9 essential Atlanta arts events this weekend
Each week, ArtsATL curates a selection of the most exciting arts and culture events happening in Atlanta this weekend, highlighting nine must-see experiences.
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Thursday
The National Flute Association Convention
The Hyatt Regency Atlanta will transform into a global flute hub as the National Flute Association’s 53rd Annual Convention comes to Atlanta. The four-day event, taking place from August 7 through August 10, is a celebration of all things flute and will bring together thousands of flutists for performances, recitals, masterclasses and more. While the majority of attendees will be flutists themselves, those who enjoy hearing the flute are invited to join the celebration; single-event tickets for virtually any convention event will be available for walk-up purchase during the convention. This is a rare opportunity to see the world’s leading performers, teachers, scholars and flute makers under the same roof.
The Love I Have To Give Before I Die
The Swan Coach House Gallery presents this deeply personal showcase of mixed-media sculpture and installation by Atlanta-based artist Vivian Chavez. This marks her first solo exhibition — and commemorates the life and legacy of her father, Carlos Jorge Chavez. It opens with reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, August 7.
Friday
It’s time for Atlanta’s only retro horror and sci-fi convention. The event features screenings, panels and discussions on cinema, art, comics, literature and other media. The three-day convention’s guest list includes Beverly Washburn, whose film career began in 1950. She’s probably best known for her role in the 1957 film Old Yeller, but she also starred in an episode of the original Star Trek series and, more importantly for this year’s Monsterama, she was part of the cast of the 1967 Jack Hill movie Spider Baby, a creepy and disturbing horror-comedy that’s become a cult favorite. Hill, now 92, will be there for a celebration of his filmography, which also includes the beloved Pam Grier movies Coffy and Foxy Brown. The con will also put the spotlight on Rod Serling, marking 100 years since his birth. They’re calling it Serlingbration, and there will be appearances by actors who worked with Serling on his classic TV anthologies The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, including Diane Baker, Mariette Hartley and Mary Badham. Serling’s daughter, Anne Serling, will also be there to talk about her father and her memoir, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling. Monsterama is at the Atlanta Marriott Northeast near Emory August 8 through August 10.
Onstage Atlanta presents the original stage musical that spawned the audience-participation cult classic film from 1975. Join Dr. Frank-N-Furter as he welcomes Brad and Janet to come up to the lab from August 8 through August 24.
Leap Year Exhibitions: A Series of Solo Shows
In August 2024, the arts organization Mint unexpectedly closed its doors, leaving the 2025 Leap Year Fellowship artists in limbo. Now the Goat Farm is hosting Leap Year Exhibitions: A Series of Solo Shows, a culmination of the 2025 Leap Year Fellows’ creative journeys, presented through a powerful collection of solo exhibitions. They’ll open with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on August 8 and be on view through August 29.
Saturday
Extinct and Endangered: Insects in Peril
If Monsterama didn’t give you enough of the creepy and crawly, Fernbank Museum brings us this new insect-centric exhibit. While some might find them icky, there’s undeniable beauty in the insect world, and the macrophotographs of Levon Biss bring attention to the urgent extinction crisis threatening insect populations. The photos are 6 feet wide by 4 feet tall, offering often unseen detail. Extinct and Endangered opens Saturday, August 9, at Fernbank Museum and will be on view through November 2.
Black Martial Arts Cinema Double Feature
The Black Martial Arts Cinema Double Feature returns to the Plaza Theatre with Year of the Rat, directed by Cyrus Alexander and starring underground rapper Noveliss. Following Year of the Rat is a special screening of Black Dynamite, starring Michael Jai White, who will be in attendance for a Q&A and meet-and-greet session with fans. The screenings begin at 6 p.m. on August 9.
This new work for flute quartet and electronics is about slow change and how time reshapes what we think is solid. The title refers to the process of distributing sand along a shoreline, which reshapes a coast over time. Composer and University of South Carolina faculty member David Kirkland Garner wrote Longshore Drift for the Eudaimonia flute quartet, which will perform the piece with the composer at the Supermarket at 638 North Highland Ave. NE at 3 p.m. Saturday, August 9. The performance celebrates the release of a recording of the piece, captured at the University of Mississippi in March and available on August 9 from Sourwood Records.
Sunday
2025 Edge Award winner Fard’s new exhibition consists of polygonal, two- and three-dimensional installations that explore phenomenology, intentionality, spirituality and consciousness. It opens at eyedrum with a reception from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on August 10 and will be on view through August 27.
Additional events from WABE’s The City Lights Collective and more things to do this weekend
On The City Lights Collective on WABE, ArtsAtl’s Shane Harrison offers a list of best bets, airing in the 1 p.m. hour every Wednesday. This week, in addition to some of the events listed above, he discusses Renegade Theatre Company’s staging of the 2008 musical Next to Normal, which explores how one household copes with crisis and mental illness. The show won three Tony Awards in 2009 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010. The production has four more shows August 7 through August 10 at Virginia Highland Church on Virginia Avenue … Explore local galleries, studios and pop-ups at the monthly Castleberry Hill Art Stroll. Enjoy art, music and food in a lively, self-guided stroll from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on August 8.
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