News briefs: new kids’ art space; art + health lab debuts; fine art gallery relocates to Midtown; awards to local creatives; public art projects unveiled

October 2025 has been one for the books. From awards and fellowships to new public art projects, gallery moves and new art programs, there’s a lot to talk about. Let’s get to it.

::

A new children’s art studio will soon open in Scottdale just steps away from Your DeKalb Farmers Market. Small Craft Kids Club, located at 3172 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., is a cozy art-making space suited for children ages 5 to 10. With small group classes in mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and mixed-media, owner Ashley Gattis hopes to offer a welcoming place for children to experiment, express themselves and learn problem-solving skills through hands-on art experiences. Classes are available Monday through Sunday, with flexible morning and afternoon sessions. Gattis is hosting a soft opening on Saturday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for interested parents. 

::

Gallery Anderson Smith has a new home in Midtown. Founded by fashion photographer and collage artist Anderson Smith in 2022, the gallery originally occupied a storefront in Buckhead Village, later expanding to include a year-long pop-up satellite location in Peachtree Corners’ The Forum. This year, Smith opted to close the original Buckhead Village location and set out to find a new home for the contemporary fine art gallery. Gallery Anderson Smith will soon debut at its new flagship Midtown location at 1401 Peachtree St. NE, just blocks away from the High Museum of Art and Woodruff Arts Center. Occupying two floors of the building and spanning 4,200 square feet, Smith hopes the new location will continue to serve the community through art exhibitions, collector advising, special events and collaborations. “Our Midtown flagship is about art, community and connection,” said Smith. “We’re building a destination that showcases bold voices in contemporary art while giving Atlanta collectors and partners a setting worthy of world-class culture.”

::

The Woodruff Arts Center has launched a new Arts + Health Laboratory to study the impact of the arts on the brain and body. In mid-October, the Community NeuroArts Coalition was founded by a joint effort among the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Alliance Theatre and High Museum of Art and made possible thanks to a partnership with the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, which itself is a collaboration between Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab and the Aspen Institute. Woodruff’s lab  is one of four pioneer coalitions of its kind across the United States, and the project brings together universities, health care professionals and researchers with arts and cultural partners to highlight the power of art to advance community health. The project will seek to address critical problems such as illiteracy, loneliness and mental health struggles through evidence-based neuroscience. “We’ve always known the transformative power of the arts,” said Hala Moddelmog, president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. “Now we have the science to prove it.” 

::

Atlanta playwright Pearl Cleage was recently named a 2025 recipient of the Legacy Playwrights Award, honoring established American playwrights for their influence on the industry. Cleage serves as playwright-in-residence at the Alliance Theatre and has written 15 plays, including 2023’s Something Moving: A Meditation on Maynard, about Atlanta’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson. 

::

In October, Atlanta’s own Sue Schroeder secured the coveted First Prize for Performance Art at the XV Florence Biennale 2025 for home, a Core Dance collaboration between Schroeder and filmmaker Adam Larsen. The concept for the film, which was recorded in France and Poland and featured an international community of dancers, explores the idea of “home” through both the body and nature, positioning dancers against the slow erosion of a physical home. Offering a visceral and multidimensional experience to viewers, the film premiered in France inside and around the grounds of l’abbaye de Beaulieu on October 15. The screening was presented alongside the site’s impressive architecture and brought to life through a live performance, which netted the creative team well-deserved global recognition during the highly respected international art exhibition. 

::

Fly on a Wall, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing Metro Atlanta artists with opportunities for growth and innovation since 2014, has announced the inaugural 2025-26 Fellows. Selected from a diverse array of performance artists in Atlanta, artists Héctor Álvarez, Anna Bracewell and PhaeMonae have been awarded free studio hours at Fly on a Wall’s space, mentorship, support and the opportunity to produce new works. Alvarez is an interdisciplinary artist whose post-dramatic inspired practice spans performance, theater, film and opera and who has gained recognition for his works and now teaches Theater Studies at Emory University. Bracewell, a dedicated member of staibdance for the past 12 seasons, is not only a professional dancer but also a dance educator with ImmerseATL. PhaeMonae is a multidisciplinary artist whose works include performance, wearable art and sculpture, with a CV that includes collaborations with gloATL, Core Dance and T. Lang Dance, just to name a few. “The Fly on a Wall Fellowship was established with a desire to broaden the perspective of the organization while providing professional development to career artists,” reads the statement by Fly on a Wall organizers. “Though run by six artists, The Fly on a Wall platform exists outside of these members and is built as a support system that is informed by those who nurture it. By inviting fellows to participate in the platform, Fly on a Wall hopes to evolve and grow through the exchange of ideas, skills and experiences.”

