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The Atlanta Center for Photography takes flight

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The Atlanta Center for Photography takes flight


Compositional Thoughts: Tracing Beinecke by Davion Alston, exhibiting through April 27 at the ACP Project Lab

Courtesy of Davion Alston and the Atlanta Center for Photography

What do outré Pink Flamingos director John Waters and poetic R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe have in common?

Both have a side hustle as photographers. And both have visited Atlanta to talk about their artistic vision and share this under-the-radar side of their creative output. For 26 years, creatives like Waters and Stipe (along with such photo luminaries as Annie Leibovitz, Gregory Crewdson, and Larry Sultan) have come to Atlanta at the behest of one of the city’s formative arts organizations: Atlanta Celebrates Photography.

Founded in 1998, the organization’s goal is to promote Atlanta’s importance as a photo-centric town. “It has become an integral part of a pretty strong photography community,” says Joe Massey, an arts patron and early supporter of Atlanta Celebrates Photography through his family’s H.B. and Doris Massey Charitable Trust.

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Atlanta Celebrates Photography is best known for its annual monthlong photography festival in October. “The festival allowed people from all walks of life, no matter what they do, who have a love for photography to discover Jackson Fine Art, the High Museum of Art, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, all these places that they may not normally go,” says Amy Miller, who helmed the organization for 14 years. “That was one of the most important aspects of the festival.”

But, like so many arts organizations dealing with a changing funding landscape (as in, less money to go around from grant sources), Atlanta Celebrates Photography has recently reinvented itself, moving away from its focus on the signature festival. (The festival will remain, but with a shorter run.)

Rebranding as the Atlanta Center for Photography, the reimagined organization will feature a more year-round approach. That mission is anchored in its first brick-and-mortar gallery space, on buzzy Edgewood Avenue across the street from Staplehouse. Large windows on a busy street make the tiny, 300-square-foot ACP Project Lab the perfect venue for a driving city, a beacon for rotating exhibitions of photo-based work, including that of recent Yale MFA grad Davion Alston, whose solo show exhibits through April 27.

And there’s more to come, says the organization’s new executive director, Lindsey O’Connor. She has held positions at the High Museum of Art and New York City’s Whitney and Guggenheim Museums. O’Connor says audiences should look for further expansion by the ACP in 2024; the organization supports an emerging artist fellowship and recently earned W.A.G.E. certification to ensure fair wages for their artists. She hopes to soon offer artists’ studios, community education classrooms, and perhaps even a photo printing lab for community members.

The shift in focus comes after some organizational flux following Miller’s 2021 departure. She is now the director of institutional advancement for another beleaguered Atlanta arts institution, Art Papers, which has announced plans to sunset in 2026. “Post-pandemic realities for arts organizations, particularly in the Southeast, are dire,” says Miller.

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Massey agrees. “Growing any arts organization, any nonprofit arts organization outside of the Woodruff Arts Center, it’s hard,” he says.

O’Connor understands the financial challenges that small and midsized arts organizations face. “But it’s not like there’s not money here,” she says. “I try not to dwell on the scarcity and to really focus on the potential for abundance.”

This article appears in our March 2024 issue.

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Atlanta, GA

2 arrested in deadly drive-by shooting of 7-year-old Atlanta girl, police say

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2 arrested in deadly drive-by shooting of 7-year-old Atlanta girl, police say


Two suspects in a shooting that left a 7-year-old Atlanta girl dead and her mother injured are now in custody nearly a week after the violence, police say.

The shooting happened around 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 24 at a home on the 2200 block of Tiger Flowers Drive NW.

Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute between one of the victim’s family members and the gunman over the phone. Thirty minutes after the argument, the suspect came back and fired shots into the home, police said.

Officers responding to the scene found a 44-year-old woman and her daughter, identified as 7-year-old Zoe Price, shot. Medics rushed the pair to a local hospital, but Price died from her injuries.

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Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the department’s homicide unit secured an arrest warrant for 19-year-old Preston Smith two days after the shooting. Smith turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail on March 2.

Schierbaum said officers executed a search warrant on Feb. 27 at a home on McDaniel Street. On that day, 17-year-old Steven Richardson, who police described as an “accomplice,” turned himself in to authorities.

Both men are charged with murder, criminal attempt to commit murder, three counts of aggravated assault, second-degree criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and four counts of third-degree cruelty to children. Richardson is also charged with possession of a Firearm by a Person Under 18.

At a press conference to announce the arrests, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens described Price as a bright and compassionate little girl who was “full of energy and full of joy.”

“Her life was cut short in an act of senseless violence, and that loss is not abstract. It is a chair that is going to be missing at the dinner table each night. It is an empty classroom seat next to her friends,” Dickens said.

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The mayor called the arrests “a step forward towards justice” for Price’s family and families across the city.

Dickens said that violence, like the act that took Price’s life, would not be tolerated in Atlanta.



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Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Braves News: Top 30 Prospects, Starting Pitching Depth, More

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Atlanta Braves News: Top 30 Prospects, Starting Pitching Depth, More


On Monday, the Braves were able to earn another Spring Training victory over the Detroit Tigers. It was a game where the starting pitching depth of the Braves was on full display, as Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, and Owen Murphy all threw multiple innings. While it is likely unwise to expect big things from any of these three arms this season, they are a part of the “next man up” group for the Braves if injury again impacts the rotation. Each had a solid effort today, a trend that will hopefully continue.



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Luke Kornet calls on Atlanta Hawks to cancel ‘Magic City Monday’ promo

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Luke Kornet calls on Atlanta Hawks to cancel ‘Magic City Monday’ promo


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An NBA player from an opposing team has called on the Atlanta Hawks to cancel their upcoming game promotion that revolves around celebrating a well-known local gentleman’s club.

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet asked the Hawks to reconsider their “Magic City Monday” plans for a March 16 game against the Orlando Magic in a letter posted to Medium on Monday, March 2. Atlanta’s ownership group and front office recently touted the one-night collaboration as an ode to an “iconic cultural institution,” citing Magic City’s role and impact in Atlanta’s Black communities and hip-hop culture in the announcement.

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But Kornet wrote that “the Hawks failed to acknowledge that this place is, as the business itself boasts, ‘Atlanta’s premier strip club.’ “

“The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world,” Kornet continued. “We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.

“Allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.”

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Magic City Kitchen is also slated to serve two versions of its “world famous” lemon pepper wings – Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ – at the March 16 game. The flavor is named after three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year-winner, Lou Williams. Rapper T.I. is scheduled to perform at halftime and limited edition Magic City merchandise will be available to purchase at the game.

Magic City celebrated 40 years with a five-part STARZ docuseries, ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy,’ that was produced by Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz and Atlanta native Jermaine Dupri. Magic City founder Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney and T.I. are scheduled to record a live podcast from inside Atlanta’s State Farm Arena before the game.

Kornet, 30, hopes the Hawks and NBA officials listen to him instead.

“I’d like to encourage the league, its owners, employees and fans to hold the Atlanta Hawks to a higher standard of what they find worthy of promoting,” Kornet wrote. “I and others throughout the league were surprised by and object to the Hawks’ decision. We desire to provide an environment where fans of all ages can safely come and enjoy the game of basketball and where we can celebrate the history and culture of communities in good conscience. The celebration of a strip club is not conduct aligned with that vision.”

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Luke Kornet stats

Kornet is averaging a career-best 7.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in his first season with the Spurs. This is the sixth team he’s played for in his nine NBA seasons, with his previous four years spent on the Boston Celtics.



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