Your 2024 Fall Guide to the High
All the info you need ahead of our exciting list of slated exhibitions, programs, and more!
By Brittany Mizell, Senior Coordinator, Public Relations, High Museum of Art
This fall, the High has a number of exhibitions on view and events taking place, and we want to ensure you have all the know-before-you-go information on hand. Below you’ll find helpful links and information needed for a successful, fun-filled visit — we hope to see you soon!
Exhibitions
Tyler Mitchell: Idyllic Space: On view through December 1
Atlanta native Tyler Mitchell (born 1995) ascended to global prominence when he photographed Beyoncé for the September 2018 issue of Vogue — as the first Black artist to shoot the cover in the magazine’s history. This major exhibition displays his seamless blend of fine art and fashion photography, along with a new photo-sculptural artwork. In his practice, he centers Black self-determination and empowerment with affirmative images of people who are often shown enjoying the freedom of leisure, play, and recreation. This homecoming exhibition features more than thirty photographs considering his examination of themes such as masculinity, motherhood, domesticity, play, rest, and the natural world. The playfully theatrical, expressive works explore style, beauty, and identity and delve into the profound themes of family and connection, capturing not just moments but the essence of relationships, as they weave a narrative of love, intimacy, and shared experiences.
To view this exhibition, take the ramp or elevator in the Stent Family Wing to the Special Exhibition Galleries on the Second Level.
Panorama: On view through December 1
Located on the Woodruff Arts Center’s Carroll Slater Sifly Piazza, Panorama presents a new dimension for play as visitors are invited to interact with four kinetic pillars of glass that subtly shift from a natural mirror effect to a deep orange hue. As the monumental structures rotate, they alter our perception and experience of our surroundings.
You can view this installation in the piazza right outside the doors of the Taylor Lobby in the Wieland Pavilion.
Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection: On view through January 5, 2025
Over the past six years, the High has more than quintupled its holdings of quilts made by Black women. This collection-based exhibition is the first to bring a number of these recent acquisitions together to answer a larger question: “How can quilts made by Black women change the way we tell the history of abstract art?” Patterns in Abstraction includes about a dozen works by well-known Gee’s Bend quilters such as Mary Lee Bendolph, Louisiana Bendolph, and Lucy T. Pettway, along with works by Atlanta-based quilter Marquetta Johnson and early twenieth-century examples by artists once known. The quilts on view are mostly variations on Birds in the Air and Housetop themes, two centuries-old quilt patterns that are geometric distillations of natural phenomenon and humanmade environments, while others have deeper meanings as memorials to family members. Presented as both objects made for use and with the artistic intent to represent people, places, and things abstractly, these quilts offer a window into how the works of nonacademic artists can transform our understanding of artistic innovation in American art.
A corresponding publication through LINK, the museum’s platform for online engagement, contains multimedia content related to the High’s expanded and growing collection of Black quilts.
To view this exhibition, take the elevator or stairs in the Wieland Pavilion to the Lower Level.
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys: September 13, 2024–January 19, 2025
This is the first major exhibition devoted to the collection of African American and African diasporic artists owned by musical and cultural icons Kasseem Dean (aka Swizz Beatz) and Alicia Keys. The collection presents a world-class group of multigenerational artists, including icons of the mid-to-late twentieth century such as Nick Cave, Lorna Simpson, and Barkley Hendricks, alongside artists of a younger generation including Amy Sherald, Deana Lawson, and Ebony G. Patterson, who are expanding the legacies of those who came before them. Giants stands as a testament to the couple’s ethos of “collecting and preserving the culture of ourselves for ourselves, now and into the future.” Through approximately 115 objects, including noteworthy examples of their early non-art collecting interests and related ephemera, the exhibition traces the evolution of an audacious and ambitious collection and explores the ways in which the featured artists and their work have grappled with societal issues, embraced monumentality, and made a palpable impact on the art canon.
To view this exhibition, take the elevator or stairs in the Wieland Pavilion to the Cousins Special Exhibition Galleries on the Second Level.
Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis: September 20, 2024–January 5, 2025
In Pictures for Charis, American photographer Kelli Connell reconsiders the relationship between writer Charis Wilson and photographer Edward Weston through a close examination of Wilson’s prose and Weston’s iconic photographs. Connell weaves together the stories of Wilson and Weston with her own and enriches our understanding of the couple from her contemporary queer and feminist perspective. Using Weston and Wilson’s publications as a guide, Connell and her former partner, Betsy Odom, traveled to locales where Wilson and Weston lived, made work, and spent time together. Along the way, they collaboratively made photographs of Odom that upend conventional notions of photographer and muse. Connell also photographed, in a raw and less idealized manner, the grand Western landscapes that Weston made iconic seventy-five years before. The exhibition will bring together Connell’s recent portrait and landscape photographs with Weston’s classic figure studies and landscapes made between 1934 and 1945, one of his most productive periods and the span of his relationship with Wilson. Pictures for Charis will offer a new perspective about Wilson and Weston while raising important questions about gender, sexuality, and relationships in the twenty-first century.
To view this exhibition, take the elevator or stairs in the Wieland Pavilion to the Lower Level.
Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks”: October 25, 2024–February 16, 2025
Famed for her images of flowers and Southwestern landscapes, O’Keeffe spent several years exploring New York City’s built environment with brush in hand. She moved to the newly built Shelton Hotel in 1924, then the tallest residential skyscraper in the world, and its soaring heights inspired a five-year period of energetic experimentation, across media and at a variety of scales, with subject matter, form, and perspective. Her street-level compositions capture the city’s monumental skyscrapers from below and suspended views looking down from her thirtieth-floor apartment. She called these works “my New Yorks” and through them investigated the dynamic potential of New York’s cityscape. This exhibition is the first to seriously examine O’Keeffe’s paintings, drawings, and pastels of urban landscapes while also situating them in the diverse context of her other compositions of the 1920s and early 1930s. The presentation establishes these works not as outliers or as anomalous to her practice but as entirely integral to her modernist investigation in the 1920s — from her abstractions and still lifes at Lake George in upstate New York and beyond to her works upon arriving in the Southwest in 1929. O’Keeffe’s “New Yorks” are essential to understanding how she became the artist we know today.
To view this exhibition, take the elevator or stairs in the Anne Cox Chambers Wing to the Second and Skyway Levels.
Events
As we enter an exciting exhibition season, we have several special events and various talks and lectures to offer, in addition to our ongoing programs — Friday Jazz, HIGH Frequency Friday, UPS Second Sunday, Toddler Thursday, Teen Art Afternoon, and First Saturdays. Below are a few highlights, but we recommend visiting our website for an up-to-date list of current and upcoming events.
Studio Sessions: Fashion Photography with Your Phone: September 4, 5, and 7
With guidance from High Museum of Art teaching artist Michelle Alba, participants will explore how to convey mood and tone through staged portraiture and delve into editing techniques to enhance and finalize their images.
First Saturdays: September 7, October 5, November 2, and December 7
First Saturdays incorporate arts programming for everyone. Friends and families of any age can experiment, play, and make art in studio workshops and learn about art on view through gallery tours. Whether you’re joining Toddler Saturday, Studio Sessions, or Teen Art Afternoon, there is something for everyone, every month, at the High.
Black Women Quilting Abstraction: September 7
How can quilts made by Black women change the way we tell the history of abstract art? Join us for a public conversation featuring Atlanta quilters O.V. Brantley and Peggy Martin with Katherine Jentleson, curator of the exhibition Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection.
UPS Second Sundays: September 8, October 13, November 10, and December 8
On the second Sunday of each month, we offer free admission for all visitors and special family-friendly programming! Enjoy art-making activities, performances, and the High’s collection and special exhibitions.
Musing Together: September 10
Musing Together is a monthly art conversation program designed for individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia and their care partners. Each month, High Museum of Art staff facilitate lively conversations focusing on four to six artworks on view in the High’s collection or special exhibitions.
The Giant Party: September 13
Get an exclusive opening-day look at our newest exhibition at The Giant VIP Pre-Party (7–9 p.m.) or The Giant Party (9 p.m.-midnight).
Event proceeds to support the High’s ongoing commitment to presenting a diverse array of exhibitions.
Live Music from Atlanta’s own DJ Princess Cut and DJ Runna, official DJ for Swizz Beatz!
Access for All: September 18, October 16, November 20, and December 18
We invite you to join art conversations, create art, enjoy performances, and explore world-class art — all day! Join us for a day of free admission and drop-in programming for adults of all ages!
Oasis: September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 21
On the third Saturday of the month, Oasis offers a sanctuary for those seeking both solace and community amid the High’s world-class art. Embark on a journey of self-discovery through activities designed to promote mental well-being. Immerse yourself in movement-based sessions led by local yoga instructors, unwind with soothing sonic experiences, or unleash your creative expression in art-making activities led by teaching artists. In our Seeing with Spirit dialogue series, engage in thoughtful conversations exploring the intersection of art and spirituality.
