After months of strenuous planning, Victoria Camblin strode around the Art Papers Auction & Party on this unusually balmy winter night recounting the awesome talents represented in this year’s show.
“Art Papers is cool because historically we haven’t been super-formal and it’s never been just about the recognized artists,” she says. “It’s also always been about artists just off the radar. Maybe because they’re not in New York or maybe somehow underrepresented or coming from a different educational background or no educational background at all.”
Art Papers Auction returns to Atlanta
In her fourth year as editor of the famous magazine and artistic director of the venerable organization, Camblin was game this night to serve as both host and herald. Soft music played in the background as guests looking to bid on some of the boldest and abstract art pieces you could imagine mingled with one another while enjoying hors d’oeuvres.
Atlanta’s art scene is alive and well, thank you, in large part to the years of service publications like Art Papers have done to promote it. Camblin says part of that has to do with the liberties the artists themselves have engendered.
“I think art is an interesting area in which to talk about important stuff in freer ways,” she says. “For instance, if you’re a scientist or politician or something, I feel that the constraints around those conversations you can have are a lot more strict, whereas an artist can go in there and talk about language, identity, geographies. They can talk about color and all these other things, and the potential for dialog and the potential for experimentation is just much bigger, but you can still be talking about very important issues.”
This year’s event marked the group’s 19th auction and party. Held on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, the event attracted some of Atlanta’s best-dressed movers and shakers to a huge entertainment space adjacent to the old Macy’s building on Peachtree Street downtown.
“Some of the artists on the wall at Art Papers right now are talking about affordable housing, gerrymandering and other things,” she says, emphasizing the concept of art as a lens for the real world.
Camblin, who studied in New York before moving to Berlin and being captivated by the art scene there, says that even in her early years she was interested in visual art, but only as a professional has she fostered a love for the contemporary variety.
Patrons at the Art Papers Auction & Party on Feb. 24, 2018. Photo credit: CJ Johnson. Top photo: Camblin, artistic director of Art Papers at the event’s annual auction and party on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. In the background is a piece by Jaymerson Payton. Photo Credit: T. Waters.
“In college, I studied philosophy and ended up double majoring in art history,” she adds.
She credits Berlin’s avant garde cultural scene with exposing her to the wonders and possibility of contemporary art. “The art scene there was just exploding,” she says.
Camblin says that Atlanta’s hip-hop scene and the energy around it reminds her of how Berlin’s art scene was. “It was just like that,” she says.
Art Papers were founded in 1976 by artists in the Atlanta Art Workers Coalition, a nonprofit organization that formed to promote the local art scene and support its artists.
As word grew, the group eventually produced a newsletter, the first one being a single-paged hand-typed flyer.
The publication started off covering local artists, but quickly went regional, finally evolving into an international magazine. Today, the group, which has just a handful of employees, is a critical voice with immeasurable global prestige in contemporary arts circles.
Camblin said the key to the organization’s longevity has been its ability to remain astute at keeping its pulse on Atlanta and other parts of Georgia, at the same time covering arts happenings across the country and the world.
She says that she’s been encouraged by the support Art Papers has garnered through the years.
“I think its very cool,” she says. “The community that has formed around the Art Papers is really impressive because they’ve really rallied around the organization for decades and there have been times — about once every 10 years — when things were really hard for arts organizations locally and people have just rolled up their sleeves and kept it afloat.”
“That was one of the main reasons why I was attracted to Art Papers, actually, because people really seemed to care.”
It’s also true that Camblin herself cares deeply about the arts. She says she’s vested in finding new and emerging artists in Atlanta and the surrounding region.
“I personally go into a lot of young artists’ studios or, for instance, I’ll go into classrooms or programs, like at Georgia State [University], I’m in that art department a lot,” she says. “We’ve done some class visits at Agnes Scott, I did a workshop at Spelman and we did a little dossier about art that’s in the college’s collections. Also, our interns keep me plugged into the art scene,” she says.
The second season of “Atlanta FX” will premiere at 10 .m. Thursday, March 1, 2018, bringing Donald Glover, Lakeith Stanfield and Bryan Tyree Henry back to the small screen for an encore.
Also back are Earnest (Earn) Marks and Vanessa (Van) Keifer, who have a child together on the show but are one of those couples that aren’t together but continue to see each other.
“At FX, they didn’t get Earn and Van at all,” Glover told The New Yorker. “I said, ‘This is every one of my aunts—you have a kid with a guy, he’s around, you’re still attracted to him.’ Poor people can’t afford to go to therapy.”
