Earlier this year, Travel and Leisure magazine named Atlanta the ninth most cultured city in America. The famed culture and unique character of the city stem directly from the fusion between old and new. Though it is currently experiencing what many are calling a renaissance, this trendy metropolis still draws endless inspiration from its historic roots.
Flux Projects, well-known for sponsoring the massive ladder sculpture seen from Freedom Parkway and the public Sewing Circle, hosted Flux Night, a free public art event on Nov. 7. The event featured interactive installations, performance art, visual art, videos and live music.
This year’s theme was “Dream,” which was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., the current Black Lives Matter campaign and the present-day race relations of Atlanta.
The event centered around the MLK Memorial Center and birth house, shutting down Edgewood Avenue, Auburn Avenue and part of Boulevard for the night. Flux Night’s curator, Nato Thompson, believes Atlanta’s atmosphere was captured in the event’s location.
“I mean here we are in Edgewood, popping and growing,” Thompson said. “Then there’s the amazing legacy of MLK right next door.”
This year’s event was highly anticipated by the arts community. Although Flux Night was once an annual fixture, Flux Projects decided to take a hiatus from the event last year to give the artists more time to create new work.
Flux Night’s exciting return was originally scheduled to take place on Oct. 3, but was postponed due to inclement weather. Unfortunately, the adjustment didn’t spare art enthusiasts from the weather as it rained the whole time. Yet hundreds of patrons braved the weather between 7 p.m. and midnight to attend the festival. Many members of the impressive crowd were Grady students, including senior Alex Lepik.
“Everyone was very friendly,” Lepik said. “I hope the attitude [of the event] is something the whole city can embrace.”
Some highlights from the evening included a musical performance with instruments constructed entirely from parts of guns and firearms, a mural by Jessica Scott Felder and even an Imagine Peace Map installation by Yoko Ono.
The grand finale was an interactive musical performance based on the MLK quote, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” As a tribute to King, members of the audience joined the Georgia Tech chamber choir, backed by the audience to sing “Bending the Arc,” a song composed by jazz musician Jeryl Bright. The power of the vocal harmony triggered a line of projected lights to “bend” through smoke machines and into the night sky, toward justice.
“The question this show is asking is what kind of city do you guys want to live in?” Thompson said. “In my dream of dreams, it’s a city of justice, a city of racial equity and a city that’s fun.”
Flux Projects can add Dream 2015 to its long list of successful projects. The company will continue in its mission to bring free temporary art to the public and to contribute to the creative culture of Atlanta.
