AKT Artful

The #Atlanta #Beltline is one of the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs in the United States. It’s a network of public parks, multi-use trails, transit, and affordable housing along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor. The Atlanta Beltline connects 45 neighborhoods and creates a vibrant public space for recreation, commerce, and cultural expression. Along the path, you can find new restaurants, breweries, art galleries, local businesses, and experience arts and cultural exhibits and programs. I took a spin through the eastside portion of the Beltline that includes Krog Street Tunnel, a space designated for community street art. There was art everywhere I turned and I got to see even more as I explored the adjacent neighborhood known as Cabbagetown. Here are a few of my favorite pieces, including some by artists who have ties to Tallahassee!
 #MakeItArtful #AKTArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

I met up with my good friend Nathan Archer to get the lowdown on the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University. Nathan is their Marketing and Events Manager and knows everything there is to know about CMII’s cutting-edge facilities. Using emerging technologies, CMIl educates, trains and prepares students to become storytellers, media entrepreneurs and digital content creators. CMIl merges film, television, music, gaming and business with forward-thinking education and training to prepare students for careers in entertainment. CMIl offers a B.A. in game design, a B.S. in game development, a B.I.S. in media entrepreneurship and an M.F.A. in digital filmmaking. The CMIl team is composed of scholars and professors of practice who work with students not only on theory but also on practical industry knowledge. The space boasts an array of computer labs, recording and editing studios, screening rooms, a maker’s space, a flight simulator, and a volumetric and motion-capture production studio that drew the attention of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola. He made a visit to work directly with CMII students to generate content for his film Megalopolis! #MakeItArtful #AKTArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

NERD ALERT: "A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I've Learned from a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions" by Stephen "Steve-O" Glover candidly details the tumultuous life of the stunt performer and TV personality known for his outrageous antics on "Jackass." Glover recounts his journey from reckless behavior fueled by addiction to sobriety and personal redemption. He reflects on the consequences of his actions, shares humorous and sometimes harrowing anecdotes, and explores the profound lessons learned from a life lived on the edge. Like or follow me for more artful inspiration and ideas! #AKTArtful #MakeItArtful #ReadABook #WhatImReading #NerdAlert #StephenGlover

Organized annually by the Art Dealers Association of America, and benefitting Henry Street Settlement, one of New York’s leading social service, arts, and health care organizations, “The Art Show” brings together the country’s top galleries to showcase incisively curated exhibitions of both historical and contemporary works. This year more than 70 galleries were represented. The fair’s intimately scaled presentations foster new relationships, active conversations with gallerists, and close looking at works by artists representing a variety of genres, practices, and national and international origins. I got the chance to connect with lots of new folks who are doing great work celebrating incredible artists from all over the world. #AKTArtful #MakeItArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

No matter what, I always go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. I was a little sad this time that I couldn’t visit my favorite collection of paintings. They’re usually in room 764 but it was closed for reinstallation so I was on the hunt for some new favorite pieces. Here are a few that caught my eye along with two cool special exhibitions - “Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room” and “Floridas: Anastasia Samoylova and Walker Evans.” #MakeItArtful #AKTArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

I never miss the chance to visit the American Museum of Natural History while I’m in #NYC. This time I got the extra special treat of touring the brand new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. It opened six months ago and is an architectural marvel with curved walls and vaulted ceilings that evoke the organic scaffolding seen in systems throughout the natural world. The new space includes an insectarium, butterfly vivarium, floor-to-ceiling collections displays, and more—and connects to the rest of the American Museum of Natural History on four floors. “Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry” is on now in the new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. The show highlights the evolution of jewelry in hip-hop over the past five decades, starting with oversized gold chains embraced by rap’s pioneers in the 1980s and moving through the 1990s, when emcees turned business moguls sported record label pendants sparkling with diamonds and platinum. My favorite piece in the show is the “Big Ass Chain” designed and loaned by #Tallahassee’s own T-Pain! #AKTArtful #MakeItArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

My major concentration as an undergrad was printmaking and I’m an absolute fiend for textiles so I had to see “Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present” at The New York Public Library. The exhibition is the first to showcase works by contemporary visual artists that operate at the cross-section of prints and textiles, and includes a selection of historical works that similarly highlight the marriage between the two mediums. Included in the show are works by artists like Louise Bourgeois, Alison Saar, and Loretta Pettway as well as artifacts like an elaborate double portrait of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette on silk and a large swath of 18th-century calico cloth with an allegorical portrait of George Washington. #AKTArtful #MakeItArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful

Soooo, this happened! I met Cole Escola and gave them an AKT Artful swag bag! I’ve been following the trajectory of Cole Escola and their brainchild “OH, MARY!” with delight. I knew this was one of those shows that I had to make every effort to see and I’m so glad I did. It’s completely bonkers in the best possible way and there’s simply nothing else like it. Few things make me happier than when an artist shows you that there are still new ideas to explore and risks that you simply must take. #AKTArtful #MakeItArtful Keep up with my artful adventures on a Facebook at AKT Artful and on Instagram @akt.artful