The show promises to have the same fierceness, the same pop as the first season.
Glover, who as auteur of “Atlanta FX” is simultaneously recording another album as Childish Gambino and shooting a new “Star Wars” movie, feels that his TV show should be funny, but for the right reasons.
“I don’t even want them laughing if they’re laughing at the caged animal in the zoo,” he told the New Yorker. “I want them to really experience racism, to really feel what it’s like to be black in America. People come to ‘Atlanta’ for the strip clubs and the music and the cool talking, but the eat-your-vegetables part is that the characters aren’t smoking weed all the time because it’s cool but because they have P.T.S.D.—every black person does. It’s scary to be at the bottom, yelling up out of the hole, and all they shout down is ‘Keep digging! We’ll reach God soon!’ ”
Such insight is why we can’t wait for Thursday night on the FX channel.
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Brunch has always been one of the most satisfying meals of the week. For some reason that we have not been able to demystify, brunch is nearly always associated with Sundays. Why?
Surely you should be able to enjoy poached eggs and coffee at 2 p.m. on any day of the week. Anyhoo, speaking of Sundays, Atlanta has some pretty righteous brunch spots.
Here are five of the best brunch joints in the ATL.
The Southern Gentleman: The Shops Buckhead Atlanta 3035 Peachtree Rd NE
Ste A 208 Atlanta, GA 30305
This Buckhead gem is fashionably decorated and located, making it a tourist favorite. Featuring such hits as the shrimp and grits and Monte Cristo brunch joint, you don’t want to sleep on this restaurant. In three short years, it has become one of Buckhead’s best. A Yelper says this: ““It’s owned by the same group that recently opened Gypsy Kitchen in the new Buckhead Atlanta shopping district.”
Sun In My Belly 2161 College Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30317
A Yelper says: ““We’re ready to go back for dinner asap–if you love this place for brunch/lunch, give dinner a whirl.”
Buttermilk Kitchen 4225 Roswell Rd NE Atlanta, GA 30342 Buckhead
A Yelper says: ““We had French toast, an omelettes, eggs ried hard, the pimento cheese grits and their exclusive Tennessee smoked bacon…yum!”
Whiskey Bird 1409 N Highland Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30306 Morningside / Lenox Park
A Yelper says: “Whiskey Bird is super cool inside, imagine concrete floors, light wood tables, and almost-Scandinavian-meets-Japanese decor. We were a little early for our reservation on a Saturday night, but the place wasn’t crowded at all, so they seated us right away. Immediately, I looked over the drink list (lots of whiskey options, naturally) and the rose sake sangria caught my eye! It was really tasty, light in alcohol but still high in flavor, and a really unusual sangria, in the best way. My dude had the Whiskey Bird sour to start, which was tasty.”
West Egg Cafe 1100 Howell Mill Rd NW Atlanta, GA 30318 Westside / Home Park
A Yelper says: ““When I want breakfast/brunch it’s most likely a West Egg craving.The Georgia Benedictis my thing but everything I’ve had here is great.”
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AAA has unveiled its list of restaurants that have earned the AAA Five Diamond Rating over the last year. The vaunted designation qualifies the eateries for the prestigious Five Diamond Restaurants list.
Atlanta, home to some pretty swanky spots that have opened over the past five years, has only four restaurants to make the list. But given that some major cities have none, we’ll take the quartet.
“Five Diamond restaurants have evolved over the years to meet the changing expectations of restaurant enthusiasts who are increasingly sophisticated about cuisine,” said Michael Petrone, director, AAA Inspections & Diamond Ratings.
Here are metro Atlanta’s 10 restaurants (out of nearly 700) that have earned the four diamond designation:
The restaurants signal the very best in culinary arts as well as top-notch service and atmosphere.
Petrone added: “Guests want to learn about cooking techniques, ingredient sourcing and the latest trends. They are looking for a wide-ranging dining experience that includes being educated and entertained. No longer does world-class necessarily mean formal attire and opulent surroundings. And that’s where AAA’s Diamond Ratings can help guide the discerning diner.”
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AT&T has started bringing out its 5G network in earnest. As it promised, it has began to roll out its platform this year. That means Atlanta is a 5G city.
The company recently announced that Atlanta, Waco and Dallas will all get mobile 5G by the end of 2018. Twelve cities are slated to get the technology, which is expected to exponentially speed up internet access for the region.
