The ATL Arts Collective

Discover the rise of Muelas, Atlanta’s 5-piece blending hardcore, punk, mariachi, and classical music. 
The Collective Spotlight Series from the ATL Arts Collective highlights an individual story from a recent episode. Today's spotlight is by Aja Arnold of Mainline Magazine.
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday.
Join us on social at @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  

Podcast: Chuck Stewart, Muelas & Mainline on ATL Arts Collective
Mainline Magazine’s Aja Arnold joins us as we take a deep dive into Atlanta’s DIY music scene, explore legendary music photographer Chuck Stewart’s seven-decade career, discover the return of Tesla vs. Edison at the Center for Puppetry Arts, and share ArtsATL’s Best Bets for the week ahead.
Aja Arnold & Mainline Magazine
Our featured contributor is Mainline Magazine founder and editor Aja Arnold. She and Kim talk about the evolution of Atlanta’s independent music scene, the launch of Mainline’s new record label, and the debut compilation, Mainline Mix 1. The compilation features 12 Atlanta artists, with proceeds supporting Mainline’s mission. The limited-edition handmade release will officially launch September 10 at Criminal Records in Little Five Points, with performances by Major and Janie Danger.
Aja also previews the third annual Mainline Music Fest, running September 11 through September 13. This year’s festival has grown to 22 bands across four Atlanta venues: Aisle 5, Star Bar, Halfway Crooks Beer and Wine in Summerhill, and Thinking Man Tavern in Decatur. The festival features Atlanta artists predominantly and continues the DIY music ethos that has been at the heart of Mainline Magazine since its launch in 2019. Aja also shares some of her 
Chuck Stewart: Framing the Sound
The Sun ATL presents Chuck Stewart: Framing the Sound, an exhibition celebrating one of the most consequential music photographers of the 20th century. ATL Arts Collective contributor Chad Radford explores Stewart’s seven-decade career through more than 60 photographs and 64 album covers featuring some of the most important musicians in American music, including Miles Davis, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, James Brown, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and Gil Scott-Heron. The exhibition draws from the Chuck Stewart Archive, which contains roughly 800,000 photographs. Stewart’s work appeared on more than 2,000 album covers, and his photographs have been exhibited at institutions including Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Framing the Sound is the first time his color photographs have been publicly exhibited in the United States.
Tesla vs. Edison Returns to the Center for Puppetry Arts 
ArtsATL editor-at-large Benji Carr visits the Center for Puppetry Arts for the return of Tesla vs. Edison, created, designed, and directed by Jason Hines. The puppet production turns the rivalry between inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison into a wildly theatrical adventure featuring lightsaber fights, lightning bolts, larger-than-life puppets, a pigeon romance and even Mark Twain. Hines talks about researching the real history behind the two inventors and the experimental approach to puppetry that brings them to life onstage.
Muelas: Atlanta’s DIY Hardcore Breakthrough
Aja Arnold’s featured story takes us inside the rapid rise of Muelas, the Atlanta five-piece blending hardcore, punk, mariachi, and classical music into an intense live experience. Formed in 2025, Muelas played its first show at The Masquerade in Atlanta and has since signed with Philadelphia-based Second Engine Records, released its debut EP Bellow, toured Europe, and built a growing audience beyond Atlanta’s DIY scene. The band’s single Melt is known as an anti-ICE protest song, inspired by vocalist and violinist Susy Reyes’ experience as the child of Mexican immigrants. Muelas is one of the headliners for Mainline Music Fest in September.
ArtsATL Best Bets
ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison rounds out the episode with his weekly recommendations for Atlanta arts and culture, including Elf Power with Five-Eight at Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End and Buddy Guy’s 90 Tour at Atlanta Symphony Hall. Shane also highlights The Velvet Hour: Sinatra, Swing, and Standards at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, the expanded two-weekend BronzeLens Film Festival, and the Summer Shade Festival in Grant Park.
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday.
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Thank you to the CP Group, Downtown Atlanta Inc., and CTR Culture Studios.
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  

