Nexus Award 2016

The Nexus Award is a public acknowledgment of individuals, groups, or organizations that have made significant contributions to the contemporary arts landscape and celebrates local leaders who are instrumental in making Atlanta an exceptionally vibrant arts community. 

Atlanta Contemporary is pleased to announce Larry Walker as the 2016 Nexus Award Recipient. 

The Nexus Award is a public acknowledgment of individuals, groups, or organizations that have made significant contributions to the contemporary arts landscape and celebrates local leaders who are instrumental in making Atlanta an exceptionally vibrant arts community. Professor Emeritus and Former Director of Art and Design at Georgia State University, Walker began his long career as an educator at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California where he was a professor and later chair of the Department of Art. In 1983 he accepted a position in Atlanta as a professor and director of the art program at Georgia State University. He retired from the University in 2000. Walker’s career as an artist spans over 50 years - a highlight to date is the solo exhibition currently on view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co (New York) curated by his daughter and gallery artist, Kara Walker.

“By uniting the Nexus Award under the umbrella of ART PARTY, we aspire to introduce our increasing and diversified audiences to individuals like Mr. Walker who have and will continue to shape the landscape of contemporary art here in Atlanta,” says Executive Director, Veronica Kessenich. “Larry Walker’s impact on the lives and careers of artists is significant. It is a privilege to honor him as the 2016 Nexus Award recipient.”

Walker has an extensive exhibition history. He has been the subject of over 40 solo exhibitions and has participated in over 200 group exhibitions since 1971. His work is in the collection of the High Museum in Atlanta, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia and The Studio Museum in Harlem, among others.

Daniel Fuller, Curator at Atlanta Contemporary says, “be it as an artist, an arts advocate, or at Georgia State University where he served as the School of Art and Design’s director for 11 years, there are very, very few people that have meant more to the Atlanta art scene than Larry. Over 50 years he has documented the contemporary social landscape. He is an Atlanta treasure.”