Walk along the Atlanta BeltLine this fall and you may think you've tumbled down the rabbit hole into a parallel universe. You'll find an enormous steel rhino head perched on a pedestal, a crashed UFO, an entire bridge covered with a hand-knit sweater and a miniature clay village built into a stone wall. This whole whimsical, playful landscape — like something out of Dr. Seuss or a Tim Burton film — is, in fact, the latest incarnation of "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine," an exhibit of contemporary artwork in a public space.
Most metro Atlantans have by now heard of the BeltLine, a 22-mile stretch of former railway lines encircling the city, and currently being transformed into a circuit of trails, parks and transportation lines. But fewer are probably familiar with "Art on the Atlanta Beltline," which unfolds along nine miles of the BeltLine corridor this year and features work by 74 artists.
For the past three years the public art exhibition has presented artists in a variety of media stretching along portions of the BeltLine. It's the kind of unexpected setting that allows artists to take risks and work outside of their usual gallery or museum comfort zone. "When you deal with temporary art you can take a chance," said Fred Yalouris, the BeltLine's director of design. "It allows us to be experimental and try things out because we're not going to be living with this piece for the next 50 years. There is a certain freedom that that provides, which I find very exhilarating."
The sheer number of artists creating work for "Art on the AtlantaBeltline" makes it the city's largest public art project. The two-month long exhibition, which officially debuts Sept. 8, is a way to familiarize Atlantans with the BeltLine corridor itself. "The art project came about as a way to entice people to walk the corridor," said Yalouris.
The sense of engagement with the city that defines "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine" is evident in many of this year's projects. Artist Gregor Turk worked with teenagers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta's Youth Art Connection to create a project called "Civilizations," featuring a small village of clay buildings built into rock crevices north of Piedmont Park. Like much of the work in "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine," it was created to inspire a sense of delight and surprise.
"The goal was to create a sense of discovery and curiosity for the public when they came across the installation," said Turk.
"This is very rewarding to have others respond to your work in a location where audiences might not expect to see artwork," said Turk. A kind of impromptu city life often springs up around the artworks, from organized dog walking groups to yoga to picnics in the shadow of the sculptures and installations.
There were 181 visual arts submissions this year, said Yalouris, proof of the growing significance of the exhibition, which in the past has featured work by graffiti artists, sculptors, painters, performers and dancers. Both emerging artists and more established ones create work for the exhibiton. Artists like Turk have worked for decades in Atlanta while the newly formed artist collective Knitterati launched their first project at "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine" last year — an installation of knit leg warmers on 42 tree trunks. This year the BeltLine bridge over Fulton Terrace in Reynoldstown will be encased in a knit coozie.
Other artworks include Cash Barnes' quirky sculpture of a crashed UFO, "Take Me To Your Leader," and sculptor David Landis's 9-foot high stainless steel rhinoceros sculpture, "Northern White." This year's "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine" will also feature a number of site specific productions featuring performance groups including Crossover Movement Arts, which gives three dance performances in September and October of a piece called "Your Footsteps Bring Life: Traveling the Atlanta BeltLine." The puppetry group Imaginary Menagerie will showcase their puppet "Kudzu" the dragon — a Southern twist on the Chinese year of the dragon, and local percussionist Klimchak will perform a number of concerts featuring homemade instruments.
"Every two or three hundred yards there's another visual experience," said Yalouris.
Some believe "Art on the Atlanta BeltLine" is more than a temporary art project. "I'm a big believer in a city's green space and how important it is to the fabric of the community," said Landis. "A park project of this scale can redefine Atlanta's tourism industry, and in particular the art associated with the BeltLine will make it a destination."
Art Preview
Art on the Atlanta BeltLine. Opening day festivities 7:30-10 p.m. Sept. 8, beginning with a lantern parade, performance by the Seed $ Feed Marching Abominable and a tailgate party. Intersection of Lake Avenue and Irwin Street, Atlanta. Exhibition runs through Nov. 11. For a map of art installations and a schedule of performances, visit www.beltline.org.
Crossover Movement performs 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9, 6 p.m Oct. 7 and 6 p.m. Oct. 14,
Klimchak performs 8:15 p.m. Sept. 15, 8:15 p.m. Sept. 29 and 7:15 p.m. Nov. 3.
Imaginary Menagerie performs 7 p.m. Oct. 13
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