Featured contributor Kenny Murry joins us as we discover the new workspace helping former South River Studios artists rebuild, celebrate 35 years of Criminal Records, talk to actress and producer Terri J. Vaughn, and share ArtsATL’s Best Bets for the week ahead.
Kenny Murry: Journalism, Comedy & Asking the Right Questions
Our featured contributor is Kenny Murry, WABE digital reporter, comedian, and host of The Creative Eccentric podcast. He and Kim talk about finding creative freedom in comedy, the responsibility of telling other people’s stories as a journalist, and Kenny’s lifelong fascination with the people who build the worlds we see on screen. He also shares his favorite local discoveries for our series Beats, Bites and Sites.
Beats
Catching comedy at The Punchline
Bites 
Grabbing a cafeteria meal at Piccadilly
Sites 
Marveling at the CNN Center / the CTR
The Foundry Gives Atlanta Artists Room to Build
After a devastating fire displaced dozens of artists from South River Art Studios, a new creative workspace is giving Atlanta artists a place to rebuild. Jasmine Hentschel of GULCH Magazine takes us inside Creative Foundry Studios, a 23,000-square-foot space on Bronner Brothers Way in Southwest Atlanta founded by artist, fabricator, and entrepreneur Adam Bostic, who runs ARC Design. The Foundry offers affordable private studios alongside areas for welding, woodworking, painting, consulting, and mentorship. Atlanta Style Writers Association is among the artists and organizations already using the space, helping bring large-scale projects to life. The Foundry’s Hard Opening party takes place Saturday, August 15, featuring a paper show, live music, mural painting, and a best trick skate competition.
Criminal Records Celebrates 35 Years in Little Five Points
ATL Arts Collective contributor Chad Radford visits Criminal Records as the iconic Little Five Points record store celebrates its 35th anniversary. Owner Eric Levin opened the store in 1991, and three decades later, Criminal Records remains a gathering place for Atlanta’s music community. The anniversary celebration brings nearly 30 acts to three stages throughout the neighborhood, including MUELAS, Puddles Pity Party and Buddy Red, the eldest son of Atlanta rapper T.I. Also featured is Lux Travails, a new collaboration bringing together Atlanta favorites Fran Capitanelli, Darren Dodd, and Philip Frobos.
Kenny Murray Talks with Terri J. Vaughn
Kenny’s featured interview is with actress, producer, and director Terri J. Vaughn, best known for her work on The Steve Harvey Show and her longtime career in television and film.
Vaughn talks about Winifred Hervey, the creator and showrunner of The Steve Harvey Show, and the lessons she learned from watching a Black woman lead a television production in the 1990s. She also discusses working with Keisha Lance Bottoms and Tyler Perry on Miss Governor, and watching Georgia’s film and television industry transform since she moved to Atlanta in 2009. Vaughn also reflects on The Green Room Actor’s Lounge, the Atlanta creative space she founded to support actors and artists early in her Georgia career, and why she believes comedy can be healing.
ArtsATL Best Bets
ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison rounds out the episode with recommendations for Atlanta arts and culture, including the Piedmont Park Arts Festival, outdoor screenings of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Riverbend, Wet Hot American Summer at the Plaza Theatre, All Shook Up at Marietta Theatre Company, and stand-up comedy with Australian comic Jenny Tian (Taskmaster Australia) at Helium Comedy Club.
 
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday.
Support for this episode comes from:
Motherlode
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Big thanks go to the CP Group and Downtown Atlanta Inc for their support and to K Michelle Dubois’ for providing our theme music.
 
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
 
00:00:00 music
00:00:08 Intro & Show Title
00:00:25 Guest Kenny Murry — Intro & Podcast Launch
00:02:52 Feature: The Foundry — New Artist Studio (Jasmine Henschel)
00:11:25 Back to the Studio — Kenny on Comedy & Podcasting
00:15:13 Beats, Bites, and Sites — Atlanta Picks
00:21:56 Interview: Terri J. Vaughn — Career, Producing & Miss Governor
00:40:41 Arts ATL Best Bets (Shane Harrison)

