Downtown Atlanta's Vacant Storefronts Come Alive with Art Installations

Immersive art activations feature local artists and internationally acclaimed cultural institutions

Arts & Entertainment Atlanta (A&E Atlanta) announces the launch of Downtown Windows, an original community art initiative turning vacant storefronts in Downtown Atlanta into captivating artistic displays. This unique placemaking exhibition showcases the ingenuity of Atlanta's local artists as well as internationally acclaimed cultural partners, bringing an imaginative touch to the heart of the city from original photography to whimsical balloon magic.

A&E Atlanta believes in the transformative power of art to energize public spaces, stir economic growth, and bring communities together. This enthralling activation transforms the streets of Atlanta into an interactive gallery, inviting the community and visitors alike to engage with their surroundings through innovative art installations. This journey of creativity and expression honors the city's vibrant culture, turning vacant storefronts into a celebration of local artists who bring color and life to our urban landscape.

Featured Downtown Windows artists and activation spaces include:

Mike Stasny: Playful Whimsy with PINK BALLOOON 
42 Walton St NW
Artist Mike Stasny transforms 42 Walton St NW with his installation PINK BALLOOON. Stasny plays with the concept of joy and preposterousness, inviting onlookers to find delight in the absurd and whimsical.

Karo Duro: Interactive Windows of Wonder
130 Cone St NW
Karo Duro’s Windows of Wonder features an interactive exhibit that beckons spectators to engage with its vivid imagery and messages that resonate with the viewer’s current state of mind. It's an immersive experience that encourages reflection and a reconnection with the inner child.

Almost Gaia: Mystical Forest
82 Peachtree St SW
Almost Gaia’s installation transforms a maligned and misbegotten corner of Downtown Atlanta into a pocket of wonder. Once an empty and generic space, the inside has been transformed into a mystical forest using found materials, lighting, and natural elements. The multimedia techno-naturalist art collective was inspired by Atlanta’s nickname “city in the forest” and merges the natural with the constructed to make some magic for Downtown.

Floyd Hall & Elodie Le Breut: Photographic Narratives
223-225 Mitchell Street
The duo’s curated exhibition at 223-225 Mitchell Street, in partnership with ELEVATE and VILLA ALBERTINE, features photographers Ken West and Yohanne Lamoulère. Their work celebrates community stories and the unexplored peripheries of city life. Floyd Hall is a cultural producer and media strategist from Atlanta. His professional work often relates to the intersection of art, media 
and technology as platforms. He is the interim Director of Science Gallery at Emory University and the curator of many exhibitions in Atlanta. Elodie Le Breut is the Director of A.M.I, an organization dedicated to support the innovative music scene in Marseille, at the Friche la Belle de Mai.

As for the featured photographers whose work is on display, Ken West is a photographer based in Atlanta, known for his work on the African American community and the beauty of everyday things. His images have been used in national advertising campaigns for Fortune 50 brands and are held in several private and public collections. Ken has exhibited internationally including the Mint Museum, Gallery 72, and Eidelweiss Gallery in Berlin, and Atlanta’s Mayor’s Gallery at City Hall.

Yohanne Lamoulère is a French photographer who graduated from the École nationale supérieure de la photographie in Arles. She lives and 
works in Marseille. A member of the Tendance Floue collective, her favorite themes are the outskirts of cities and the protean nature of insularity. She published Faux Bourgs with Editions Le Bec en l'air in 2018, a compilation of her work on the city of Marseille.

"We believe that the heartbeat of Atlanta is most vibrant when its artists pulse with creative freedom. Downtown Windows isn't just about revitalizing spaces; it's about spotlighting the soul of our city through the eyes of our local talent,” said Fredalyn M. Frasier, Project Director of Planning and Urban Design at the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, who directs A&E Atlanta.

“By reimagining these vacant storefronts, we’re creating a canvas for artists to inspire, engage, and connect with the community,” Frasier said. “This initiative is a testament to Atlanta's resilience and ingenuity, inviting residents and visitors to explore the depths of our city's creativity. We're not just drawing people downtown; we're immersing them in what's possible when a city believes in the power of its artists."

A&E Atlanta plans to expand this project and bring additional artists and space activations to Downtown Atlanta in the coming months. For more information about Arts & Entertainment Atlanta, visit AEAtlanta.com.