Leia’s Lens: Atlanta Art Fair overshadowed Atlanta Art Week. It didn’t have to be that way

This autumn, Atlanta debuted its own international art fair, the first of its kind in the city’s history, marking a new chapter in the art community’s development. Bringing together 60 galleries for four days, the Atlanta Art Fair (AAF) garnered a surplus of attention with dedicated editorials appearing in Vanity Fair, ArtNews, Artsy, and The Art Newspaper. 

Much of this coverage emphasized a point of arrival within the city, describing the long-prospering art community that has now provided a point of focus for mainstream media and collectors. In this way, the fair felt like a triumph, a step toward giving this city its due.

Amid the glamour and fanfare of the fair, one organization was conspicuously absent: Atlanta Art Week (AAW). Despite AAW and AAF coinciding on the calendar and featuring some of the same galleries, there was no collaboration between the two.

In a recent Art Newspaper article, AAW commented that they abstained from collaborating with the fair for fear of being overshadowed, much to the disappointment of fair director Kelly Freeman who had offered to let AAW use the fair as its base of operations for the week. In an ironic twist, AAW’s fear created a self-fulling prophecy in which they were, in fact, overwhelmed in media coverage by the fair.

With a stated mission of fostering community engagement, why then would AAW choose not to engage with its community?

Further reasoning beyond being overshadowed may never come to light, but what is apparent is a significant decrease in participating organizations in this year’s edition. Last year, prominent local galleries such as Wolfgang Gallery and Johnson Lowe Gallery  were featured participants. This year, they did not work with AAW at all.

Most significantly, last year the High Museum of Art served as an informal hub for the weeklong event, with numerous panel discussions and guided tours transpiring on its campus throughout the week. This year, the High chose not to collaborate with AAW at all. Neither Wolfgang Gallery nor the High Museum cared to comment when asked why they opted out of AAW this year.

All this has created a palpable ostracization of AAW. The event has become a sort of ugly stepchild, so much so that even visiting writers lamented their interactions with the event. So what does AAW do now?

Similar efforts elsewhere show that this standoff need not exist. Expo Chicago has partnered amicably with Chicago Exhibition Weekend and cultural consultancy Gertie to create a four-day, citywide art and cultural programming spree, a collective effort that ensures everyone succeeds.

While AAW has surely permanently burned some bridges, the outstanding participation during the first two years proves the city believes in the idea behind the event. In order to rebuild its reputation, AAW needs to swallow its pride and realize anything that’s good for the community is also good for them, even if their name isn’t in the headline.

Reactions? Email Leia at leiaslens@artsatl.org.

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Leia Genis is a trans artist and writer currently based in Atlanta. Her writing has been published in Hyperallergic, Frieze, Burnaway, Art Papers and Number: Inc. magazine. Genis is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design and is also an avid cyclist with a competition history at the national level.

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