Atlanta has played a major or contributing role in the development of various genres of American music at different times in the city's history. Beginning as early as the 1920s, Atlanta emerged as a center for country music, which was brought to the city by migrants from Appalachia.[1] During the countercultural 1960s, Atlanta hosted the Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1969 more than a month before Woodstock and featuring many of the same bands.[citation needed] The city was also a center for Southern rock during the 1970s: the Allman Brothers Band's hit instrumental "Hot 'Lanta" is an ode to the city, while Lynyrd Skynyrd's live rendition of "Free Bird" was recorded at the Fox Theatre in 1976, with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant directing the band to "play it pretty for Atlanta."[2] During the 1980s, Atlanta had an active Punk rock scene that was centered on two of the city’s music venues, 688 Club and the Metroplex, and Atlanta played host to the Sex Pistols first U.S. show, which was performed at the Great Southeastern Music Hall.[3] The 1990s saw the birth of Atlanta hip hop, a subgenre that gained relevance following the success of home-grown duo OutKast; however, it was not until the 2000s that Atlanta moved "from the margins to becoming hip-hop’s center of gravity, part of a larger shift in hip-hop innovation to the South."[4] Also in the 2000s, Atlanta was recognized by Vice magazine for its Indie rock scene, which revolves around the EARL in East Atlanta Village.[5][6]
Atlanta is home to an established visual arts community. In 2010, the city was ranked as the ninth-best city for the arts by American Style Magazine.[7] Most of the city's art galleries are located in the Castleberry Hill and West Midtown neighborhoods. While every type of visual art is represented in the city, Atlanta is a major center for contemporary art, public art, and urban art.[8] The growing Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design has brought in a steady stream of artists and curators.[9]
The 22 miles (35 km) BeltLine corridor, a former rail corridor gradually being developed into an improved biking and walking trail, is home to the annual Art on the BeltLine exhibition. In 2011 66 visual and performance pieces were exhibited.[13]
Although historically never a haven for street art[14] like New York City or Los Angeles,[15] street art is becoming more prominent in Atlanta. Hotspots for viewing Atlanta street art include:
Images and locations of over 200 works of Atlanta Street Art can be found on the Atlanta Street Art Map.[16] In 2011 the city hosted the Living Walls street art conference and will co-host it with Albany, New York in 2012.
In May 2011 Atlanta established a Graffiti Task Force. Though in October 2011 the police arrested 7 persons designated as vandals, city officials assert that they have no intention of stifling the street art scene. The city's Office of Cultural Affairs selected 29 standout murals to avoid whitewashing including murals commissioned as part of the BeltLine, works created during the Living Walls conferences, but not the most famous street art space in the city, the Krog Street Tunnel. Many street artists and members of the arts community interviewed by Creative Loafing believe the city's efforts are misdirected or futile.[17][18]
There are small concentrations of galleries in the intown neighborhoods, including but not limited to Castleberry Hill, Buckhead, the Westside Arts District in West Midtown, at Studioplex in Old Fourth Ward, and along Ponce de Leon Avenue in Poncey-Highland. Each of those areas sponsors an art walk, usually monthly.[19]
Atlanta is the home of many influential writers of the 20th century, including Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, one of the best-selling books of all time; Alice Walker, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning and critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple; Alfred Uhry, playwright of Driving Miss Daisy, which deals with Jewish residents of Atlanta in the early 20th century; and Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Brer Rabbit children's stories. Famous journalists include Ralph McGill, the anti-segregationist editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. Atlanta is also the home of contemporary editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich, who is syndicated nationally to 150 newspapers.
^"1988: ‘‘Performance’’ magazine names the Fox Theatre the number one grossing theaters in the 3,000–5,000 seat category with the most events, the greatest box office receipts, and the highest attendance in the U.S." and "2009: Billboard magazine names the Fox the No. 1 non-residency theater for the decade with 5,000 seats or less." on ‘‘Timeline’’, Fox Theatre websiteArchived 2014-03-14 at the Wayback Machine