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

Deep Fried Folk: A Celebration of Southern Folk Art

Deep Fried Folk brings together some of the South’s most celebrated self-taught artists, including works by Howard Finster, R.A. Miller, Purvis Young, Mose Tolliver, Butch Anthony and Jimmy Lee Sudduth. The work will be on view from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25 and April 26 and noon to 4 p.m. April 27 at 1193 Howell Mill Road N.W. in the former Free Market gallery space. The opening reception is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 24; organizers are asking attendees to RSVP.

Atlanta Film Festival

This year’s Festival includes more than 150 films, both shorts and feature-length, including narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, episodic and music videos. “Every film plays only once,” says Festival Director Chris Escobar. “You’re there or you miss it.” Take a look at ArtsATL’s Steve Murray’s notes on some of the films being screened at the festival. The Festival also marks the premiere of the documentary The Games in Black & White, about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, screening on April 26 at the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University. Most screenings will be at the Plaza and Tara theatres.

Friday

Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas

Hear one of the finest voices of her generation when Krauss and friends take the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park (Most of us here in Atlanta will always call it Chastain Park Amphitheatre). Whether you know her from her brilliant duo work with Robert Plant (and others) or her solo recordings, you know you’re in for a treat.

whitespace openings

Teresa Bramlette Reeves’ Notes (Foot and Otherwise) opens at whitespace with a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 25. The gallery’s Instagram page states that “The notes in this collection may sometimes appear to suggest communication but often are abstract in form and meaning.” Also opening in the adjacent spaces are light leaves this prism by Eve Brown, Mark Leibert’s Wednesday, hotel and Kit Rutter’s What are These Shapes, These Murky Waters That Are You & Me?

Saturday

Inman Park Festival

In addition to the usual festival fare, this yearly spring gathering puts a spotlight on dance. This year, the lineup includes Ballethnic, Full Radius Dance, The Georgia Ballet, Monica Hogan Danceworks and Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. And you don’t want to miss the parade, which brings a bit of springtime joy to Atlanta each year.

Braiding Time, Memory and Water

Art and nature come together in Core Dance’s site-specific, environmental work, which will take place at Collier Hills’ Tanyard Creek Park, a 14.5-acre forested park that stretches from Collier Road south to Ardmore Park, at 2 and 4 p.m. on April 26 and April 27.

Atlanta Opera’s Siegfried

The Atlanta Opera is bringing some world-class talent to Atlanta for Wagner’s Siegfried. Stefan Vinke is widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent heldentenor, and he’ll mark his 130th performance in the title role at this weekend’s opening night at 6:30 p.m. April 26 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. There will also be performances on April 29, May 2 and May 4.

South of Center Arts Experience 

This inaugural event invites audiences to step beyond gallery walls — and beyond the city’s cultural core — for a glimpse inside South Atlanta’s most vital creative spaces. From the forested trails of Chattahoochee Hills to the streets of East Point and Hapeville, the new self-guided tour welcomes the public into dozens of working studios, galleries and cultural spaces across the region. Check out the studios from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 26 and participate in workshops and enjoy other related events 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 27, all in partnership with South Fulton Arts.

Placemaking: Through the Lens of Women, Water & History

This year’s Art of Nature outdoor exhibit is curated by Nancy Jones, the founder of Blue Heron Nature Preserve. It offers a look into the heart and history of the preserve from the woman who started it all. The opening day celebration begins at 2 p.m. on April 26, but you can see the exhibit through June 14.

More things to do this weekend and beyond

The inaugural Kiss My Grits Burlesque & Vaudeville Festival is an international fringe and variety arts festival that offers performances, classes and more from art forms such as contemporary and modern dance, burlesque, drag, musical theater, aerial and flow arts. It’s happening April 24 through April 27 at 7 Stages … Hey kids, remember the ’80s? If so, you’ll probably remember Alison Moyet, half of the duo known as Yaz here in the United States and Yazoo elsewhere. She’s had a long solo career, too. Her current world tour marks 40 years as a solo artist, and her website notes that the set will be a career-spanning retrospective that, by necessity, may not cover all the hits. She’s at Center Stage at 8 p.m. April 26 … Oakland Cemetery has been transformed through lighting and art installations by local artists, interactive experiences and live music at Illumine 2025, which continues through this weekend. Atlanta gallery and studio Cat Eye Creative curated the experience of Oakland after dark, set against the backdrop of Atlanta’s skyline. Remaining dates are 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. April 24 through April 27 … Flowers are just the beginning at the Smyrna Jonquil Festival, which will host more than 150 arts and crafts vendors from across the Southeast April 26 and April 27 on the city’s Village Green 
… Amplify Decatur takes over several Decatur venues this weekend, offering both free and ticketed shows in a benefit for Decatur Cooperative Ministry and the Decatur Education Foundation. The main event, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on April 26 on the Decatur Square, spotlights headliners The Last Waltz Ensemble, who will perform the greatest hits of Bob Dylan and The Band … ATL x LA is an exhibition that brings together a group of Los Angeles-based artists and benefits Grief and Hope, a fund supporting artists and art workers impacted by the Los Angeles fires. This intersection of two creative communities –Atlanta and L.A. — is hosted by James Kumpe at 24 Atlanta and is presented by the Los Angeles gallery Moskowitz Bayse. The show continues 11 a.m. April 26 and 1-5 p.m. April 27 at 24 Atlanta St., Marietta. Call 770-508-6800 for more info on the show.