Teen Night: September 21
The High Museum of Art’s Teen Team presents Teen Night. Enjoy a night where teens take over the museum! Join us for art-making activities, music and performances, and gallery tours. Follow @hmateens on Instagram for more information.
Studio Class: Mixed Media Portraiture: Tuesdays, October 1–November 12
In this multiweek studio class, we will create multifaceted portraits inspired by painting and collage techniques found on view in Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. We will look to seminal artists including Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, known for her imaginative portraits made from found images; Kwame Brathwaite, a photographer documenting the intersection of music, fashion, activism, and art globally throughout the diaspora; and mid-career artists like Derrick Adams, a painter known for his collage-like style.
Studio Class: Foundations in 3D Building: Thursdays, October 10–November 14
In this multiweek studio class, we will explore nontraditional art-making materials associated with sculptural practices, paying special attention to materials that are found, discarded, or seemingly unimportant. Materials might include rope, wood, wire, and found objects with emphasis on process and exploration. We will look at works in the High’s Folk and Self-Taught Art collection for inspiration, such as Lonnie Holley’s wall and floor assemblage Blown Out Black Mama’s Belly and R. A. Miller’s metal and wood cutout construction Cow.
Art and About Walking Tours: October 15
Led by Joshua Robinson, a writer and educator based in Atlanta, this day’s walking tours will explore hip-hop’s relationship with modern and contemporary art. Centering the neighborhood of Little Five Points, the tours will show participants the artistic hub’s array of street art, creative boutiques, and top-notch music and fashion. Through guided exploration, participants will learn about the intersections of music and art and their significance to what’s on view at the museum.
Sneaker Ball: November 22
Save the date — more information to come!
Tickets
We recommend planning ahead of time for a seamless visit. Prepaid tickets ensure your entry to the museum and are available for purchase on our website. For tickets to a specific event, please check that event’s page. If you’d like free admission to the museum and discounted prices on special events, consider becoming a member!
Parking
There are several parking options available near the Woodruff Arts Center:
Woodruff Arts Center Garage (located off Arts Center Way across from the MARTA station)
Closest to our campus, this garage offers free member parking (limited to daytime museum visitation: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 12 noon–5 p.m., excluding UPS Second Sundays) and the following:
Weekdays
(Monday through Friday before 5 p.m.)
· First 30 minutes: Free
· 30 minutes to 1 hour: $8
· 1 to 5 hours: $18
· 5+ hours: $20
· High Museum of Art members (daytime only): Free
Bring physical or digital membership card
Nights and Weekends
(Monday through Friday after 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday)
· Flat Rate: $25
· Evening Events: $30
General Prepaid Parking
· Flat Rate: $25
· The Woodruff Arts Center gets busy on weekends. There is always a chance that our garage will fill up. To guarantee a spot, we encourage reserving parking in advance. Prepaid parking is available for purchase when you put weekend tickets in your cart.
ADA Patron Drop-Off
· ADA patron drop-off is available in the Woodruff Arts Center box office lane off Peachtree Street, N.E., at 15th Street and on 16th Street.
EV Charging
· The Woodruff Arts Center is proud to offer EnviroSpark electric vehicle chargers for use by both visitors and employees. To use, simply scan the QR code on the charger, plug in, and follow the simple prompts in the EnviroSpark web app to begin charging. For more information, you can watch this short video.
Other Parking Options
· Promenade Parking Garage at 32 14th Street, N.E.: $17
· Boys and Girls Clubs Parking Garage at 1275 Peachtree Street, N.E.: $18
For more parking information, please visit this page. If you’re a member, we suggest checking our updated parking information for new operations.
Dining
Looking for dining options before events or after visits? The High houses CJ’s Café in the Taylor Lobby. There we provide light bites, snacks, and beverages for purchase. The Woodruff Arts Center campus is home to Refuge Coffee Co., which is just a few steps across from the museum’s entrance. There are also several dining options located within Colony Square, which is a short walk from the Woodruff Arts Center campus. And if you’re looking to sightsee around Midtown Atlanta, there are restaurants sprinkled on just about every corner.
And for those in need of a spot to sip coffee or picnic while enjoying the (slightly) cooler weather, our piazza is ready and waiting!
Shopping
Looking for a perfect gift to commemorate your visit to the High? Check out our Museum Shop inside the Wieland Pavilion lobby, or shop online here.
For more information about planning a trip to the High, please visit our website.
