Nexus Award 2017

Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (Atlanta Contemporary) is pleased to announce MailChimp as the 2017 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. Existing within and amongst – designers, artists, creative professionals, and patrons – MailChimp demonstrates a strong commitment to the arts in Atlanta through their corporate responsibility practices. 

“MailChimp supports artists, people, and organizations not only through their funding but also in their pledge to invest in those who promote the arts as a means of expression, innovation, or social change” says Veronica Kessenich, Executive Director of Atlanta Contemporary. “The 2017 Nexus Award highlights MailChimp’s promise to add value to Atlanta strategically. By actively integrating contemporary art – both on the local and national level – into their company culture, MailChimp also established a new philanthropic benchmark amongst their peers in the corporate community”. 

“On behalf of MailChimp’s 600+ employees, we are incredibly honored by this recognition,” says Lain Shakespeare, Corporate Citizenship Director at MailChimp. “Arts organizations make an outsize impact on Atlanta’s culture and economy. We’re committed to adding thoughtful, strategic value to our hometown through our work at MailChimp, and we’re thankful to have the opportunity to invest in their success and share in the benefits of their creativity.”

Randy Gue, chair of the Board of Directors at Atlanta Contemporary, “Atlanta has a long history of engaged corporate citizens. MailChimp has distinguished itself with its support of arts organizations and artists and its commitment to make Atlanta weirder. By awarding MailChimp the 2017 Nexus Award, Atlanta Contemporary recognizes the range of voices necessary to create a vibrant arts community.” 

The public recognition of the 2017 Nexus Award will be held on Saturday, August 26 in conjunction with ART PARTY. A private reception for supporters including sponsors, host committee, and individuals will be held at a TBD time in September. 

To date, the Nexus Award has recognized seven outstanding individuals:
2016 – Larry Walker, Professor Emeritus and Former Director of Art and Design at Georgia State University
2015 – Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the High Museum of Art
2014 – Susan Bridges, Founder and Director of Whitespace Gallery
2013 – Lucinda Bunnen, Photographer, collector, and arts patron
2012 – Lisa Cremin, Director of Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
2011 – Louis Corrigan, Founder of Flux Projects and Possible Futures
2010 – Dr. Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art; and Dr. Jerry Cullum, Writer, critic, and poet

About Atlanta Contemporary
Atlanta Contemporary engages the public through the creation, presentation and advancement of contemporary art. Founded in 1973 as Nexus, a grassroots artists’ cooperative, Atlanta Contemporary has since become one of the southeast’s leading contemporary art centers. We play a vital role in Atlanta’s cultural landscape by presenting six–10 exhibitions within four seasonal cycles each year, featuring consequential artists from the local, national, and international art scenes. We are one of the few local institutions that commissions new works by artists, paying particular attention to artists of note who have not had a significant exhibition in the Southeast. We organize 50+ diverse educational offerings annually, unrivaled by other local organizations of our size. We are the only local organization to provide on-site subsidized studio space to working artists through our Studio Artist Program, removing cost as a barrier to the creative process. Visit atlantacontemporary.org to learn more. 

Disclosure: Atlanta Contemporary receives financial support from MailChimp annually.