Before joining ArtsATL as deputy editor in 2012, Scott Freeman, who was named executive editor five years ago, spent 30 years crisscrossing the country as a magazine and newspaper writer. A native Atlantan, he has lived in suburbia, concrete jungles and says he may never recover from the culture shock of living in Las Vegas.
He has been a top editor at Atlanta magazine and Creative Loafing and has authored four books, including biographies of Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers Band. The latter has been optioned for film with Nick Cassavetes slated to write and direct. Inspired by John Steinbeck’s 1936 novel of social unrest among migrant workers, “In Dubious Battle,” Freeman lived undercover in a South Georgia migrant labor camp and wrote a Pulitzer Prize-nominated series of stories chronicling conditions he describes as “disgusting and heartbreaking.”
A singer and guitarist, Freeman has played in an R&B band with the drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, aka Jaimoe, an Allman Brothers Band founding member, and he counted the late Colonel Bruce Hampton as a friend and mentor.
Credit: William Berry
Credit: William Berry
ArtsATL: You’ve been with ArtsATL for 10 years — longer than any other tenure in your 42-year journalism career. What made you stay?
Scott Freeman: I felt like I’d found a home at ArtsATL. I’d gotten a little burnt out doing hard news because it never seemed to change anything. I’ve always been into music ... and there was just something about being immersed in the world of arts that really appealed to me and really felt like that’s where I needed to be.
ArtsATL: You consider empathy a critical component for a writer. Has your experience as a musician enhanced your inclination to be empathetic when covering artists?
Freeman: Oh, in every way!
Colonel Bruce Hampton told me one time that he was sitting with a group of musicians one night and they were talking about me. The consensus was they all liked it when I wrote about them because I was one of the few journalists who knew what it was like to get up on a stage in front of a crowd of strangers and be naked and vulnerable.
I played in the Tombstone Blues Band in Rhode Island, which was led by Ken Lyon, who is in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. I led a blues band in Atlanta in the ‘90s called Smokestack Lightning. … When I was playing in my brother’s band, we opened for Martina McBride for a crowd of 9,000 people. I know what it’s like to get up in front of thousands of strangers and share things that are a part of your soul.
I have profound respect for artists who take that leap. … That really informs my whole approach to arts journalism.
Credit: Charlie McCullers
Credit: Charlie McCullers
ArtsATL: Is there a story you covered for ArtsATL that stands out as especially profound?
Freeman: Yes. I was live-tweeting a dress rehearsal at the Atlanta Ballet when the dancers walked off stage and invited audience members up to dance. … The last dancer, Nadia Mara, stopped in front of me and extended her hand. My first thought was, Kid, don’t embarrass yourself.
At a certain point, I saw Nadia take a step back and the next thing I knew she was sitting in the crook of my arm. What kid doesn’t dream about catching a flying ballerina? And I had done it! … That was a magical moment that has had a lasting impact on my life in terms of learning to let go and being in the moment and not being afraid.
Credit: Felipe Barral
Credit: Felipe Barral
ArtsATL: Can you imagine Atlanta’s arts landscape without ArtsATL?
Freeman: I can, but I don’t want to. I see ArtsATL as the conduit between artists and their audience, helping audiences understand the intent of the artist. We introduce audiences to artists they don’t know and, hopefully, get them better acquainted with the artists they do know. The foundation of ArtsATL, of course, is arts criticism. We’ve heard over and over from artists how that critical feedback helps them grow and evolve.
ArtsATL: ArtsATL was on life support three years ago. Did you think it would pull through?
Freeman: We went through a period in 2019 where we essentially ran out of money. At that point, I felt like Tom Hanks in “Apollo 13″ — we had enough money to go around the moon, but not enough to get back to earth. It was a journey, but we did make it.
Then the pandemic hit. In summer 2020, we were in another bad spot and it became obvious that our board planned to shutter ArtsATL.
I never lost the faith that ArtsATL would survive. During one of the bleak moments, I said to [the site’s co-founder] Cathy Fox, ArtsATL is not closing on my watch.
ArtsATL: What happened next?
Freeman: Patti Siegel reached out to me in 2020 and said, I’ve worked in the arts all my life and I want to be executive director of ArtsATL. She reached out to our board and never heard back, but she and I continued to talk. When I found out the board intended to shutter ArtsATL, she suggested we put together a new board and take over the publication. And that’s exactly what we did.
In the process of seeking new board members, every person we talked to, from arts leaders to patrons, was horrified at the prospect of losing ArtsATL.
ArtsATL: Where did you find the cash to keep the publication afloat?
Freeman: We received critical grants from donors and foundations and organizations who believe in our mission, and the vision Patti and I shared with them.
Credit: Courtesy of Scott Freeman
Credit: Courtesy of Scott Freeman
ArtsATL: What is the state of the publication today?
Freeman: We’re the strongest place we’ve been since 2015. Like everybody else, we’re feeling the effects of the pandemic. But our readership is growing, ad sales are growing, and it feels like we are gaining altitude again.
An important development is the new partnership we have with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to share our content. They told us they want us to be the backbone of their arts coverage, and they re-publish four or five ArtsATL stories each week. … This partnership makes sense for everyone. It gives ArtsATL a steady financial base, plus exposure to a new audience. The AJC wants more arts coverage, and it enables them to accomplish that goal. It especially helps the arts community because our stories are in front of many more eyes.
ArtsATL: Two years into the pandemic, how are you doing?
Freeman: My experience the last couple of years, like everybody else’s, has been a struggle. I felt isolated from friends and from the arts community. I have felt that disconnect because I think art feeds the soul, and it’s been hard to get that food during the pandemic.
[But] I’ve felt a resolve in the arts community, including us, to survive and find new tributaries … new ways of presenting and expressing art. Artists bent, but they didn’t buckle. The same thing with ArtsATL. We’re all going to come out of this in a stronger place.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
MEET OUR PARTNER
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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