a brief history of atlanta’s eyedrum |

Established in 1998, eyedrum is an art gallery, exhibition and performance venue, and community space. This non-profit organization became a key community resource by supporting and presenting works of art covering a broad range of sensibilities with an emphasis on the experimental: new forms and work that are not widely presented elsewhere.

eyedrum was born as Silver Ceiling in a downtown loft apartment. As it gained a following, it was renamed eyedrum and moved to a storefront at 253 Trinity Street in Castleberry Hill. Shortly thereafter, to make room for more music events, it expanded to the basement next door.

During its first decade, eyedrum experienced several phases of growth. In 2001, eyedrum moved to a 5,000-square-foot space at 290 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE, and later, in 2004, added another 3,000 square feet. After losing its lease in 2010, eyedrum embarked on a new era as an itinerant organization establishing multiple partnerships throughout the art community. Presenting events in conjunction with the Goat Farm Arts Center, Seen Gallery, Beep Beep Gallery, Arts Exchange, and others, aided eyedrum in its efforts to reach new audiences. In May of 2013, eyedrum became part of C4 Atlanta’s FUSE Arts Center, an artist co-working space in downtown Atlanta, where they presented a variety of programs: five multi-week gallery shows, a one-week retrospective, and more than fifty music, performance, literary, and film events. In August of 2014, eyedrum signed a 7-year lease on a 101-year-old building in South Downtown Atlanta in which DIY efforts and community support are working to revive the space as an arts venue and continue with a multitude of new arts programs. In the spring of 2018, due to forces beyond their control, eyedrum began to vacate the property on Forsyth St.

October 2021, Eyedrum will open its doors at 515 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW.

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