The ATL Arts Collective broadcasts from its new home inside The CTR with the story behind the collaborative creative hub. Plus, a new exhibition from Gallery FC and the history of The World of Sid and Marty Krofft. 
The ATL Arts Collective Has a New Home
Welcome to the very first episode broadcasting from our brand-new podcast studio, located inside the CTR (the iconic former CNN Center) in Downtown Atlanta! We celebrate this landmark milestone alongside the coalition of creative visionaries who are transforming the historic entertainment megastructure into a home for collaboration, culture, and community under the CTR Culture initiatives
Welcome to CTR Culture Studios
Atlanta's next creative chapter is taking shape in the heart of downtown. Host Kim Drobes is joined by Ryan Howard of CP Group, Alex Frankcombe of Downtown Atlanta Inc., Neda Abghari of ASHA Advisory, and A.R. "Coop" Cooper of Art in the Paint (and now Gallery FC). Hear their plans to fund public art, launch CTR Culture Studios, a prestigious seven-artist residency program, and bring premier local companies like T. Lang Dance into the heart of the city. All while creating new opportunities for Atlanta's creative community.
Before CNN, There Was an Indoor Theme Park
 
Contributor Wesley Boutilier of Viewist Productions takes us on a deep dive into a wild, forgotten piece of Georgia history: The World of Sid & Marty Krofft. Long before the building became the CNN Center, developers built the Omni International megastructure. In May 1976, they teamed up with the famous H.R. Pufnstuf, Banana Splits, and Land of the Lost creators to open the world’s first indoor theme park. Discover how the wildly ambitious project burned brightly before disappearing just months after opening in 1976.
Gallery FC Celebrates Atlanta's artists who welcomed the world with the Home Team exhibition
Neda and Coop return to the table to introduce Gallery FC, a new community-centered gallery located at the CTR. Their latest exhibition, Home Team, celebrates the many artists who were commissioned to create public works in Atlanta to prepare the city for the World Cup while exploring how galleries, public art, and creative partnerships can help shape the city's future.
 
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta's creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city's culture every Wednesday.
 
Support for this episode comes from:
Motherlode
Mainline Magazine
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
 
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta's creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city's culture every Wednesday.
 
Support for this episode comes from:
Motherlode
Mainline Magazine
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
 
 
00:00:00 music
00:00:05 Announcement: Recording from Center Culture Studios & First Video Episode
00:01:30 Show Intro & Purpose
00:02:15 Panel Introductions
00:02:55 CP Group & Vision for the Building
00:05:29 Downtown Atlanta Inc. & Public Art
00:09:30 ASHA Advisory & Curation
00:12:51 Center Culture Studios: Incubator, Residencies & Partnerships
00:15:49 Gallery FC & Art in the Paint
00:18:28 Future Activations & Experiences
00:22:02 The World of Sid and Marty Krofft (Documentary)
00:32:53 Gallery FC: World Cup Mural Exhibition & Community Focus
00:45:27 Closing, Support & Next Week

✦  Jewel Wicker  ✦ The Jimmy Awards ✦ GULCH’s Making it Work ✦ Eyedrum on Monday Nights ✦ Pen Names ✦ Best Bets ✦  
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
Featured contributor Jewel Wicker joins us as we meet a Milton student fresh off a national Jimmy Award win, discover one of Atlanta's most adventurous live music series, examine why more writers are choosing pen names, and share ArtsATL’s Best Bets.
Meet This Week's Featured Contributor
Our featured contributor, Jewel Wicker, has built a career telling stories about music, culture, and the people shaping them. An Atlanta native whose work has appeared in Billboard, GQ, Teen Vogue, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jewel joins us to discuss her reporting, her upcoming nonfiction book Take It to Trial, and what continues to inspire her as a storyteller. She also shares her favorite local discoveries for our series, Beats, Bites and Sites.
Beats
Catching live music at the Tabernacle
Bites 
Celebratory dining at Kimball House
Sites 
Unique exhibitions at Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
A Jimmy Award Winner from Milton
ArtsATL reporter Benji Carr talks with Jake James, the Milton High School performer who recently captured a Jimmy Award, the nation's highest honor for high school musical theater performers. He shares what the experience was like, what comes next, and how Atlanta's theater community helped shape his journey.
Making It Work as a Creative
For this month's Making It Work segment, Jasmine Hentschel of GULCH Magazine talks with Atlanta designer and furniture maker Robby Simon about building a creative career, learning which opportunities to embrace, and finding the freedom to focus on work that truly matters.
Inside Atlanta's Monday Night Creative Music Series
ArtsATL reporter Doug DeLoach visits Eyedrum’s Monday Night Creative Music Series, where improvisation, experimentation, and collaboration have created one of Atlanta's most unique gathering places for adventurous musicians and curious audiences alike.
Why Writers Choose Pen Names 
Jewel Wicker brings us a fascinating look at the growing use of pen names, inspired by bestselling romance author Kennedy Ryan and a broader conversation about privacy, identity, and authorship in the age of social media. From novelists to playwrights, she explores what writers gain, and what they give up, when they publish under another name.
ArtsATL Best Bets 
Executive Editor Shane Harrison rounds out the episode with his weekly recommendations for arts and culture across metro Atlanta, including the world premiere of When Faith Calls, a new exhibition at White Space, Bob Dylan with Lucinda Williams at Chastain Park, and Hacking Hip-Hop at the Atlanta History Center.
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta's creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city's culture every Wednesday.
 
