A (new) Genre Landscape exhibition

What happens when a public park becomes an artist studio? Twelve Atlanta artists will explore new ways of working with local communities through the creation of temporary site-specific "artscapes". Sponsored by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program (OCA/PAP), A (new) Genre Landscape Temporary Public Art Project will take place in twelve Atlanta parks through the summer of 2008.

The multi-disciplined contemporary public art of twelve Atlanta artists respond to a curatorial framework developed by project curator, Stuart Keeler. Stuart Keeler’s curatorial vision complements the OCA/PAP’s planning goal to invigorate and reconnect the city’s diverse neighborhoods and communities, as well as broaden accepted ideas of “public art” by asking the question: Can the networks, systems and fields of the "public park” create a new social landscape? Atlanta artists will examine new contexts of working with local communities through the creation of digital, sound, video and other experimental works.

The featured artists: Danielle Roney, Shiela Pree Bright, Avantika Bawa, Joseph Peragine, Pam Longobardi, and Craig Dongoski, Michael Reese, Last Stand Collaborative: Martha Whittington, Raymondo, Julie Newton, Coby Cranman (whose art piece The Last Stand, stringed instruments attached to trees in Grant Park is pictured), Tristan Al-Haddad, Matt Haffner, Ruth Stanford, Angus Galloway, and Nat Slaughter range from internationally recognized to emerging artists; from video and performing to visual artists. Talent, creativity and commitment to the collaborative process are things these diverse artists share. This innovative exhibition, A (new) Genre Landscape will offer fresh, dynamic and meaningful ways that art and non-arts sectors can creatively work together in the development of temporary site-specific artworks in Atlanta Parks. The twelve selected parks are located in the Southwest, Southeast, Northwest and Northeast City of Atlanta Park districts.

A (new) Genre Landscape, Temporary Public Art project is made possible by Opportunity Bond Park Initiative Funding. The City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, was established in 1974 to encourage and support Atlanta's cultural resources. The Office seeks to support programs that educate and expose the public to a rich and diverse range of cultural expression and aspires to make arts available to everyone. www.ocaatlanta.com.

Atlanta INtown will have a feature on the exhibition in the July issue, which will be out next week.