The Studio Festivals in Bloom

A guide to Intown’s can’t miss art and music festivals

By Kathy Dean and Collin Kelley

ATLANTA ARAB FESTIVAL

The 12th annual celebration of Arab culture will be held April 22 - 23 at the Alif Institute, 3288 Marjan Drive. There will be music, food, art and more. More details at alifinstitute.org.

SANDY

Springs Artsapalooza 2017

This year’s Artsapalooza is April 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and April 16, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. featuring local musicians, interactive art stations, plus up to 150 arts and crafts participants in every discipline. The event is held at 6100 Lake Forrest Drive. For more information, visit sandyspringsartsapalooza.com.

Inman Park Festival

The 46th annual festival will be held April 2930 from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The annual Tour of Homes (see page 56 for more details) begins on Friday, April 28. In addition to all the arts and crafts, music and food, the big event is the annual parade, which kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Edgewood and Euclid and runs to Austin Avenue. Parking will be strictly limited (or non-existent), so festivalgoers are encouraged to walk, bike, take MARTA to the Inman Park station or get dropped off by a ride share near the area. For more info: inmanparkfestival.org.

FESTIVAL ON PONCE

The spring version of the festival will be held April 1-2 in Olmsted Linear Park along Ponce de Leon Avenue. Visitors will enjoy fine art and crafts, folk and “outsider art” from more than 125 artisans, a children’s area and a line-up of some of Intown’s favorite food trucks. For a full list of artists and events, visit festivalonponce.com.

ATLANTA DOGWOOD FESTIVAL

Piedmont Park will be buzzing once again on April 7-9 with the 81st annual Dogwood Festival. Hours are noon to 11 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The annual celebration of the dogwood will feature live music, arts and crafts, food booths and familyfriendly activities including the Mimosa 5K event on Saturday and the U.S. Disc Dog Southern Nationals, a world-class competition starring the top Frisbee dogs in the nation. Free admission. Get the details at dogwood.org.

SWEETWATER 420 FESTIVAL

The annual music and beer festival returns to Downtown’s Centennial Olympic Park on April 21-23. This year’s music line-up includes Widespread Panic, Ween, Trey Anastasio Band, Slightly Stoopid, Dirty Heads, Moe, Trombone Shorty and many more. The 420 Disco line-up includes Break Science, San Holo, Sunsquabi, G-Buck and Tep NoSavoy. For full details about the weekend and to buy VIP tickets, visit sweetwater420fest.com.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors coming to High Museum in 2018

On the heels of the announcement of the big summer Andy Warhol exhibition, the High Museum of Art in Midtown has also announced another expected blockbuster for 2018: “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.”

The exhibit is currently in Washington D.C., where tickets disappeared in minutes, and will be at the High Museum from Nov. 18, 2018 through Feb. 17, 2019.

Organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, this exhibition will take visitors on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through more than 60 years of Kusama’s creative output and will explore the evolution of the artist’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, her iconic kaleidoscopic environments. The exhibition will present six of these rooms, along with other large-scale installations, sculptures, paintings, works on paper, and archival photographs and films from the early 1950s through the present.

Also on view will be numerous new works by the 87-year-old artist, who is still very active in her Tokyo studio, including her recently completed “Infinity Mirror Room—All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins,” featuring dozens of Kusama’s signature dotted, bright-yellow pumpkin sculptures.

Other major works will include the artist’s original landmark installation, “Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field,” featuring a vast expanse of red-spotted white tubers in a room lined with mirrors, and “Dots Obsession—Love Transformed into Dots,” a mirrored room filled with inflatables suspended from the ceiling.

By Collin Kelley

The Alliance Theatre will take its 2017/18 season on the road to venues around the city as work begins on renovating its home at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Venues for the 49th season include the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center, Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center, Marcus Jewish Community Center, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Actor’s Express, Spelman College, Dad’s Garage, Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta History Center, The Galloway School and the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University.

Season highlights include “Shakespeare in Love,” “Crossing Delancey,” “Candide,” “The Jungle Book,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the annual production of “A Christmas Carol” and two one-acts – “Hospice” and “Pointing at the Moon” – from Alliance Playwright in Residence Pearl Cleage. The full list of shows can be seen at alliancetheatre. org, where season tickets are already available. Single show tickets will be available in July.

“It never felt like the right choice to simply produce the off campus season in a single venue – or even in two venues that might approximate our two theatres,” said Alliance artistic director Susan V. Booth. “We have a once-in-an-organizational-lifetime opportunity to truly be Atlanta’s theatre. For 48 years, metro Atlanta has supported us by making the trip to our front door. It seemed like we had the opportunity to return the favor, and to do so in a way that celebrated the best of Atlanta by taking our work to a slate of cultural venues across our city. If we do this work right, each work will feel inevitably matched to its venue, and we’ll be both taking our loyal supporters on a curated trip around their city, and meeting new audiences that we can hopefully bring home with us in the years ahead.”

