An exhibition for sculptor Olu Amoda, winner of the 2022 Hudgens Prize, will open Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning in Duluth.
The exhibit is titled “Scavenging and Scanning: Sculptural Exploration of the Earth’s Belly.”
Amoda was born in Nigeria and is known for his use of discarded products such as rusty nails, bolts, pipes and metal plates to create sculptural figures that highlight social, political and cultural issues. In 2009, he received a master’s degree in fine arts from Georgia Southern University and now lives in Alpharetta.
“I am interested in the former lives of the objects I use and in the new meanings they take on when they are brought together,” Amoda said in a press release.
Open only to Georgia residents, the Hudgens Prize carries a $50,000 cash award, one of the nation’s largest art awards, and an invitation to a solo exhibit. Amoda’s exhibition at Hudgens Center runs through Oct. 28.
New head of Atlanta Celebrates Photography
Lindsey O’Connor has been named the new executive director of Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP).
Prior to joining ACP, O’Connor was the biennial coordinator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. She has also worked at the Guggenheim Museum and the American Federation of Arts and most recently was senior manager of exhibitions at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.
Credit: Diwang Valdez
Credit: Diwang Valdez
“I moved back to Atlanta to create critical platforms that amplify the voices of artists living in the Southeast, and I look forward to realizing that commitment within the context of ACP’s already robust program,” O’Connor said in a press release.
O’Connor will spearhead Atlanta Celebrates Photography’s initiative to present year-round programming and exhibitions, lead fundraising and oversee the organization’s 25th annual festival that kicks off in late September.
“Lindsey’s extensive exhibition planning and project management background makes her uniquely qualified to lead Atlanta Celebrates Photography into the next phase of our organizational development,” Mary Stanley, ACP board president, said in a press release. “Her stellar track record working with artists across the globe to produce exhibitions, events and catalogues ensures ACP’s leadership as a connecting agent for lens-based artists in Atlanta, the Southeast and beyond.”
After moving to Atlanta in 2022, O’Connor also joined the board of directors for Full Radius Dance.
Elite architectural award
Merrill Elam, a principal of Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in Atlanta, is one of three architects named in 2023 as new members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The others are Maurice Cox, planning director with the city of Detroit, and Michael Maltzan of Maltzan Architecture in Los Angeles.
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects is designing MOCA GA’s new permanent facility at the Goat Farm arts complex.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 as an honor society of the country’s leading architects, artists, composers and writers. Other members elected this year include Maria Schneider in music, Yvonne Rainer in art and Anna Deavere Smith in literature. The academy’s mission is to foster an interest in literature, music and the fine arts. Membership is capped at 300. Members are elected for life and pay no dues.
MOCA GA’s new fellows
MOCA GA has announced the 2023-24 winners of its Working Artist Project Fellowship program: Namwon Choi, Jane E. Foley and José Ibarra Rizo. The fellowship includes a stipend, studio assistants, a publication and an exhibition at the museum.
Credit: José Ibarra Rizo
Credit: José Ibarra Rizo
Choi is a painter with a cinematic perspective of the world. Her landscapes are based on locations from Georgia to Seoul, Korea. Foley creates sculptures from neon and concrete, seeing the mutability of both in their base liquid forms as metaphors for gender fluidity. Rizo, a photographer, collaborates with his subjects to create a visual archive of the Latino community in the South.
The guest curator for this year’s fellowship is Vivian Li, curator of contemporary art at the Dallas Museum of Art. “The Working Artist Program is a remarkable artist-centered residency to celebrate and cultivate the dynamic Atlanta artist community,” Li said in a press release. “I was struck by many of the submitted proposals’ sophistication and commitment to working through the nuances of complex ideas, often contextualized by the importance of place and the South.”
Hammonds House Museum anniversary exhibit
Hammonds House Museum will close out its 35th anniversary celebrations with “Foundations and Futures,” an exhibition curated by Edward Spriggs, founding executive director of the museum; Kevin Sipp, a longtime Hammonds House curator; and emerging artist and curator Abiose Spriggs. The exhibit will highlight the history of significant artists who have exhibited at the museum and also explore current visual art movements in the African diaspora. “Foundations and Futures” will run from Oct. 20 to Dec. 17.
Credit: Michael Moss
Credit: Michael Moss
A “Gathering” weekend will take place Sept. 22-24 and include recognition of every artist who has exhibited at the museum over the past 35 years. Consultant Leatrice Ellzy Wright, who was executive director of the museum from 2017 to 2021, will curate this year’s Gathering, which is a staple of the Hammonds House Museum’s anniversary celebrations.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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ArtsATL (www.artsatl.org), is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. Founded in 2009, ArtsATL’s goal is to help build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.
If you have any questions about this partnership or others, please contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
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