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Art may be imitating life in a big way for a select group of cities around the United States.
The end of the box office smash “Black Panther” features T’Challa telling his sister that she will spearhead a Wakanda-backed science program for school-aged kids in Oakland. Well, now Disney is reportedly making that dream into a reality.
ComingSoon is reporting that Disney will be donating $1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to aid its STEM program. Other Boys & Girls Clubs that will benefit include those in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Harlem, New York; Hartford, Connecticut, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Watts, California.
“Black Panther” has amassed more than $700 million in two weekends and is well on its way to a $1 billion return, virtually assuring at least two sequels and deep integration with following Marvel movies, including “The Avengers.”
To really appreciate how big “Black Panther” has been, consider its $404 million haul after its first 10 days is the second-fastest-grossing movie of all time, beating 2017’s “The Last Jedi ($368 million), “The Avengers” ($373 million) and “Jurassic World” ($402 million).
Only “The Force Awakens” ($540 million) took in more over that time period.
Across the genre, “Black Panther” is the eighth-best selling superhero movie ever.
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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. -
Clark Atlanta University graduate Amy Sherald became the first black artist to create an official, Smithsonian-commissioned portrait when she created one of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
That one, as well as one of former President Barack Obama, was unveiled Monday as part of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
The former president’s portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley, an artist known for black art. After getting her undergrad in ATL, Sherald left for Baltimore, where she got her master’s degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
She’s been doing art for more than 10 years but just recently got critical acclaim. She won first place in the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
The portraits were be available to be viewed by the public beginning next week.
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The East Atlanta Santa is promising to gift the city with another one of his contributions. Local Rapper Gucci Mane says that he is bringing a feature-length film on his life to the big screen.
“#TheAutoBiographyOfGuccimane is coming to a theatre near you #DirectorGuccimane #1017Films,” he tweeted recently. The movie will be based on the book of the same name.
The Autobiography of Gucci Mane chronicles the rapper’s rise from local artist to mainstream phenom. The book goes into detail about the rapper’s struggle with drug abuse, especially lean (codeine). Here’s an excerpt:
“My own habits with the stuff had gotten bad. Over the years, there had been times when I’d gone too hard with the X pills, but that had always felt recreational. With the lean, I’d developed a dependence. It became something I needed. My life was moving fast, and this drink helped me slow everything down. I was now on the road nearly every weekend, which meant long bus rides of smoking weed and sipping lean to pass the time. I just wasn’t as outward with my usage as a lot of other rappers were with the Styrofoam cups because I was still on probation.
In the beginning, lean had been something special, a vice I enjoyed. An indulgence. Now it was something I required to operate. My fame was at an all-time high, and these pints helped me calm down and relax in situations where I would otherwise feel anxious, like a big performance or a radio interview where I knew I’d get asked about some shit I didn’t want to talk about.
Is that not the stuff of movie or what? Gucci will no doubt have to confront his demons in the film, such as his time in prison and checkered relationship with fellow rapper Waka Flaka Flame. But all of that should make the flick a bestseller, just like the book.
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Actor Chadwick Boseman is living high off the hog these days thanks to his recent movie credits, including a star turn as James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and now “Black Panther.”
The actor said that when he stayed down South to film (largely in the Atlanta area) he was reminded of the progress the nation has made — and the lack thereof. He told culture website Mr. Porter that he witnessed firsthand a gathering of the Ku Klux Klan as he drove home to visit family in South Carolina.
“When I was shooting Black Panther in Atlanta, I used to drive back on off-days to go see my family in Anderson. It’s about two hours,” he told the website.
“And I would see the Klan holding rallies in a Walmart car park,” he added. “So it’s like we’re going forwards and backwards at the same time. People don’t want to experience change, they just want to wake up and it’s different. But this — shooting Black Panther and then driving past the Klan —that’s what change feels like.”
“Black Panther” has gotten super reviews since it screened for celebrities last week on the big screen. The film debuts Feb. 13 in select markets and opens up nationwide two days later.
During a special screening on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Atlanta, MPAA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said that the film’s production has generated $83.9 Million to Georgia’s economy, according to Deadline.
At the 2018 Chicago Auto Show, a Lexus exec crushed over the fact that the automaker’s new LC 500 model is featured prominently in the movie.
“There is one scene I’m not happy about. There’s a scene when [King T’Challa] slid across the hood and left a huge scratch on the car,” said Koji Sato, the executive general manager of the Lexus LC 500, according to Thedrive.com. “What is wrong with you, that’s my baby! Why would you do that? You are crazy!”
