The 2025 Fall Arts Preview: Our picks in Art + Design

All eyes are on Atlanta this fall as we welcome the return of the Atlanta Art Fair, Atlanta Art Week, plus festivals, murals and exhibitions galore.

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The Atlanta Art Fair (AAF) returns to Pullman Yards from September 25 through September 28 with a robust slate of programming, including panel discussions, artist talks, installations and performances. Building upon the successes of its inaugural event, which welcomed more than 3,500 VIP guests and more than 12,000 visitors over the course of the four-day event, the plans for this year’s AAF feature more than 60 exhibitors. Highlights include a curatorial presentation by Melissa Messina, who has enlisted three female-identifying abstract artists — Krista Clark and Sonya Yong James from Atlanta, as well as Vadis Turner from Nashville — to install large-scale pieces created in tribute to Atlanta’s own late abstract artist Mildred Thompson. The AAF has invited a strong showing of local galleries to participate, including Jackson Fine Art, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Spalding Nix Fine Art, Atlanta Photography Group, whitespace, Day & Night Gallery and Marcia Wood Gallery, just to name a few. Galleries from further afield, including San Francisco’s Jonathan Carver Moore, Palo Alto’s Pamela Walsh Gallery and New York’s GPG Gallery, will be presented alongside international galleries such as Dublin’s Stoney Road Press, The Melrose Gallery from Johannesburg and Uganda’s Borderlands. 

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In Fulton County, the Hammonds House Museum and National Black Arts Festival have partnered up to present Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts and the National Black Arts Festival. The exhibition, which will remain on view through December 14, highlights the city’s legacy of activism and celebrates artist scholars who have uplifted local Black artists and contributed to national standards of celebrating Black visual artists. Through this exhibition, visitors will come to understand the long-standing impact of visionary leaders including Mayor Maynard Jackson, Fulton County Commission Chairman Michael Lomax, Jenelsie Walden Holloway, Alice Lovelace and Dr. Richard A. Long. Through their continued efforts — and thanks to the founding of the NBAF in 1987 following a cultural planning study commissioned by then Commission Chairman Lomax — Atlanta has earned a reputation as one of the most enduring and vibrant cultural centers for Black art in the nation. Visitors to the Black Zeitgeist exhibition will come to understand the depth and breadth of Black artists and collectors and their lasting impact on the culture of our city. Don’t miss a panel discussion moderated by Halima Taha with Dr. Amalia Amaki and Anne Collins Smith on September 20 and a public program with Amaki on October 4. Tickets will be available on the Hammonds House website prior to the listed dates.

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The world’s first art amusement park, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, will soon land in Atlanta for a limited run at Pullman Yards, opening September 24. Initially debuting in Hamburg, Germany, in the summer of 1987, Luna Luna offered a groundbreaking selection of works by world-renowned contemporary artists of the time, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dali, Sonia Delaunay, Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein, among others. In the years since the artful carousels, Ferris wheels and swings were locked away in storage, the event was largely forgotten for 35 years until it was acquired by global superstar Drake and partners in 2022. Revived by Austrian impresario André Heller, and following installations in Los Angeles and New York, this dazzling array will soon come to Atlanta and provide a genre-defying art experience that will offer visual art, performances and spectacular entertainment through a multisensory experience that embraces contemporary art of the past and present. “Bringing Luna Luna to Atlanta marks an exciting evolution in our journey to share this visionary project with new audiences across the country,” said Michael Goldberg, chief creative officer and co-founder of Luna Luna. “Atlanta has long been a nexus of cultural innovation.”

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The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces has announced its fall and winter lineup, with a number of festivals and markets throughout the end of the year. Following the Piedmont Park Arts Festival this past weekend, next up is the Sandy Springs Fall Arts and Craft Festival on the weekend of September 13 and September 14. Also in September — the Buckhead Arts Festival, which returns September 20 and September 21, situated throughout Buckhead Village; and the Old Fourth Ward Arts Festival in Historic Fourth Ward Park, which is planned for the weekend of September 27 and September 28. Later, the Fall Festival on Ponce is slated for October 11 and October 12; the Chastain Park Fall Arts Festival will be held the weekend of November 1 and November 2; and the Piedmont Holiday Gift Market returns to Piedmont Park November 29 and November 30. These great festivals each boast lineups of more than 100 artists selling their goods, plus food and drink vendors, children’s areas and DJs spinning tunes. The festivals, and more, are free to attend, suitable for all ages and pup-friendly. 

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More Art + Design Highlights . . .

