21/22 season of art is announced
eyedrum embarks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 14, 2021
Surrender, 2021 - Kirstin Mitchell | Ego Te Absolvo
Eyedrum has finished primping and is officially asking all the old lovers, present crushes, and curious onlookers out on a date Saturday October 16, 2021 at 4:00pm. On view is Ego Te Absolvo, multi-disciplinary artist Kirstin Mitchell’s curatorial debut as well as the first show at the new eyedrum space.
On Mitchell’s relationship with the organization: “eyedrum has housed many career milestones for me, including a radical performance space for the Kiki Blood years, a spacious storefront studio to develop 2 & 3-dimensional work, and now a curatorial project space for collective ideas. I have seen some of the best and worst shows at eyedrum and this inclusivity speaks to the role this institution plays as a place for experimentation - Atlanta’s version of RedCat, Eyebeam or Franklin Furnace.”
New space new process: eyedrum Curatorial Residency Program
As part of the organizational evolution, new eyedrum selects Atlanta artists and musicians to serve as curators. eyedrum provides financial, marketing, studio, and event production support so that artists and musicians can make work in collaboration and in conversation.
2021-2022 Curators in Residence | Programming Dates
October – December 2021 KIRSTIN MITCHELL / video curatorial program with Kirstin Mitchell featuring the premiere of Ego Te Absolvo - a show about intimacy, affection, tenderness, and the central nervous system. A multi-artist holistic healing experience after months of chronic isolation and forced quarantine. This work will be also presented as a part of this year’s ELEVATE as a large-scale public work utilizing the exterior of 515 Ralph David Abernathy SW, eyedrum’s home. This show marks eyedrum’s opening gallery exhibit.
CURATOR BIO
Kirstin Mitchell is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Atlanta, Georgia.
(b. 1972) Mitchell creates experiential environments in various mediums including painting, installation, and performance. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally including exhibitions in Austria and Italy. Mitchell is a recent MOCA GA Working Artist Project Fellow and has a studio through the Atlanta Contemporary Studio Artist Program. She has performed with the support of the Franklin Furnace Fund in Manhattan, New York, and her work has been featured in Art in America, Art Papers, and Flash Art magazines. She has attended residencies at AIR Serenbe and abroad for the Premiodella Performance in Trentino, Italy. Recent solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta Contemporary, and Hathaway Gallery.
Collections include Portman Architects, MOCA GA, as well as private collections in the United States and Europe.
WEBSITE: www.kirstinmitchell.com
NYE 2022 - March 2022 MIKE STASNEY & GEORGE LONG / the purveyors of art shenanigans will launch with a very special new year’s eve art party.
April 2022 - June 2022 WILLIAM DOWNS / will celebrate the works of black women artists in a show united by the bonds of friendship.
CURATOR BIO
William Downs, born in Greenville, South Carolina, creates and resides in Atlanta, GA. He earned his multidisciplinary MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and his BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and Design. He continues his educational practice as a visiting guest lecturer and adjunct professor. Downs has shown in a sundry of group and solo exhibitions at venues across the United States and abroad including: E.C. Lina Gallery, LA, Contemporary Art Museum, MS, and the Century Gallery in London. In 2018, he received the Artadia Award and a Nellie Mae Rowe Fellowship at the Hambidge Creative Residency Center Program. Downs’ work featured in the Art AIDS America exhibition which toured nationally for a year headed by Rock Hushka and Johnathan Katz. Following, his work was chosen for the prolific Black Pulp! exhibition piloted by the International Print Center New York. This exhibit also showed at The Contemporary Art Museum at the University of South Florida and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Downs’ work is included in numerous permanent collections including the Peggy Cooper Cafritz Collection, Portman Collection, Schrager Collection and both the Birmingham Museum of Art & the High Museum of Art. He’s featured in various publications such as Black Pulp, Artforum, Sculpture Magazine, and Grizzly Grizzly’s 10 Years – 10 Essays – 10 Exhibits.
WEBSITE: https://williamedowns.com/
July 2022 TENURE TRACK ART PROFESSOR SHOW / Submissions for this presentation will be made available December 2022 and will be juried by the 2021-2022 curators in residence. This 3-week installation will feature a professor from the state of Georgia that is on track for tenure at their respective colleges or universities.
“We are incredibly excited to be able to open our doors and nurture the creatives that have nurtured us,” says board chair William Lawless. He continues by hinting that, “eyedrum is making connections that broaden our scope as an institution, meaning, Atlanta doesn’t have to stay in just Atlanta, it can be celebrated with intention, everywhere.”
Thank you to our major supporters - Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, City of Atlanta, Fulton County Arts Council and Mailchimp.
Please Note: COVID-19 Policy
It is our policy that we will adhere to recommendations set forth by the CDC. Currently, all public events will require a) proof of vaccination or b) proof of negative COVID test results AND everyone will be masked at all times within the confines of the eyedrum gallery. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided. If you do not want to wear a mask, then for the safety of our other patrons, staff, and artists, you will respectfully be asked to leave the property.
