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aKAZI ATL | Southern Surf StompFest  | GULCH | “Nature Embroidered” | Raphael Saadiq

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Atlanta Gallery aKAZI ATL showcases contemporary African art in new exhibition

One of the special things about the Atlanta art scene is the small and intimate art galleries that focus on a particular artistic style. City Lights Collective member Katina Pappas-DeLuca sat down with Anja and Jumbe Sebunya, the founders and curators of aKAZI ATL, to learn more about their gallery of contemporary African art and their upcoming exhibition titled “Peace, Reconciliation, and the Potential for Transformation.”

The location of aKazi ATL inside Haugabrooks is the perfect geographic synergy. Once a funeral home that served as an anchor in the African American community of Atlanta, Haugabrooks is now at the heart of the Historic District Development Corporation of the Sweet Auburn neighborhood.

The Sebunya’s personal connection to their art is perfectly evident in their plans for the upcoming exhibition titled “Peace, Reconciliation, and the Potential for Transformation,” where they will be amplifying the artwork of Gonzalo Mabunda, a Mozambican sculptor they met 30 years ago.

Southern Surf StompFest brings reverb, riffs and beach vibes to Avondale Estates

This Saturday, Sept. 27, the Avondale Estates Town Green will transform into a surf rock haven, featuring a lineup of local and national bands serving up a full day of reverb-drenched, beach-ready tunes. With DJs, vendors, and free admission, it’s an all-ages celebration of the classic surf rock sound. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane caught up with festival organizer Richard Hawes to dive into what makes this year’s Southern Surf StompFest a must.

“The Southern Surf Stomp Fest is a free yearly all-ages music festival that features a full lineup of instrumental surf bands from not just the Southeast but around the country. It had earlier incarnations also in the Atlanta area, but Stomp Fest has always been an Avondale because that’s where the handful of us were practicing at the time,” said Hawes.

This year, there are eight bands total–The Mystery Men, The Surf Lords from Athens, El Capitan, the Reluctant Sadists, The Flying Saucers, featuring former members of the Georgia Satellites, Big Ray and the Ultras and Eddie Angel of Low Strait Jackets.

GULCH contributors share this week’s art highlights, including a group show at Hawkins HQ

City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta’s visual art print magazine, “GULCH”, want you to get out and engage with the city’s art scene. They’ve been joining us weekly since the show launched, spotlighting five standout happenings.

Today, they’ll cover Atlanta Art Fair’s return to Pullman Yards for its second year in operation, an immersive indoor/outdoor art festival at Goat Farm’s sprawling 12-acre campus and kick off the fall season at Atlanta Contemporary with a roster of exhibition openings.

This week’s art highlights:

The Atlanta Art Fair is Sept. 25-28 at Pullman Yards.

There’s an art writing and publishing symposium Sept 26-28 at Ponce City Market. This three-day gathering hosted by Art Papers will reflect on the past, present, and future of contemporary art criticism in America.

Atlanta Contemporary is opening several new exhibitions, including “Night Loom” by Sonya Young James and “Ten Moon” by Jiha Moon, on Sept. 27.

A group exhibition at Hawkins Headquarters featuring new paintings by Gerald Lovell, Taylor Simmons and Jurell Cayetano opens Sept. 24 ahead of the Atlanta Art Fair.

You can find all that and more on GULCH Magazine’s website.

Myrtie Cope’s exhibit “Nature Embroidered” weaves photography with hand-stitched detail

Nature’s natural patterns often look like stitched-together works of art. Whenever you look at the underside of a leaf or up close at the petals of a flower, symmetrical patterns and lines are on display. In Myrtie Cope’s solo exhibition “Nature Embroidered,” she photographs nature and landscapes, then hand embroiders them with cotton or silk thread, enhancing nature’s patterns with texture.

Her work is on display at Blue Heron Nature Preserve’s indoor gallery through Oct. 2. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans spoke with Cope about her exhibit.

Soul and R&B artist Raphael Saadiq discusses decades-long career ahead of Atlanta show

When you start your career in music backing Shelia E and Prince in Tokyo when you’re eighteen, and your most recent accomplishment, three decades later, is writing songs for Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter, the Grammy award-winning album of the year, you might ask, what else could you possibly want to do? Well, Soul and R&B legend Raphael Saadiq has an answer for you. Saddiq spoke with City Lights Collective Co-host Jon Goode about his latest project, “The No Bandwidth Tour: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits.” It’s part music, part storytelling, and all Raphael Saadiq.

In 1986, Saadiq emerged on the music scene in a soul and R&B group, Tony! Toni! Toné! alongside his brother, the late Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian. Then, in 1995, Saadiq took center stage as a solo artist with the release of the song “Ask of You.”

He has released five critically acclaimed solo albums, and his work on Beyoncé’s most recent album, “Cowboy Carter,” earned him a Grammy as a songwriter on the “Album of the Year.”

“The No Bandwidth Tour: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits” promises to be unlike any show you’ve ever seen from Saadiq. It will be a night where Mr. Saadiq takes the stage with no band, pulls back the curtain, and tells you the stories and moments behind the songs you love so much.

“People need something to smile about, laugh about. And if I could just give people a little bit of that. Smile, hello, we all need that,” said Saadiq.

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