Atlanta Contemporary announces new artists to join Studio Artist Program: In Kyoung Chun, Julia Kouneski, and Kelly Mitchell

ATLANTA —November 1, 2019 —Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (Atlanta Contemporary) is pleased to announce three new artists to the Studio Artist Program.

Two of the artists – Julia Kouneski and Kelly Mitchell – will formally begin the program effective November 1, 2019 while In Kyoung Chun will join the program effective February 1, 2020.

“These three artists joining the Studio Artist Program highlight the wealth of talent present in Atlanta,” says Veronica Kessenich, executive director. “Our long-standing commitment to support the artistic practice of voices such as these continues a 46-year long vision to engage the public in the creation, presentation, and advancement of contemporary art.”

Atlanta Contemporary’s Studio Artist Program supports local working artists by providing subsidized studio space and by fostering a collaborative environment supportive of the creative process. The studios, which ranges in size and amenities have over the years nurtured artists working in all career stages and media – including ceramics, film & video, installation, painting, photography, and sculpture.

Under the guidance of Nisa Floyd, executive assistant to the executive director, artists applied to the program and were asked to submit images indicative of their current work, artist’s statement, CV, a letter of nomination, as well as answer a few questions about their goals. Once completed, Floyd removed any indicators of name or gender to make the entire process blind. Atlanta Contemporary thanks jurors: Katina Asbell, board of directors, Atlanta Contemporary; Daricia Mia DeMarr, co-founder of Black Women in Visual Arts and the Founder of Pi Arts Projects; Veronica Kessenich, executive director, Atlanta Contemporary; and Ginger Wolfe-Suarez, interim director of curatorial affairs for the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art.

Ginger Wolfe-Suarez states, "Atlanta Contemporary is facilitating sustained and meaningful art practices. It's a timely mix of programmatic and artistic support. I believe these three artists will be authentic community members here."

Join us Thursday, November 14 from 7 to 9pm for Open Studios to meet these new artists as well as see the current artists in the Studio Artist Program. Open Studios is one of three nights a year where guests can meet the artists, see their work firsthand, and perhaps purchase some new works. This event is ticketed – general admission is $10; students $5 at the door with valid ID, and VIP Admission is $35. All money raised supports the 30% subsidy that Atlanta Contemporary provides to the artists participating in the Studio Artist Program. “For artists, space to create is essential!” says Daricia Mia DeMarr. “I appreciate the opportunity to support Atlanta Contemporary in stewarding the creative process and bringing gifted artists into an artful community.”

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE STUDIO ARTIST PROGRAM

November 1, 2019

Julia Kouneski (b. Long Beach, CA, 1985) works with the sensing body and investigates notions of empathy, embodiment, and the fluid self through performance, installation, and video. She received her BFA from the University of Minnesota and her MFA in 2014 from the University of Southern California. Her work has been shown in the US and in Europe, including Night Gallery in Los Angeles, Annka Kultys Gallery in London, and De Hallen Haarlem Museum in the Netherlands.

Kelly Mitchell has taught and mentored in community and academic contexts including: The Rhode Island School of Design, Virginia Commonwealth University, New Urban Arts (Providence), and The Visual Arts Center of Richmond. She received her BFA in Printmaking from Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts; and her MFA in Printmaking from The Rhode Island School of Design with a certificate in Collegiate Teaching. Mitchell’s art centers around oral histories woven into the fabric of the Africana Diaspora, specifically related to concepts of land tenure, territorial claims, community autonomy, swamp marronage, and inherited identity. Her work manifests as immersive installations and partnered artists books offering a venue for the sensorial – specifically smell – to connect to, convey, and reimagine rituals and rites of autonomous kin, collectives, and individuals of the Africana Diaspora. Kelly and her practice are deeply tied to familial roots in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Pennsylvania. Her interdisciplinary practice spans printmaking, papermaking, installation, book arts and sculpture. Kelly currently lives and works in Atlanta, GA where she is an Assistant Professor of Art and Visual Culture and The Art Program Director at Spelman College.

February 1, 2020

In Kyoung Chun (b. Born in Seoul, South Korea) received the Emerging Artist Award 2012-2013 by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and participated in the 2013 WonderRoot Walthall Fellowship. Chun has participated in exhibitions including High Museum of Art, Athens Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia and Gallery 72 of Atlanta Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs. Chun will have a two-person-show at ART:ProjectSpace in New York, NY in March, 2020. Chun’s art is in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art, the City of Atlanta Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs and Fulton County Public Library of Atlanta.

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 over 100 consequential artists from the local, national, and international art scenes through our various exhibition and project spaces each year. We are one of the few local art organizations that commission new works, paying attention to artists of note who have not had a significant exhibition in the Southeast. We organize over 100 diverse educational programs annually including Contemporary Kids, Contemporary Cocktails, Contemporary Talks, Movement Love and more! Atlanta Contemporary provides on-site subsidized studio space to working artists through the Studio Artist Program, removing cost as a barrier to the creative process. Visit atlantacontemporary.org to learn more.