EIC, The Bold Opinion
More growth for the sweet South.
After a full year of anticipation, the Atlanta Art Fair hosted its second appearance at Pullman Yards, briskly ushering in Fall 2025.
Over 70 exhibitors and thousands of appreciators flooded the city to reengage with artists, collectors, curators, and works from across the globe.
Building on the inaugural year’s success, 2025’s exposition added a little extra paint to last year’s canvas by growing international interest, diversifying experiences through sensory, and emphasizing the support for home-grown talent. “This second edition of Atlanta Art Fair proved that the city and the region are ready to sustain a fair of this scale and ambition,” said Kelly Freeman, Director of Atlanta Art Fair.
The pendulum continues to swing in favor of sweet, Southern art as it demands attention through a unique language. Among the twenty-seven Atlanta-based galleries that returned to present work this year were the Alan Avery Art Company, Artful ATL, Black Art in America, Day & Night Projects, Dunwoody Gallery, Fay Gold Gallery, Jackson Fine Art, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Marcia Wood Gallery, and Spalding Nix Fine Art.
This year’s line up of public projects also showed impressively. T.W. Pilar’s Living Archive, File 00 commands conversation about human and environmental cohabitation. Each structure encapsules living, organic greenery inside industrial materials visually displaying our coexistence, and suggesting that beauty and destruction can live in the same space. The Atlanta-based artist is self-taught and explores the juggle of ethics and aesthetics by working with steel, plastics, and living flora to communicate the dance between the two; a dance that resculpts our world.
Through Conversation
The theater discussions and panels from this year’s fair were rich, engaging, and provided a well rounded perspective of artists from various disciplines. Photography As Discovery: Villa Albertine Artists in Residence in Atlanta and Marseille brought Nydia Blas and Joshua Greer, two Atlanta-based photographers, and Yohanne Lamoulére, a Marseille-based photographer together to recap their experiences in opposite, southern cities. Sharing their unique, yet similar, exposure to culture through their own lenses, they discussed ways they grew to understand who and what they were capturing.
“Talks are definitely useful to help people meet the artists,” said Atlanta photographer and documentarian, Susan Ross. “There were a number of artists that had work there who came to the talks. I went to a couple last year, but couldn’t make many this time,” she added.
Some could argue that motherhood is an art in of itself; one that only a margin of populations can experience. The Art And Motherhood panel with Atlanta-based fiber artist, Adana Tillman, Andrea Zieher, co-founder ZieherSmith, Courtney Jewett Bombeck, Founder, CO-OP Art Atlanta, Liz Andrews, Executive Director, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, (moderator), and Atlanta-based artist, Shanequa Gay, explored this special forces that blend together and influence their work. Here, this powerful panel undressed the stereotypes, industry expectations, and relatable sentiments that can, like motherhood, be clingy, distracting, and rewarding all at the same time.
Through Sensory
There’s more than one way to engage with art and using your senses as a multidimensional highway can provide a deeper understanding of whatever you’re experiencing. At the surface level, fair-goers, typically, are expected to engage visually then go about their business. Fortunately for them, this year gave more than met the eye by presenting a number of interactive elements to enhance viewer experience.
One particularly popular piece, ‘DODECAHEDRON‘ by Anthony James for Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery, made its way back to Atlanta for another year of “wowing” passersby peering into a multidimensional abyss. As discussed after the inaugural fair, this piece stood out like a thumb dipped in Swarovski.
Although we’ve encountered James’ mirrored prism before, local artists Laila Jhané and Chanel Angeli’s ‘City in a Forest’ also caught viewer attention. Their piece, in conjunction with Fulton County’s Public Art Futures Lab, is inspired by Atlanta’s reputation to have the densest tree canopy in the nation. This project might have been plopped in the furthest corner of the venue, but it still managed to hold a steady line to interact with its blooming, silhouetted features. The entire piece uses technology to merge realities.
“When you think about technology, it can feel so cold and isolated. With partnering with Chanel, we were able to give it life in a way that I don’t think Atlanta’s gotten to see before, said Atlanta-based new media artist, Laila Jhané. “Experimenting on how I could make things bigger, I was using my webcams in a distorted fashion, so that you could only see the silhouette of myself. That’s when I realized two things can tie in together,” she added.
With a slight stretch of the imagination, a line can be drawn between ‘City in a Forest’ and the “Living Archive, File 00’ public project. Both artists encapsulated the human and environmental modern relationship in their works.
STAINLESS STEEL, SPECIALIZED GLASS, LED
Momentum For Atlanta Fine Art
The second edition of the Atlanta Art Fair attracted over ten thousand people sharing interest in and being within proximity of a swelling fine art scene. Building on last year’s momentum, the fair saw an uptick of local and international galleries, sales, and the debut of the Balentine Art Prize.
Here are a few quick stats…
| 2024 | 2025 | |
| Attendance | unreported | 13,500 |
| Exhibitors | ~60 | 72 |
| Atlanta Galleries | 21 | 27 |
| International Galleries | 7 | 10 |
| Non Returning Atlanta Galleries | nah | 13 |
| Non Returning International Galleries | nah | 4 |
Proof of all growing ecosystems equate to more dollar bills in circulation, and in this case, landing in the pockets of local talent. According to post fair reports, sales were strong at the mid-market level, boosting potential for regional fairs driving sales and watering a new generation of collectors. Atlanta-based galleries like Black Women in Visual Art, Day & Night Projects, Fay Gold Gallery, and Spalding Nix, reported strong results.
“This year was very well attended, especially the preview day and held steady traffic throughout the remainder of the weekend,” said Daricia Mia DeMarr, Co-Founder, Black Women in Visual Art. “In our booth, we exhibited 18 works and sold about six pieces. We sold something from each artist and that was really good to pass some success in sales. That’s very important for any fair or institution.” she added.
“There were several pieces that I saw last year that I was hoping to see again this year, and a number of those did show up again,” said Michael Harris, former Hammond’s House Board Member and Art Consultant. “I certainly noticed, like everything else, profits going up. People who were serious probably found things that were interesting and valuable. It was an expensive show,” he added.
One other surprising element showcasing growth was the introduction of the Balentine Prize. From here on, the Balentine Prize will be awarded to an emerging artist exhibiting “exceptional promise” in their work. Artists from Atlanta and the Greater American South are the only candidates eligible for this prize. To set the tone, Caroline Allison’s Book of Hours (Nones) for ZieherSmith Gallery became the very first to take home the new prize.
AAF year two stood on the blueprint of a successful opener. Foot traffic increased. Sales increased. Diversity of work increased. The respect and demand for Atlanta in a vibrant, global fine art market?
Increased.
Read last year’s article for deeper context.
For more information on artists, works, and to keep up with The Atlanta Art Fair, please visit www.theatlantaartfair.com.
Boldly Curated Media 