The Alliance renovation project will include a complete transformation of the stage, the theater’s rehearsal spaces, education and artist support spaces. The theatre company plans to return to its new space, which will include the renamed Coca-Cola Stage, in time for its 50th anniversary season in late 2018.

Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone: This musical revue by Theatrical Outfit lays bare the rich legacy of an American icon whose work spans genres from jazz to gospel to blues to Broadway to rock and roll. Closes April 15. $20 to $48. theatricaloutfit.org

Visual Arts

Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili: Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) celebrates how a designer’s vision can be personal yet universal and bring joy to client and consumer. Tuesday through Sunday. Free to $10. museumofdesign.org

The Spirit of the Place: Photographs by Jack Leigh: Visit the High Museum of art to see this exhibit that showcases the lyrical work of celebrated Savannah photographer Jack Leigh (American, 1948–2004). Tuesday through Sunday. Free to $14.50. high.org

Found In Transition: “Found In Transition” at Gallery 180 brings together the works of Namwon Choi and Lynx to explore the concept and the process of transition. Closes April 14. Free. stanleybeamansears.com/gallery-180

Bullets: Moroccan-born multimedia artist Lalla Essaydi sewed thousands of bullet casings together for this exhibit at Jackson Fine Art. Closes April 15. Free. jacksonfineart.com

Tom Francis: Signatures: Wisconsinborn artist and SCAD Professor Tom Francis has been a fixture in the Atlanta art world for 30 years, and this is a retrospective of his paintings. Opens April 21. Free. thomasdeansfineart.com

Swimming Them Homeward: Atlanta

Contemporary Art Center presents a survey of artists from Lexington, Ky., an art community that is extraordinarily prolific and interconnected, but rarely exhibited outside of the region. Tuesday through Sunday. Free. atlantacontemporary.org

Performing Arts

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: Atlanta Shakespeare Company’s show draws on the influences of Geoffrey Chaucer’s writing, and the hilarious adaptation reintroduces the tales in forms ranging from classical to spaghetti Western. April 1 though 23. $15 to $36. shakespearetavern.com

Pete the Cat: This new show at Center for Puppetry Arts is a groovy adventure of one cool, skateboarding, surfing, rocking blue cat and his fine friends. Opens April 4. $20.50. puppet.org

Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Visit the Fox Theatre to see this genre-bending, fourth-wall-smashing musical sensation that tells the story of one of the most unique characters to ever hit the stage. April 4 and 5. $48.50 to $158.50. foxtheatre.org

Jerry Seinfeld: See the most successful and influential comedian of his generation live at the Fox Theatre. April 7. $65.10 to $197.40. foxtheatre.org

Che Malambo: Muy Macho Men: Don’t miss Che Malambo’s fiery, virtuosic dancing as the company debuts on the Rialto Center for the Arts stage. April 8. $31 to $62. rialtocenter.org

John Luther Adams Performed By Bent

Frequency: GSU’s ensemble in residence presents music by internationally renowned composer John Luther Adams. April 9. $20 to $51. rialtocenter.org

Cinderella and Fella: Alliance Theatre’s show is a magical retelling of the Cinderella story that’s more high-tops than glass slipper and is fueled by the magic of lightning bugs, singing cicadas and oozing mud. Closes April 9. $18 to $32. alliancetheatre.org

Grease: Featuring a spectacular cast filled with Atlanta’s brightest talent, Grease by Serenbe Playhouse is the story of star crossed teenage lovers, Danny and Sandy. Closes April 15. $30 to $35. serenbeplayhouse.com

The Legend of Georgia McBride: With a pregnant wife, an empty bank account and an eviction notice, Casey has no choice but to trade his Elvis jumpsuit for sequins as the Florida panhandle’s newest drag queen in this musical. Closes April 16. $21 to $45. actors-express.com

Matilda the Musical: Presented by Broadway in Atlanta at the Fox Theatre, this is the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. April 18 through 23. $30 to $125. atlanta.broadway.com

Sweetwater 420 Fest: This festival at Centennial Olympic Park is three days of environmental awareness, awesome bands from all around the country, SweetWater’s heady brews, killer people, tons of vendors and delicious food. April 21 through 23. $66 to $170. sweetwater420fest.com

Billy Joel: Having sold 150 million records over the past quarter century, scoring 33 consecutive Top 40 hits, Billy Joel ranks as one of most popular recording artists and respected entertainers in history. See him in concert at SunTrust Park. April 28. $54.50 to $139.50. m.mlb.com/ braves/tickets/concerts/billy-

Turandot: Presented by The Atlanta Opera at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Puccini’s epic tale centers around the Princess Turandot, who decapitates each suitor who fails to answer her riddles. April 29 through May 7. $25 to $140. atlantaopera.org

Dance | Drama | Visual Arts | And more!

Summertime is a wonderful opportunity for children to expand and grow.

Callanwolde’s summer camps will offer weeks of fun, age-appropriate and worthwhile lessons in visual art, music, drama, writing and movement. Our experienced artist/teachers and great projects (many completely new or re-imagined for 2017!) make Callanwolde’s summer camps an excellent experience!

Top right, bottom left images by J. Glenn Photography.