Atlanta’s Booming West Midtown Proves Fertile Ground for Art, Design and Culture

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Move over, Castleberry Hill. There’s a new darling on the local arts scene and it’s wooing Atlanta with its industrial-chic charm. It may not have the spontaneity of Le Flash or the deep pockets of Buckhead, but the city’s West side is attracting galleries, shoppers and development at a pace that would make Streets of Buckhead developer Ben Carter green with envy.

Here, restaurants are helmed by national culinary front-runners such as Anne Quatrano and Richard Blais. Textile and design stalwarts such as Lewis & Sheron and Belvedere cater to A-list designers and do-it-yourselfers alike. And experimental artists from around the world plant Southern roots, thanks to the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.

Add accessibility and competitive rent to the equation and it’s easy to see how the area’s creative concentration has become central to its gentrification. “Artists are typically drawn to areas that are in need of a little fairy dust,” says Bobbe Gillis Gallery director Alehandro Wooten. “And their presence is vital to getting that area attention, getting it up and moving.”

But in a strange twist, changes to this once rugged industrial area are ones that nearly everyone in the neighborhood can embrace. From the formulation of the Westside Arts District — an alliance of nine art spaces, including Saltworks, Kiang Gallery, Emily Amy and Get This! — to the Marietta Street Artery project and rejuvenated Provisions District, establishing an identity has become a team effort, one that’s endorsed by landlords, business owners and residents alike.

As published in 944 Magazine