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Bruno Mars, the most celebrated artist in music these days, is giving a major assist to Atlanta’s hip-hop scene. In reference to the fact that the city will be hosting the Super Bowl next year, he tweeted Monday that the NFL should take advantage of Atlanta’s musical heritage by spotlighting the area’s rap talent.
“@NFL you have the opportunity to celebrate incredible Hip Hop Artist from Atlanta Next year,” he tweeted.
Atlanta is home to multiple hip-hop artists such as T.I., Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outcast, Killer Mike, Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Young Yatchy, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, 21 Savage, B.o.B., Trinidad James, Lil Scrappy — and many, many more.
Also on Monday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was literally handed the ball as the countdown to the Super Bowl began in earnest.
Atlanta is proud to host the world’s biggest sporting event in the amazing @MBStadium. Thank you @NFLCommish and the @NFL organization for the opportunity. We are ready to #RiseUp for @SuperBowl 53! pic.twitter.com/xYmmUR2kLv
— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) February 5, 2018
Bottoms has a long list of logistical issues that she has to handle before tens of thousands of people descend upon the city for the 2019 Super Bowl.
Read more: Travis Scott, Maroon 5 to perform at Super Bowl halftime
Super Bowl Opening Night tickets go on sale
Migos, Ludacris to perform at Super Bowl 53 concert
Jermaine Dupri gives nod to ATL artists for Super Bowl Live concerts
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Alonzo Herndon, born into slavery in 1858 in rustic Walton County, Georgia, had a dream while many African-Americans were still living a nightmare. A mulatto born of a white man, Frank Herndon, who never acknowledged him, and black slave named Sophenie, Herndon set out after Emancipation to make something of himself.
Many blacks, happy to be free but befuddled about its ramifications, took to staying on their former masters’ properties as hired help since they didn’t know much about business. Herndon tried his hand as a laborer and peddler before moving to Senoia to learn barbering.
His barbering business grew quickly, making Herndon a small fortune. He would soon move to Atlanta, helming three barbershops and counting among his customers many of the city’s elite.
He then turned his attention to real estate and banking, investing in Atlanta’s black community. AS one of America’s first black millionaires, Herndon founded the Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company.
In October 2017, the Georgia Historical Society unveiled a new historical marker as part of the Georgia Civil Rights Trail.
Those on hand for the dedication included ince Dooley, Chairman of the Georgia Historical Society Board of Curators; Dr. Mark Becker, President, Georgia State University; Lonnie C. King, Jr., Atlanta Student Movement veteran; Kwanza Hall, Atlanta City Councilman, District 2; Dr. Sarah Cook, Honors College, Georgia State University; and Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
“The epicenter of the civil rights movement was situated in Georgia,” Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society, said, according to a press release. “So it’s appropriate that the Georgia Historical society has created the Georgia Civil Rights Trail as a way to encourage the public to learn more about the vital role that our state and its people played in securing full citizenship for African Americans. It’s a legacy we all share as Georgians. For anytime that one group gains its civil liberties, we all are that much more free.”
“The recognition of this great man is long overdue,” said Lonnie King. “Alonzo Herndon succeeded against all odds and to see him honored by the Georgia Historical Society and the leadership of of Georgia State University is very fitting.”
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Donald Glover’s runaway hit “Atlanta” not just introduced us to diverse characters who riffed on the nuances of the city, but it also introduced millions of people to the Atlanta brand.
But after just one season, the show disappeared from the FX schedule. Glover has gone on to produce a critically acclaimed album and gotten a juicy part in the “Star Wars” franchise as a younger Lando Calrissian.
On Friday, the official Twitter account for the show tweeted “3.1,” which we all have taken to mean that on March 1, 2018, the show will return.
The date is not far off from when those connected with the show expected it to return. Co-star Lakeith Stanfield reportedly said that the second seasonwill premiere in February on FX, according to Pitchfork.
It’s not like the show’s hiatus didn’t serve the cast members well.
The show’s other actors have become hot among movie producers, with Lakeith Stanfield stealing some major shine in “Get Out” and “Death Note,” and playing alongside Brian Tyree Henry in “Crown Heights.”
Meanwhile, Zazie Beetz will get some major screen time in “Deadpool” sequel with more on tap.
Glover, for his part, has felt like the long hiatus has been healthy for fans of the hit show.
“I’m not the type of person to rush anything,” he told Fader magazine last fall. “I feel like if you rush it, you’ll start to get something you don’t want and then you start to question why you even liked it. I’m not gonna make anything until it’s ready. But to be completely honest, it’s almost ready. I’m pretty happy with a lot of the things, and I think it’s better than the first season.”
Watch one of Atlanta FX season 1’s funniest moments
Well, we’ll believe it when we see it. And hopefully soon.