Support for this episode comes from:
The Sun ATL
 
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
Chapters
 
00:00:00 Welcome & Show Overview
00:01:42 Jake James — Jimmy Award Winner (Benji Carr Interview)
00:08:07 Guest Introduction — Jewel Wicker
00:12:18 Beats, Bites, and Sites — Jewel’s Atlanta Picks
00:17:14 Making It Work — Robby Simon (Jasmine Henschel)
00:28:58 Eyedrum — Monday Night Creative Music Series (Doug DeLoach)
00:40:28 Feature: The Power & Privacy of Pen Names (Jewel Wicker)
00:46:27 ArtsATL Best Bets — Shane Harrison
00:50:36 Closing, Announcements & Studio News
 

✦  Shanita Miller of Black Girl's Guide to Atlanta  ✦ Cabbagetown '76 ✦ ColorPath ✦ Cyber Leauge Baseball ✦ Best Bets ✦  
 
Featured contributor Shanita Miller joins us as we explore a landmark photography exhibition documenting historic Cabbagetown, discover a new wayfinding platform connecting people with Downtown Atlanta, meet an Atlanta comic creator taking his latest graphic novel to San Diego Comic-Con, and share ArtsATL's Best Bets for the week ahead.
Meet This Week's Featured Contributor
Featured contributor is Shanita Miller, founder of Black Girls Guide to Atlanta. Shanita first joined us in May to share the story behind Black Girls Guide to Atlanta. This week she returns to introduce ColorPath and share a few of her favorite local discoveries in Beats, Bites & Sights.
Beats
Catching live music and DJs at Westside Motor Lounge 
Bites (and bevs)
Craft cocktails at El Ponce 
Sites 
Contemporary art at ZuCot Gallery in Castleberry Hill
Cabbagetown Through Barbara McKenzie's Lens
Fifty years after photographer Barbara McKenzie documented daily life in Cabbagetown, her images are being exhibited publicly for the first time in Cabbagetown '76: The Photographs of Barbara McKenzie. ArtsATL reporter Doug DeLoach explores the exhibition, the neighborhood's transformation from mill town to creative hub, and the musicians, artists, and preservationists keeping its story alive.
Finding Downtown with ColorPath
Shanita introduces us to ColorPath, a new wayfinding platform created by Dionna Collins and Jereme D. Sharpe that helps residents and visitors discover locally owned businesses, cultural attractions, and neighborhood experiences throughout Downtown Atlanta. Blending digital maps, public art, and community recommendations, ColorPath is designed to make exploring the city more connected and more colorful.
From Atlanta to San Diego Comic-Con
ArtsATL reporter Sally Fuller talks with Atlanta illustrator and comic creator Anderson Carman, whose new sci-fi sports series Cyber League Baseball will debut at San Diego Comic-Con through publisher 247 Comics with distribution by Penguin Random House. Carman discusses building a world of cybernetic athletes, the surprising parallels between science fiction and real-world conversations about artificial intelligence, and why Dragon Con remains one of his favorite creative communities.
ArtsATL Best Bets 
Executive Editor Shane Harrison rounds out the episode with his weekly recommendations for arts and culture events happening across metro Atlanta. This week his mix includes the Buford Highway Arts Festival, the 16th Atlanta Ice Cream & Wellness Festival, and the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour.
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta's creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city's culture every Wednesday.
 
