Culture Surfing - Ellen Beattie

Atlanta native Ellen Beattie is the regional director of the International Rescue Committee’s local office. Founded in 1933 at the suggestion of Albert Einstein, the IRC has been helping refugees and others in dire need for decades. To celebrate the organization’s 75th birthday, Beattie and IRC Atlanta are holding a fundraising auction with art, theater tickets and more, including opportunities to meet some of the many people the IRC has helped bring “from harm to home.” Freedom Fête takes place Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 7-10 p.m. at the Nelson Mullins law office in Atlantic Station.

--Road to Freedom: “This High Museum of Art original exhibit of photographs of the Civil Rights Movement curated by Julian Cox is a magnificent testament to the era and a must-see for all Atlantans. Anyone who has ever worked for social justice can be inspired to see that change and why it must happen. A picture is worth 1,000 words, and this fascinating, complex exhibit delivers tomes through the eyes of the witnesses and participants of the movement.”

--Your DeKalb Farmers Market: “Everyone knows Atlanta has become an international city, but for the most part it’s a segregated and stratified one. One place where all the barriers melt away and people of every color and class find what they are looking for is this unique world market. Explore the culinary cultures of the world while shopping for fresh, wholesome food on a budget.”

--Putumayo World Music recordings: “Many a music snob thinks no anthology is good enough unless it is one’s own personal playlist. But if there is an outfit you can trust to deliver wonderful albums that showcase remarkable musical talent and genres from around the world it’s Putumayo.”

--The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan: “If you are not yet familiar with the epic tale of one of the southern Sudanese children who had to flee war and embark on an odyssey of displacement, it’s time to start. Two good ways are to read Dave Eggers’ acclaimed novel What Is the What, based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, who resettled to Atlanta, or see the rich, thoughtful documentary God Grew Tired of Us, winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.”

--Varian Fry: “Known as ‘America’s Schindler,’ Varian Fry carried out a remarkable mission to save people from Nazi terror from 1940–41. He’s responsible for getting more than 2,000 individuals out of Europe in that time, including such intellectual and artistic greats as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Hannah Arendt and Heinrich Mann. One of his legacies is the ‘Flight’ portfolio he compiled of work by refugee artists; preview the portfolio including a piece by Chagall at our Freedom Fête.”