• South River Art Studios has several events planned for this fall, including group exhibition Tilt Your Face to the Kissing Sun (August 22 through September 10); a book launch and reading of artist Jonathan Imafidor’s autobiography, Rebirth, which will also feature traditional Yoruba Dance Performance (September 22); and woodcut workshop with Big Ink (November 1 and 2). 
• Cat Eye Creative will present its inaugural Don’t Be Square! cultural crawl in Decatur (August 22) as well as its last exhibition at the original South Downtown location, Eye Get By With A Little Help From My Friends (September 13 through October 24), before relocating down the street. Also in October, Ericka Sobrack’s solo exhibition, Witching Hour, at the Decatur location will feature a vendor’s market pop-up during the Decatur Book Festival (October 4 through October 26). 
• After the Moment We’re In, a group exhibition featuring Jamele Wright Sr., Julio Mejia and Jason Sweet, will debut at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum and Conference Center (August 23 through September 27).
• ABV Gallery offers three simultaneous exhibitions; a size-limited show titled One By One with 50+ artists featured; Helen Choi’s One of Many exhibition; and Block by Block, with 220 hand-carved originals by Chris Noosh (through September 7). 
• Group exhibition Adaptation is currently on view at Hidden Gallery 333 (through September 10). 
• Spalding Nix‘s exhibition In Media Res features work by Evan Blackwell Helgeson, Bonnie Maygarden, Mitchell Biggio and Kerry Hays (through September 12).
• One Contemporary presents Finding My Rhythm, a solo exhibition by Brill Adium (through September 6). 
• Old Rabbit Gallery in Castleberry Hill presents Healing House, a solo exhibition by the visionary artist Charity Hamidullah (through September 10).
• Nina Baldwin Gallery is showing the only reason you want to go to heaven featuring works by Kiara Gilbert, Lewis H. Foster and Makeda Lewis (through September 10).
• Gallery 100 will present All The Roads Taken, a solo exhibition by artist Géoving Gérard II, who biked 13,000 miles, aiming to ride every one of the roughly 3,300 miles of roads ITP, between 2020 and 2022. Along the way, he stopped to take pictures that portray a unique and intimate look at metro Atlanta (through September 25). 
• At Atlanta Contemporary, Plastic Reimagined: Material Agency & Circular Design, curated by Assistant Professor Hyojin Kwon, is a group exhibition featuring discarded plastics found on the Georgia Tech campus that graduate students collected, sorted and reimagined into Adirondack chairs and seating (through September 7). Next up are two vibrant exhibitions, Ten Moon by Jiha Moon (September 26 through December 21) and Shaping Identity, a group exhibit featuring Korean printmakers (September 26 through December 21).
• At Atlanta City Studio, Memento Mori explores themes of mortality and cemeteries in Atlanta. The exhibition is presented by a collaboration between the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning’s Historic Preservation and Public Space Studios and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (through October 17). 
• MODA presents BITTERSWEET: The Design of Chocolate, which details the origins of chocolate from ancient Americas to modern times (through October 12).
• The Center for Puppetry Arts offers an exhibit celebrating Jim Henson’s collaborators in Affectionate Anarchy: Creating with Jim Henson (through October 26).
• In Dunwoody, Spruill Gallery presents its Student & Instructor Biennial Juried Exhibition (through September 12), followed by Preternatural, featuring works by Pam Longobardi and Dana Montlack alongside Under Construction, an installation by Noah Reyes (September 19 through October 30) — as well as the unveiling of the winning mural design during AMPLIFY 2025 (October 25). 
• At the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Continuum features works by Johnnie Diacon and Hotvlkuce Harjo that explore futurism through an indigenous lens (August 21 through December 7) as well as Insistent Presence, which highlights contemporary African art from the Chazen collection (September 13 through December 14).  
• AvantBeetle’s Ctrl, Alt, Resist – Videogames as Protest exhibition will be on view at The Supermarket in Poncey-Highland (August 22 through 24).
• Atlanta Downtown and Dashboard Atlanta will honor trailblazer Xernona Clayton during Legacy in Bloom, a 95th birthday celebration and public art exhibition at Hardy Ivy Park (August 28). 
• Head to the 15th floor of Uptown Atlanta for the Hambidge Center’s fall Hambidge Hive program that includes artist tours, art installations and their beloved annual auction party (August 28 through September 13). 
• Fernbank Museum presents Lost in Sight: In Search of the Flint’s Headwaters featuring works by photographer Virginie Drujon-Kippelen (August 29).
• Georgia State University has invited a number of faculty to exhibit during their Faculty Triennial 25 (September 4).
• ADAMA presents Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power, an exhibition celebrating two African Diaspora retreats; Taller Portobelo and the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative (September 5 through November 1).
• Nuestra Creacion presents a return of its annual Latin Heritage Month exhibition themed Ojalá at Echo Contemporary Art (September 5 through 28). 
• Photographer Gabriel Williams and painter Joel Pasquarelli will be featured in Resonant at Gallery 1740 (September 5).
• To Speak in Pattern, an exhibition of textile works by artist Roxie Fricton, will be on view at Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance in Chamblee (September 6 through October 31).