::

Public art updates

Produced by Dashboard and presented by Explore Gwinnett, The Cloud That Dreamed of a Lake, a new installation by Atlanta artist Eddie Farr has landed in Peachtree Corners Town Center. The work was installed as part of the ninth annual ARTober Gwinnett, a month-long celebration of art, culture and community. Farr’s work incorporates technology and employs a firm grasp on place-making to create immersive, inspirational and imaginative spaces through his sculptural tech-infused installations. The Cloud That Dreamed of a Lake is on view through November 7. 

::

Karen Anderson Singer, the visionary artist behind Tiny Doors ATL, has just installed her first work outside the boundaries of the city of Atlanta. Since 2014, Singer has become a beloved fixture in the local arts scene through her tiny door installations, which creatively interpret the landmarks and cultures of local communities across the metro. Signature locations of the more than 30 doors include the first in Krog Street Tunnel, the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline, Center for Puppetry Arts, Carter Presidential Center, Atlanta History Center and Centennial Olympic Park, just to name a few. Now, Singer has expanded her horizons to install a new Tiny Door along the Noonday Creek Trail in Kennesaw. Installed as part of the Town Center Community’s placemaking initiative that seeks to bring art into public spaces in the area, the Tiny Door is in good company among six art installations and murals along 2.8 miles of the trail. “My goal is to pull from the landscape of my surroundings and to be particularly interactive,” said Singer in a statement. “This is the first door that is its own stand-alone experience, and I want to impact people in a way that they feel inspired to come back again and again.”

::

In early October, a Doraville mom saw a big problem: unsafe crosswalks. Holly Holcomb, a member of the community’s Parent Network and Neighborhood Association, noticed that drivers frequently ran the stop signs at the intersection of McClave Drive and Chestnut Drive, despite efforts from the Doraville Police Department, which issued citations to drivers. Holcomb approached Doraville Art, the Northwoods Area Neighborhood Association and the Northwoods Area Parent Network and pitched an idea to paint crosswalks at the intersection. The city’s art commission and Council approved the concept, and roughly 60 neighborhood volunteers came out to tackle the project. The effort has not only beautified the streets but also increased the intersection’s visibility to oncoming traffic, thus ensuring the safety of all who walk there. Well done, Holly!

::

Temitope Adeyemo, a local senior from Clark Atlanta University, has won a national competition and her mural Music Powers This City is now installed in a Conyers Target store. Since 2016, Target has hosted an annual competition for HBCU students to design murals that pay tribute to Atlanta’s rich culture and history through joyful, inspiring murals. From the project’s humble beginnings at the Minneapolis Dinkytown store in Minnesota, the program has now expanded to 65 stores and 35 supply chain facilities sporting new murals by local artists who attend HBCUs. Adeyemo’s design represents Atlanta’s contribution to the music industry. “Music is such a big part of the culture in Atlanta as well as the culture on campus at Clark Atlanta University,” said Adeyemo in a recorded interview. The work also includes themes of nostalgia and serves as an homage to the thriving murals and public art scene in Atlanta. The murals completed as part of this project will also be showcased in Target stores in Smyrna, Lawrenceville, Snellville and the Atlanta Edgewood location.  

::

A new sculpture depicting the legendary civil and disability rights activist Rosa Parks by Decatur artist Julia Knight is now permanently installed at the Alabama State Capitol building in Montgomery. Depicting Parks climbing the stairs of the Capitol building before her, the sculpture pays tribute to the activist’s courage and determination in the face of racism and prejudice. The project, which was brought to life over the course of six years by the Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission, follows Alabama’s 2016 adoption of December 1 as Rosa Parks Day, a state holiday. A classically trained sculptor, Knight has been featured in galleries and museums around the world and has completed more than 50 public and private commissions. 

::

Local muralist Krista M. Jones, AKA JONESY, has just wrapped up her most ambitious project to date. Synchronicity, a 21,000-square-foot gateway mural spanning the walls of the Sugarloaf Parkway and the I-85 underpass, is the culmination of a four-year project by the artist. Inspired by nature, movement and the area’s inherent vitality, JONESY has completed her largest mural yet with the help of a team of assisting artists: Joe Dreher, Muhammad Suber, Angela Bortone, Aida Alarcón, Miles Davis and Alex Ferror. The project was made possible through the efforts of the Sugarloaf Community Improvement District (CID) and additional funding from the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia via the Michael S. Hudgens Fund and Norfolk Southern’s Thriving Communities Grant awarded to Create Gwinnett. “Synchronicity speaks to the unseen connections that guide us,” says Jones in a statement. “I wanted these walls to come alive with energy — transforming concrete into an experience that reminds people they’re part of something larger. I hope it offers moments of joy and belonging along the way.”