ATL’s ELEVATE Returns for One-Day Summer Event

Posted by | Ray Cornelius 

Art lovers will get a chance to check out some new installations this Friday, July 22 during ELEVATE: SUMMER. The one-day event is from 3 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. and will take place at Broad Street, Southwest, between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Mitchell Street in downtown Atlanta.

ELEVATE: SUMMER will feature performances ranging from local poetry slam groups, classical Indian dance by Uma Palam Pulendran, and a dance group led by Kamali Hill that will explore the Black psyche during the antebellum era. Local Atlanta talent, Mausiki Scales and the Common Ground, an afrobeat, funk, hip hop, soul and New Orleans jazz 9-piece collective will provide tunes in the afternoon and Speakerfoxxx and Bosco will close out the event in the evening with a performance of their new EP, “Girls In The Yard.” Priscilla Smith, former Executive Director of Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery, will serve as the emcee.

“We are proud to launch ELEVATE: Summer, an event which aims to provide free public art and community engagement experiences for residents and visitors to enjoy, while increasing the cultural and economic vitality of the downtown area,” said Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “Through workshops, panel discussions, partnerships, collaborations and public art, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs seeks to create events through ELEVATE that promote the creative community of Atlanta, impact the Atlanta economy, increase the quality of life for residents and gain global attention for our city as a creative and culturally engaging contemporary city.”

For the past five years, ELEVATE has been held in downtown Atlanta in October. The theme and curator for October’s ELEVATE program will be announced at ELEVATE: SUMMER. In addition, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs will announce plans to have year-round ELEVATE programming.

Last year’s ELEVATE theme was F.I.L.A (Forever I Love Atlanta) and featured the legacy of Organized Noize and their Dungeon Family collective curated by Fahamu Pecou.

See you there!

Photo Credits: Revive The Cool and Ajmal Miller