Atlanta's High Museum turns 100 with a big block party
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The cultural giant plans to look back and ahead over the next year. Photo: The High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art is celebrating its 100th birthday with a massive Peachtree Street block party Sunday and a refresh of its galleries.
Why it matters: This weekend marks a century since the High opened its doors.
- What began in a Tudor-style home in then-bucolic Midtown now spans 312,000 square feet across three buildings and has become one of the South's most significant cultural anchors.
State of play: The museum will spend the next year blowing out its candles with special programs diving into the history and future of a major local and regional institution that's experienced tragedy, success and reinvention.
- Exhibitions feature Walter Wick's I SPY! imagery, sculptures by Martin Puryear, representations of trees in art, and photographs by Harry Callahan, Minor White and Aaron Siskind.
- In February, the High will present more than 50 works by Jean-Michel Basquiat with an emphasis on the artist's largely overlooked printmaking.
The museum's curators have also tapped into the High's 20,000-plus works, including renowned collections of African Art and a highly regarded trove of folk and self-taught artists.
Fun fact: The museum is named for businessman Joseph Madison High, whose widow, Harriet "Hattie" High, donated their family home to the Atlanta Art Association in 1926 as a permanent home for a museum and art school.
Between the lines: In the mid-2010s, museum leadership made efforts to make the High more inclusive of the art on the walls and the people walking through the doors.
- From 2012 through 2015, the museum says, 32% of the High's exhibitions featured women artists, artists of color or LGBTQ artists.
- Since fiscal 2016, such exhibitions have accounted for an annual average of 67%.
New programming like the popular High Frequency Fridays and jazz nights have attracted diverse and younger audiences and become one of Atlanta's must-do after-dark outings.
What's next: Sunday's Centennial block party runs from noon-5pm outside the museum on Peachtree Street between 15th and 16th streets.
- Everything outdoors is free; museum admission is separate. Free registration and museum tickets
Go deeper: Read about the High's history and architecture