Support for this episode comes from:
Motherlode
Mainline Magazine
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
Chapters
 
00:00 Welcome to The ATL Arts Collective
 
00:42 Cabbagetown '76: The Photographs of Barbara McKenzie
 
12:35 Shanita Miller's Atlanta Favorites: Westside Motor Lounge, El Ponce & ZuCot Gallery
 
16:03 Discover Downtown Atlanta with ColorPath
 
22:32 Mainline Records Opens in Atlanta
 
23:06 Anderson Carman Brings Cyber League Baseball to San Diego Comic-Con
 
33:24 ArtsATL's Weekend Best Bets with Shane Harrison

✦ Summer Evans ✦ Spamalot ✦ Peaches on Peachtree Street ✦ Izzy ✦ Dior ✦ Best Bets ✦
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕  
✦ This Week On The Show ✦ 
This week’s featured contributor is Summer Evans! She is a freelance journalist and multimedia storyteller based in Atlanta. Summer’s background is in public radio, and she currently works as a freelance social media content producer for Rough Draft Atlanta. Here’s her picks for our Beats, Bites, and Sights segment, where our featured contributor shares their favorite gems across the city:
Beats: Catching concerts from the front row at The Eastern in Reynoldstown and checking out the acoustic singer-songwriter legacy of Eddie's Attic in Decatur.
Bites: Upscale dining featuring kangaroo appetizers along the Chattahoochee River at Canoe in Buckhead, and sipping a "Sangrita" on the rooftop patio of La Fonda Latina on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
Sights: Viewing ancient Egyptian mummies at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, and browsing world-class photography at Jackson Fine Art in Buckhead.
✦ Delaney Benson in Spamalot Tour at The Fox Theatre ✦ 
ArtsATL theatre correspondent Sally Fuller sits down with Gainesville, Georgia native Delaney Benson as she tours in the hit Monty Python Broadway musical Spamalot at the historic Fox Theatre. The triple-threat performer shares what it’s like to step into the ensemble, handle twelve quick changes, and understudy the powerhouse role of the Lady of the Lake. Plus, she reflects on growing up in a theatrical family with her mother, Jodi Benson (Broadway star and the original voice of Disney's The Little Mermaid), and her father, Ray Benson, learning Singin' in the Rain choreography in her kitchen, and her early days performing with the Gainesville Theatre Alliance.
✦ Why Are There No Peach Trees on Peachtree Street? ✦ 
Featured contributor Summer Evans of Rough Draft Atlanta unpacks a quintessential Atlanta riddle: why, until very recently, have there been no peach trees on Peachtree Street? We trace the historic thoroughfare back to its roots in the Muscogee Creek Nation settlement of Standing Peachtree, explore the 1812 military origin of the road near Fort Peachtree, and look at how modern civic efforts have shaped the city’s urban tree canopy.
✦  History of Izzy: The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Mascot ✦  
We also celebrate a major cultural milestone: the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. Documentarian Wesley Boutilier dives deep into the history of the city's highly debated Olympic mascot: Izzy. From designer John Ryan’s original computer-animated "What Is It" design to the merchandise boom featuring boxing legend Evander Holyfield, we explore how this polarizing blue character became a staple of 1990s pop culture, spawned a Sega Genesis video game, and starred in an animated special. 
✦ Dior Crafting Fashion Exhibition at SCAD FASH Museum ✦ 
ArtsATL writer Robert Stalker joins us to pull back the curtain on the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film exhibition, Dior: Crafting Fashion (on view through August 23). We trace the legacy of Christian Dior from his mid-century "New Look" revolution to modern creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Jonathan Anderson. Discover the painstaking, fully handmade secrets of the Parisian haute couture ateliers, the architectural genius of 1990s director Gianfranco Ferré, and how the fashion house continues to style legendary Hollywood clients from Marlene Dietrich to contemporary stars.  
✦ ArtsATL Best Bets for the Week  ✦
ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison joins the show to share his top cultural recommendations for the week. His curated mix features The Atlanta African Dance and Drum Festival, Tommy Davidson at City Winery, and the Monster Ball in Little Five Points.
Special thanks to today’s sponsors:
The Sun ATL
It’s UATL
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do. ☕
 
 
00:00 Introduction and Welcome with Kim Drobes02:29 Delaney Benson on Spamalot National Tour at Fox Theatre09:16 The History of Standing Peachtree and Peachtree Street16:54 The History of Izzy: The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Mascot27:47 Beats, Bites, and Sights: Atlanta Culture Recommendations31:41 Christian Dior Crafting Fashion Exhibition Review at SCAD FASH41:59 ArtsATL Best Bets: Local Concerts, Festivals, and Comedy with Shane Harrison46:10 Show Wrap-up, Support Links, and Next Week's Preview  

