This year, the Atlanta Art Fair (pictured) and Atlanta Art Week will not overlap. (Photo by Isadora Pennington)
Atlanta Art Week (AAW) is back. On July 17, the dates for its fourth edition were announced via Instagram and email. Taking place October 3 through October 5, this year’s edition is significantly shorter than the 2024 edition and, most notably, AAW will not coincide with the Atlanta Art Fair (AAF).
For its debut edition last year, AAF’s dates ran concurrent with AAW, a conscious decision intended to foster collaboration between the two organizations. Kelly Freeman, director of AAF, has been quoted in The Art Newspaper saying she was excited at the prospect of partnering with AAW. However, this hope was to remain a pipe dream as the prospect of overshadowing seemingly prevented collaboration.
Many members of the community, myself included, were dismayed to hear this news, as we had hoped that collaboration would ensure mutual success and present Atlanta as a unified and strong artistic community for all the nonlocals visiting. It was easy to feel discouraged and let down by the disconnect between the two.
This year, rather than compete with one another, the events have been scheduled so there is no overlap — AAF’s second edition will now take place September 25 through September 28, leaving about a week’s gap between the two events. AAW has made its stance clear; they are not interested in partnering with AAF, seemingly re-inforced by a statement on their website that reads that “Atlanta Art Week does not have any external fair partners or affiliates.”
While this announcement of separate schedules feels like yet another letdown, I wonder if perhaps it is for the best, and maybe this will be a boon for the Atlanta art community.
Last year’s edition of AAW offered six days of nonstop programming. With an average of six programs per day for seven days, by all accounts there was simply too much to see. In its inaugural edition, AAF hosted 60 galleries on the fairgrounds itself as well as numerous panel discussions and satellite programing throughout the city. All of this combined made for a veritable whirlwind of art and programming, which left everyone wanting to see more than they were able.
This year that won’t be a problem, and therein lies the upside. While I find AAW’s continued rejection of cooperation with AAF disheartening, perhaps the separation can offer a silver lining. With this new schedule, each event will be able to breathe its own air and hopefully visitors will feel less FOMO and be able to experience more from both events.
While I consider this solution to be far from perfect, I wonder if there really is any perfect scenario? This fall, I encourage Atlanta to embrace the old saying “divide and conquer.” Rather than bemoan the losses, let’s celebrate the successes. And, most importantly, we must show up! Our community is better the more active we are within it.
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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.