• Two of the South’s most evocative self-taught artists, Howard Finster and Harry Underwood, will be featured in The Art of Belief at The Sun ATL. Their works explore the concept of outsider art, with both artists using their artwork to explore religion and faith (September 6 through November 15). 
• Marcia Wood Gallery will present the works of David E. Peterson in Color Block Synthesis 47.142, which features assemblages of 139 colors comprising 47 digital color studies. The resulting exhibition serves as a single completed work focused on compositions of color (September 12 through November 15).
• Miya Bailey’s 9th solo exhibition, Before I’m Gone, serves as a fundraiser for City of Ink at Nina Baldwin Gallery (September 12). 
• Living Walls will host a Quinceañero fundraiser in celebration of its 15th anniversary, at the Goat Farm. Expect art installations, performances and an art auction (September 13). 
• Forward Warrior, the beloved annual celebration of street art that transforms the walls of Cabbagetown, will return for its 13th year with 52+ artists — including notable names such as Sachi Rome, Lela Brunet, Janice Rago, Alex Wolf, Linda McNeil, Meredith White, Trudy Tran, Aziza Andre, Barry Lee, Black Cat Tips, GREG MIKE, Nate Frost, Alex Ferror, Sanithna and Brandcamp — plus a vintage/artist market by GVG Events (September 13-14).
• Being FRANK: It is Because I Am is the debut art exhibition from the newly formed Queer Arts Collective FRANK, with artists Yousef Bushehri, Stan Clark, Billy Clifton-Strawn, David Clifton-Strawn, Orion Crook, Andy Jackson, Krista M. Jones, kbyte, Just Toby, Royce Soble and Clint Zeagler will open at the former Phidippides storefront in Ansley Mall (September 14 through September 17).
• Equinox Autumn 25, a group show featuring Helen Crawford, Jon Elliott, Johanna Flores and Claire Paul, will debut at Cynthia Farnell Projects (September 21 through November 9).
• Atlanta Photography Group has several exhibitions slated for this fall, including Eyes on Atlanta: Women Photographers, curated by Plushette Ellis; Mark Armbruster: Gain of Function solo exhibition (September 23 through October 18); Storytelling 2025 Documentary and Street Photography (October 21 through November 22); and Portrait 2025, juried by Bree Lamb, co-managing editor of Fraction Magazine and professor at New Mexico State University (October 21 through November 22). 
• SiTE, an evening of art installations, performances, art exhibits and open studios, will return to the Goat Farm for one night only (September 27). 
• At the Goat Farm, Pollinator Art Space will present The Missing Algorithm featuring works by Sabre Esler, Aaron Kagan Putt, and Heather Szatmary (September 27 through November 1).
• Artist Lisa Alembik will present From Ruin, a solo exhibition, in the fine arts gallery at Georgia State University Clarkston Campus (October 6 through December 12). 
• The Decatur Arts Alliance will partner with local group Placita Latina Decatur. Placita Latina is an exhibition celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the Decatur Arts Alliance Gallery (September 20 through October 20). The Book As Art v. 13: Mixed Messages exhibition will be on view at the Decatur Library (September 12 through October 15) and Larry Holland’s Trilateral Fractures, presented alongside Octopidecatur, a group show curated by Holland and 404FoundATL (November 14), will debut at Decatur Arts Alliance’s Legacy Park gallery.
• The High Museum of Art will present the 20^th anniversary Driskell Prize to Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar on Saturday, September 20, during a gala that will feature a performance by John Legend. Also at the High, don’t miss the Dutch fashion art exhibit Viktor&Rolf. Fashion Statements (October 10 through February 8) as well as fantastical works in The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans (November 14 through April 12).
• See all of the wonderful art the galleries of Miami Circle have to offer during the Miami Circle Gallery Stroll (September 21). 
• The Atlanta Center for Photography will host its annual Auction Gala, Expanded Aperture, at Forth Hotel (September 26).
• The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) will present a number of exhibitions and events this fall, including SCAD AnimationFest at SCADshow (September 25 through September 27), André Leon Talley: Style is Forever at SCAD FASH (October 15 through March 1), SCADFILM In Focus: Horror at SCADshow (October 10) and the beloved SCAD Fall Fine Arts Showcase, which returns to SCAD Atlanta on November 7. 
• Atlanta’s newest mural jam, called “The Drip Invitational,” will debut in Atlanta’s West End this fall. (October 4)
• In addition to this fall’s lantern parades, Atlanta Beltline Art will present an unveiling for the second mural in the Thriving Together Atlanta series along the Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail (unveiling October 4), as well as a Tiny Doors ATL: 10-year Anniversary Tour (September 27, October 18, November 15).
• Atlanta Art Week, back for its fourth edition, will feature an exciting lineup of art experiences in participating galleries across the city over a three-day period (October 3 through October 5).
• Echo Contemporary has two additional solo exhibitions upcoming: Eddie Farr’s innovative tech-driven artwork (October 4 through October 11) and Tee Roy’s pop-art inspired paintings (October 24). 
• Parades abound this season. First up, the Little Five Points 2025 Halloween Festival + Parade will offer numerous artist vendors, musical acts, food trucks and, of course, impeccable costumes (October 18 and 19). Next, Chantelle Rytter presents the return of Where the Wild Things Are in Old Fourth Ward Park (October 25) and the All Souls Altars + Parade of the Dead in Little Five Points (November 1).

More 2025 Fall Picks