✦  Julián Gonzalez-Diaz of FRESH JUGO  ✦ Stop-Motion Animation ✦ This is Somewhere ✦ Lucy Luckovich ✦ Best Bets ✦  Co-Curating the Future ✦
☕Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do☕
✦This Week On The Show ✦ 
This week’s featured contributor is Julián Gonzalez-Diaz! He’s a painter and the host of the FRESH JUGO podcast, where he has casual conversations with Atlanta creatives in a variety of disciplines. Julián breaks down his nomadic studio-recording setup and shares his journey from a pandemic-era graduation to navigating the local DIY art scene. We learn how his Mexican heritage and life in the American South converge to shape his portraits, still lifes, and his drive to amplify Atlanta artists.
✦ The Magic of Frame by Frame Animation at the Center for Puppetry Arts ✦ 
Atlanta documentarian and Viewist Productions founder Wesley Boutilier dives into the painstaking, beautifully tactile world of stop-motion animation at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Their new exhibition, Frame by Frame: The Art of Stop-Motion Animation, explores three decades of master craftsmanship. Learn about the intricate physical armatures, puppets, and production sets behind legendary cinematic milestones like Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, and SpongeBob SquarePants. After you hear the story on the podcast, go watch Boutilier’s short documentary. 
✦ Double Exposure: Capturing Soul in Atlanta & New Orleans ✦ 
ArtsATL reporter Jhazzy Joiner takes us to the historic Haugabrooks Gallery along Auburn Avenue for aKAZ! ATL’s This Is Somewhere. Founders and curators Anja and Jumbe Sebunya celebrate family ties by juxtaposing the drone-manipulated Atlanta cityscape photography of software engineer and YouTube personality Craig Lou with the striking black American cultural portraiture of Iman Sebunya, whose work honors the Black Masking Native Americans, second lines, and the essence of New Orleans.
✦ Lucy Lukovich's Dolly at Wolfgang Gallery ✦  
Julián Gonzalez-Diaz sits down with Atlanta contemporary painter Lucy Luckovich to discuss her upcoming solo exhibition, Dolly. Fresh off completing her Master of Fine Arts at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the Georgia State University alum explores the complex layers of female desire, advertising culture, and text-based lineage. She details her surrealist collage-to-canvas paintings and hidden illustrative drawings that will be on view at Wolfgang Gallery from July 17-August 22.
✦ ArtsATL Best Bets for the Week  ✦
ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison joins the show to share his top cultural recommendations for the week. His curated mix features the Atlanta Micro Short Film Festival, several concerts, and a new Off the Wall film screening projected onto the Beltline’s 725 Ponce building. 
✦Memento Gallery and Alday Hunken Gallery team up for new partnership✦  
Reporter Mitali Singh examines a radical new collaborative gallery model shaking up local art spaces. Gallery owners Madison Dailey of Memento Gallery in Virginia-Highland and Alfonso Alday Vergara of Alday Hunken Gallery discuss their shared curatorial vision. They dive into their debut joint exhibition, Held Traces, showing how the raw stone sculptures of Mexican artist Paula Cortazar and the haunting negative space in paintings by African-American artist Gabriel Choto reflect themes of migration, memory, and the decentralization of global art markets.
Special thanks to today’s sponsors:
Soul Food Cypher
Mainline Magazine
It’s UATL
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.
☕Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support the work we do☕  
 
00:00 Soul Food Cipher Freestyle Rap Sponsorship
01:30 Center for Puppetry Arts Stop-Motion Animation Exhibition
06:13 Julián González-Díaz Interview on Creative FLND Studios
13:05 Akazi ATL This Is Somewhere Photography Exhibition
18:05 Lucy Lukovich Dolly Exhibition Interview at Wolfgang Gallery
30:12 Best Bets
34:17 Julián’s Picks & Quick Q&A
34:39 Memento Gallery and Alday Hunken Gallery team up for new partnership
41:30 Fresh Jugo & Wordplay Collective Podcast Family Credits

This episode of the ATL Arts Collective spotlights Atlanta’s creative surge around the FIFA World Cup, featuring new city-commissioned murals, conversations with artists like Charity Hamidullah, Kyle Brooks, Melissa Mitchell, and Nick Turbo Benson’s Waffle House mural.We also cover the Atlanta Cultural Exchange at the CTR, spotlight Sheila Pree Bright’s Footwork exhibition at the Carlos Museum, ArtsATL’s Best Bets for the July 4th weekend, and community programs bringing art and sport together across the city.

