You know, Atlantans, you don't have to wait till football season to go to Athens. It's a conveniently close and interesting little city on its own merit. Check out what's new, fresh and fun.
If you tried to visit The Georgia Museum at the University of Georgia (Performing and Visual Arts Complex, UGA's East Campus, 90 Carlton Street, georgiamuseum.org , 706-542-4662) last summer you found eight galleries closed for remodeling. But the re-imagined spaces have recently reopened and the entire museum is transformed. The most noticeable thing when you walk in, for anyone who's been there before, is that the previously white walls have new coats of vibrantly colored paint on them. Also, removable walls are now in place that create specially designed spaces as needed.
Beyond the cosmetics, though, the museum's holdings are no longer as strictly separated into divisions of geographic origin and style, allowing visitors to experience greater variety in any individual space, while new wall text and art labels explain the connective tissue that links them all conceptually. Also, the museum's fine collection of works on paper will be changed out more frequently to minimize damage to the particularly light-sensitive items, which, for the visitor, means the likelihood of a different paper artscape every time they come.
There's change also at another beloved Classic City-based art project, the Indie South Fair (1377 Prince Avenue, indiesouthfair.com ).The traveling curated market that brings together artists and designers to showcase their handmade work all over the Southeast now has a new brick-and-mortar location in the retro hipster Normaltown neighborhood in Athens. That funky facility includes space for classes and workshops and there's still likely to be music, artisanal food and drink, and all sorts of creative fun going on. It's open Wednesday through Saturday.
But you can just walk around Athens these days for an eyeful of art. The town's " Fire Up the Hydrants " has resulted in the painting of 20 downtown fire hydrants and I daresay you've never seen more colorful, whimsical fire hydrants anywhere before. The locations of these objetsd'art and the names of the artists who created them are as follows:
Hancock at Lumpkin Water Business Office by Jennifer Zwirn
Hancock at College Double-barrel Cannon by Megan Reeves
Hancock at Thomas Parking Deck by Maggie Baxter
Hancock at Pulaski Creature Comforts by Will Eskridge
Broad at Thomas BB&T by Lily Swindle
Broad at Jackson La Dolce Vita by Anita Drink
Broad at College Five Guys by Lillian Hammond Sams
Broad at Lumpkin Newspaper Stand by Jamie Calkin
Broad at Hull Dress Up by Sofy Bertioli
Broad at Pulaski Gigi's Cupcakes by Sarah Cook
Clay at Pulaski Caledonia by Marc Beechuk
Clay at Hull Five by Christopher Charette
Clay at Lump Georgia Theatre by Sheridan Soileau
Clay at College Wuxtry by Dan Smith
Clay at Thomas Athens Wok by David Lunde
Washington at Thomas Parking Deck by Michelle Chidester
Washington at Jackson Georgian by Tonya Allen
Washington at College City Hall by Ashley Crain
Washington at Lumpkin Water Business Parking by Ellen Walker
Washington at Pulaski Philanthropy by Katie Yost
Athens, Georgia's namesake city in Greece was known not only as the birthplace of democracy but also as a fount of exceptional art and architecture. Look's like Bulldawg territory is keeping the tradition alive.
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