“Our mobile 5G deployments this year will be based on 3GPP standards. We will use mmWave to provide mobile 5G first, and then deploy the technology on additional spectrum bands,” an AT&T spokesperson said. “Also, note that the equipment that we are deploying today in our LTE network is 5G capable. So the work that we are doing now prepares us to seamlessly migrate to standards-based 5G.”
AT&T’s 5G is not going to be 5G technically (more like 4.5G). In the beginning. top speeds are expected to be around 400 Mbps, which is about 40 times faster than a standard data connection.
No word yet on when exactly the cities will get 5G.
International Pretty Brown Girl Day embodies the mission of celebrating and uplifting girls of color by creating a day of solidarity on the 4th Saturday in February each year. Annually, we choose a theme that supports the learning and empowerment of our pretty brown girls across the globe.
We’re excited to announce our 7th Annual International Pretty Brown Girl Day on Saturday, February 24, 2018! Our theme is “Envision Your Future, Manifest Your Purpose”, as we seek to encourage girls to “Dream Big” by visualizing their success while exploring the process of Envisioning Success.
This year’s Pretty Brown Girl Day will be a day of encouraging girls across the country to nurture a generous heart, courage of mind, a boldness of spirit and of course to Dream BIG! We’re calling for 1,000 girls nationwide to join us by hosting a Pretty Brown Girl “Vision Board Party”!
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One of the city’s preeminent treats company’s is looking to hire a few good employees. King of Pops wants help for the spring and summer, the shop says.
This is what the job listing says: We are looking for highly enthusiastic, self-reliant and thoughtful individuals to be a part of our slinger team. Slingers sell pops out of our signature carts at a variety of events and spots across the city, so we’re looking for fun people that like to seek out customer engagement (rather than avoid it). Ability to work independently and problem-solve in a variety of circumstances is key, and a fun-loving attitude and friendliness are musts.
The company says no prior experience or education is required. Compensation: $9-10/hr (+ tips).
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One Midtown Kitchen, the venerable Midtown Atlanta dining institution that raised the bar for countless eateries in the city, is closing its doors, AtlantaFi has learned.
The news was first reported by The AJC Tuesday and confirmed by a statement from the eatery’s parent company,Concentrics Restaurants. The restaurant, which is located at 559 Dutch Valley Rd NE, will close on March 4.
“In the spirit of being passionate pioneers in the restaurant and hospitality industry and always working to be at the forefront of trends, we are announcing that the ONE. midtown kitchen brand will be retiring on March 4, 2018.”
The restaurant, known for its bold dishes and transcendent atmosphere, will be missed, but the owners indicate that they will be back with new concepts for Atlanta.
The company said it was closing the doors “to allow us to focus on new and exciting concepts in Atlanta and across the country,” a statement from the group said.
They added: “We sincerely thank our patrons, the community and Atlanta for the support you’ve given ONE over the past 16 years. It’s been an incredible run. To bid ONE a proper farewell, we hope you will join us our final weeks for favorite menu items, throwbacks, fantastic cocktails and good cheer.”
One Midtown Kitchen opened in 2002.
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Georgia State University is among the top schools in the nation when it comes to grants tied to the Fulbright Scholar Program, the university said recently.
Georgia State tied for sixth place with three other universities in the top 18 research institutions with faculty scholars under the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program.
“Under its strategic plan, Georgia State continues to strive toward its goal of achieving distinction in globalizing the university, in addition to becoming a leading research university addressing the most challenging issues of the 21st century,” Risa Palm, senior vice president of academic affairs and provost at Georgia State, said in a statement. “Faculty receiving grants under the program are engaging in important research and scholarship that builds upon the university’s growing distinction in addressing significant global issues, and also contribute to Georgia State’s expanding research profile.”
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On Tuesday, Feb. 20, if you want a free chicken biscuit, it’s free at Chick-fil-A in metro Atlanta. There is no purchase necessary, one per customer.
The fast food chain is running the free promotion all morning up until 10:30 a.m.. That’s when breakfast ends and the kitchens will convert to lunch preparation.
Three weeks ago, Chick-fil-A opened a new restaurant on North Decatur Road in Decatur and gave customers a chance to win free food for a year. The new location at 650 Decatur Village Way brought about 90 jobs with it and is one of several new eateries planned for 2018.
To celebrate, all participating Atlanta-area Chick-fil-A restaurants gave away a free chicken biscuit on Jan. 23.
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girls of color by creating a day of solidarity on the 4th Saturday in February each year. Annually, we choose a theme that supports the learning and empowerment of our pretty brown girls across the globe.