✦ Guest co-host Chad Radford ✦ True Colors Theater presents Cinderella ✦ GULCH Magazine's Making it Work ✦ Kess Fest ✦ Elizabeth B. Stephens International Organ Competition ✦ Best Bets
 
✦This Week On The Show✦ 
This week’s guest co-host is Chad Radford! As the former longtime music editor for Creative Loafing and author of Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History, Chad has spent decades documenting the city's underground music scene. He shares the origin story of his website, RadATL, and explains how he single-handedly curates his new, independent live music and events calendar to help local music lovers avoid missing the best gigs in town. Chad will introduce and host a live-audience Q&A with Atlanta filmmaker James Schroeder for his new documentary, The Tree Economy, on June 26 at The Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End.
✦True Colors Theater Presents Cinderella✦ 
The True Colors Theatre production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella has officially taken over the Southwest Arts Center, bringing an all-Black, 1980s-inspired celebration of resilience to the stage. Directed and choreographed by Juel D. Lane, a College Park native in his directorial debut, the show infuses classic theater with ballroom voguing, breakdancing, and New Jack City fashion. Rising star singer Jai'len Josey performs as Cinderella, alongside former American Idol finalist LaToya London as Queen Constantina and Ithica Tell as the stepmother. ArtsATL writer Angela Oliver drops by to review why this production is the exact cultural medicine Atlanta needs right now. 
✦Gulch Magazine’s Making It Work: Patricia Hernandez✦ 
In this month's edition of Making It Work, Jasmine Hentschel of GULCH Magazine sits down with prominent Atlanta muralist and visual artist Patricia Hernandez. Patricia opens up about the reality of juggling freelance contractor gigs, multi-job survival skills, and parenting while pursuing a public art career in a rapidly changing city. She shares her personal experiences navigating the creative landscape as an immigrant and a woman of color and explains the mission behind her non-profit organization, Nuestra Creación, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to uplifting immigrant, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC creatives. Learn about their upcoming call for artists ahead of their October 5 exhibition at Echo Contemporary Arts, ensuring the next generation of Atlanta artists don't have to navigate the creative ecosystem alone.
✦Independent Music Advocacy and Kess Fest ✦  
We take a closer look at the upcoming Kess Fest benefit concert happening this Sunday at the historic Smith's Old Bar. Chad Radford highlights how the event,  founded by drummer and production manager Noah Kess, doubles as a crucial fundraiser for the Atlanta Musicians Emergency Relief Fund (AMERF), providing financial aid to local players and production techs in times of crisis. Get a preview of the unique lineup featuring bands whose members work behind the scenes in the local music industry, including Albatross, Nobody's Darlings, The Head, and the nine-piece Fourth Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, followed by a special film screening of Homicide Don't Die and a set from DJ Full Frequency.
✦Global Virtuosos Headed to Buckhead✦  
We dive into the third biannual Elizabeth B. Stephens International Organ Competition at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Buckhead. ArtsATL music reporter Jordan Owen explores the profound legacy behind the competition, organized by Sally Stephens Westmoreland to honor her late mother. Discover how this prestigious event drew 72 global applications for just six finalist spots. Organist and music director Scott Atchison joins the conversation to discuss the unique, required performance of Pamela Decker's contemporary piece Kairos alongside traditional classical compositions, as international finalists compete for $21,000 in cash prizes. The final round takes place on June 27.
✦ ArtsATL Best Bets for the Week  ✦
ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison stops by with his highly anticipated weekly roundup of need link top cultural happenings around the city. Today, his curated mix includes the Southern Fried Queer Pride festival, the Classical Remix Festival’s Gala Concert, and a screening of High Fidelity with John Cusack.
Special thanks to today’s sponsors:
Motherlode
Mainline Magazine
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Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois' "Hit the Deck from her album "Astral Heart," courtesy of Wicked Superb Records
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