Best Arts Center

What good is potential if an artist never has the time or resources to refine her craft? This thought weighed heavily on the mind of Atlanta dancer/choreographer Blake Beckham for years. Rather than leave town or quit dancing altogether, Beckham doubled down with her team at contemporary performance company Lucky Penny and created the WORK ROOM. With a custom sprung dance floor and big beautiful windows, the Work Room offers a unique opportunity for resident artists to have 24/7 year-round space to train, experiment, and grow. less...

In just three years, the Goat Farm Arts Center has gone from well-kept secret to Atlanta art institution. The rustic 12-acre compound first began to draw artists in the 1980s when sculptors, musicians, painters, and photographers flocked to the studio spaces in the Victorian-era former cotton gin. Anthony Harper and Chris Melhouse of Hallister Development gained control of the property in 2008 with an eye toward creating a mixed-use development of condos, boutiques, and galleries. The economic downturn stifled those plans, and the partners turned the property into a center for the arts. The Goat Farm is now the permanent home of dance company gloATL, theater troupes the Collective Project and Saiah, and arts publication BurnAway.org. The number of events hosted there has exploded in the past two years, including concerts, performances, fundraisers, benefits, readings, screenings, meetings, parties, conferences, and more. In August, gloATL announced the collaborative series Tanz Farm, a full performance season of international contemporary dance. We’d never heard of this place a few years ago; now it seems like we’re there every week. less...

The Woodruff Arts Center programming features a plethora of performing and visual arts. Tons of local art lovers frequent the Midtown complex that holds the High Museum, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony and Atlanta College of Art. Although it’s located two blocks away, it also encompasses the 14th Street Playhouse. less...

After changing its name from Nexus to the Contemporary (say that with an attitude), the art center has presented the expected series of off-center shows. The best of those would be Precious: The Pathos and Pleasure of Kitsch, although Found Wanting certainly gave us pause for thought. Last month’s annual ArtParty fundraiser, Paradise, which accompanied Ilya Kabakov’s boat installation, exceeded the sensorial speed limit. less...