festival: Demonstrating the art of freestyle rap in its booth in the plaza exhibition area.
Coming this fall: Presents cypher events the second and fourth Sunday of every month, 6-9 p.m., at WonderRoot arts center in Reynoldstown.
Staibdance
Founded in 2007, this contemporary group is devoted to creating dances that honor music, theatricality and craftsmanship. In 2012, the company premiered “Name Day,” a rumination on the rituals of birth and death in the Armenian tradition. Staibdance just wrapped up its fourth annual Summer Intensive in Sorrento, Italy, and is preparing an evening-length piece to premiere at Fabrefaction Theatre in March.
Web: www.staibdance.com
Straw Hat Press
Straw Hat Press works with artists to help them create new work though the aesthetic lens of printmaking. The Westside operation is run by master printers Laura Cleary, Shaun McCallum and Ashley Schick, each a graduate of SCAD-Atlanta’s MFA printmaking program.
At Decatur Book Festival: Demonstrating on a press in its booth in the plaza exhibition area.
Synchronicity Theatre
Founded in 1997 by four women artists, Synchronicity approaches theater as an agent of social change in the community. Entering its 16th season and led by producing artistic director Rachel May, it reaches more than 10,000 patrons each year, including shows for adults (Bold Voices Series) and families (Family Series); community outreach; and education efforts. Its oft-lauded Playmaking for Girls program works with at-risk teen girls to help them find their powerful and unique voices.
At Decatur Book Festival: 5:30-6:15 p.m. Aug. 31, Decatur Recreation Center Dance Studio
Coming this fall: The season-opening world premiere "Milvotchkee, Visconsin," Sept. 27-Oct 20 at 14th Street Playhouse, is described as "a hilarious trek through Wisconsin's Concrete Park and the vagaries of getting older."
Théâtre du Rêve
Founded in 1996, Théâtre du Rêve (Theatre of the Dream) is a professional company whose mission is to bring the language and cultures of the French-speaking world to life on the American stage. The company strives to create a true dialogue between American and French-speaking artists and to bring live theater, French language and Francophone culture to students of all ages.
At Decatur Book Festival: 1:45-2:30 p.m. Aug. 31, Decatur Recreation Center Dance Studio; 4-4:30 p.m. Aug. 31, Community Bandstand; 3:45-4:15 p.m. Sept. 1, Community Bandstand; 5-5:45 p.m. Sept. 1 at Decatur High School Performing Arts Center
Coming this fall: Bringing "No Fear French" productions of "Le Petit Prince" and "Fables Fantastiques" to schools throughout Georgia and beyond.
Theatrical Outfit
Founded in 1976, and led by executive artistic director Tom Key since 1995, Theatrical Outfit specializes in “stories that stir the soul.” Its plays often are drawn from classic and contemporary literature.
Its downtown home, the Balzer Theater at Herren’s, was the first theater to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility is the former home of Herren’s, the first Atlanta restaurant to voluntarily desegregate in 1962. Herren’s first African-American patrons, Dr. Lee and Delores Shelton, are now Theatrical Outfit season subscribers.
At Decatur Book Festival: 2:30-3:15 p.m. Sept. 1, Decatur High School Performing Arts Center
Coming this fall: Opening on Sept. 11, the 9/11-themed drama "The Guys," starring Jasmine Guy and Brian Kurlander (through Oct. 6).
Wabi Sabi
Created by Atlanta Ballet veteran company dancer John Welker in 2011, this contemporary dance offshoot seeks to push the boundaries of ballet through the creation of new works by the next generation of choreographic talent. Wabi Sabi allows Atlanta Ballet to embark on the presentation of new work that enhances the scope of the existing repertory while offering new artistic challenges for its company members.
At Decatur Book Festival: Appearing at DBF After Dark on the festival plaza, 7 p.m. Aug. 31
Coming this fall: Performing during Healthy Living Day, Sept. 8, at the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education.
Web: www.atlantaballet.com/wabi-sabi
WonderRoot
Founded in 2004, WonderRoot is an Atlanta-based nonprofit with a mission to unite artists and community to inspire positive social change.
Through the operation of the WonderRoot Community Arts Center in Reynoldstown and more than 400 programs, events and educational initiatives each year, the grass-roots organization positions artists to have successful professional careers in Atlanta while working to address health, environmental, social and youth development issues through community-based art programs.
At Decatur Book Festival: Presenting a sculpture by Bethany Collins and Justin Rabideau, "Too White to Be Black," which seeks to stimulate a dialogue about identity and race inspired by the personal stories of residents of Pike County, Ohio, who self-identity as different races within the same family.
Coming this fall: Working with the Los Angeles-based art collective Fallen Fruit and their fall exhibition planned at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, WonderRoot will help create an atlas in October for pedestrians to create enhanced walking experiences in an Atlanta neighborhood.
Web: www.wonderroot.org
About the Author
