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
As Atlanta welcomes the world for eight FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, The Sun ATL presents This Is Atlanta, a group exhibition opening June 11 and running through July 25 at 399 Edgewood Ave. SE in the historic Old Fourth Ward. The show includes Raphael Bahindwa’s The Beautiful Game. His installation of paintings on round canvases, each depicting a World Cup match ball from a different tournament, transforms a global icon into a celebration of football’s history and universal language. You can also see his work at the Rialto Center for the Arts through July 16. This Is Atlanta also includes a new work by Vyvyan Hughes, photographs of iconic Atlantans, works by recent Georgia State University graduates and an entire floor devoted to artists born in, based in, or shaped by the American South. It includes paintings by Purvis Young — a visionary, self-taught “social expressionist” whose work documents the struggles and resilience of the African American experience — alongside works by “Panorama Ray” Herbert (1945–1997), the photographer and outsider artist often called the “Mayor of Cabbagetown.” You’ll also see works by Ruth Franklin, Harry Underwood and Anna Jensen and prints by Howard Finster.
Head to 7 Stages for Authenticity Theater’s production of Annie Baker’s gently comic portrait of five strangers who gather for a six‑week community‑center drama class and end up transforming one another in unexpected ways. Catch it from June 11 through June 20 and make sure to check out ArtsATL’s upcoming review.
Friday
The Oscar-nominated composer kicks off his North American tour at Symphony Hall, following his recent nomination for an Academy Award for the soundtrack to Hamnet. Richter and his ensemble will perform his 2004 release The Blue Notebooks and Richter’s most recent album, 2024’s In a Landscape.
Full Radius Dance Artistic Director Douglas Scott founded the city’s first juried festival dedicated to contemporary concert dance in 1993. The Festival, hosted annually by Full Radius Dance and running this year on June 12 and June 13 at the Emory Performing Arts Studio, has since become an anchor of Atlanta’s spring dance season.
Saturday
The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus and Yacht Rock Schooner spotlight the music of Sir Elton John at 7 p.m. on June 13 at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre. Read more about the performance on ArtsATL.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra continues its celebration of America’s 250th anniversary in its Symphony at Sunset series at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre on June 13, with a program of works by Bernstein, Copland and Duke Ellington.
The lap steel master, vocalist and songwriter will celebrate the release of his fifth Alligator Records album, Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues, with a live performance at Blind Willie’s on June 13. Rolling Stone calls Birchwood “a remarkable, contemporary bluesman … a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist.”
The Atlanta nonprofit, whose mission is to create and curate space and community for emerging artists, emerging collectors and art enthusiasts, will hold this year’s event at the Atlanta Contemporary on June 13.
Sunday
Street Art Tour of Little 5 Points
On June 14, check out a special tour led by Atlanta street art documentarian and ArtsATL contributor Art Rudick. Through his website and writing, Rudick has documented over 2,000 murals across metro Atlanta, creating an invaluable archive of the city’s public art. To celebrate this milestone, local artist Shadow Dancer has created a mural honoring Rudick on the front of the Little 5 Points Pub. See Rudick’s explorations of Atlanta’s street art on ArtsATL.
More things to do this weekend and beyond
Art of the Game is a group exhibition presented by the Contrapunto Group in Atlanta and inspired by the spirit of the FIFA World Cup. It opens with a reception from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on June 13 and continues through July 11 at Gallery Chimera … Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and musician Corinne Bailey Rae brings her 20th anniversary tour, Like a Star: Celebrating 20 Years of Corinne Bailey Rae, to the Buckhead Theatre on June 12. She’ll perform her self-titled 4x-platinum debut album in its entirety, including the beloved classics “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star” … Through Our Eyes, produced by Atlanta lens-based artist Sheila Pree Bright in collaboration with One Contemporary Gallery and sponsored by Leica Camera USA, was born from the energy and anticipation surrounding the FIFA World Cup’s arrival in Atlanta. The exhibition features Bright’s new series Where We Gather, an exploration of sports fan culture, alongside works by three women photographers selected by Bright: Nicole Craine, Julie Yarbrough and Ysa Lopez. It opens on June 11 and will be on view through July 26 … Rosebud Baker is a comedian, actor and Emmy-award winning writer who was named as one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics To Watch and Vulture’s Comedians You Should and Will Know. She’ll perform at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. June 12; 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. June 13; and 7 p.m. June 14 at The Punchline … The Atlanta Center for Photography presents the opening of Trying to Remember Something Too Important to Forget, the 2026 Corinne Adams Emerging Artist Fellowship cohort exhibition, at Day & Night Projects from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 11. It features work by Gabrielle Barnett, Ross Landenberger, Landon McKinley and ArtsATL contributor Montenez Lowery. It will be on view through July 25 … Off The Wall @ 725 Ponce will splash the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between the USA and Paraguay across the largest screen in the South at 9 p.m. on June 12. Then, on June 13, it will display the official FIFA World Cup 2026 Atlanta poster by Jose Hadathy.
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