The South River fire’s quiet toll on Atlanta’s printmakers

The En Masse title wall before the fire and afterward capturing the exhibition s brief life and sudden loss Courtesy of Maurice Evans When a fire swept through South River Art Studios on Nov the immediate focus fell on the to studio artists who lost tools equipment years of work and the spaces they relied on to make a living But inside the main building that morning was something else En Masse a group exhibition of regional printmakers installed just days earlier in the Gogo Gallery According to curator Chloe Alexander the fire and the efforts to extinguish it left over works of art lost or damaged Though the show was scheduled to remain on view through Dec soot smoke and water rendered nearly every piece unsalvageable Even the works that weren t burned are damaged because of water damage the chemicals and smoke reported artist Maurice Evans who had two pieces in the show Chosen of those pieces may even look okay but I promise you they re not They re on paper A regional printmaking moment cut short En Masse opened Nov and coincided with the BIG INK print event that weekend a gathering that brought printmakers from across the region to Atlanta Artist Grace Kisa who also had two works in the show described it as a collective effort celebrating printmaking artists Alexander explained En Masse was built around Atlanta s expansive printmaking neighborhood and its growing visibility Atlanta has a large area of printmakers but printmaking isn t perpetually a part of the discourse when talking about Atlanta s art scene as a whole she announced She selected artists who were exploring print in a way that pushes the boundaries of the medium often incorporating mixed media collage or sculptural elements Prints by Jamaal Barber Grace Kisa and Maurice Evans from the En Masse exhibition at South River Art Studios now lost to the Nov fire that damaged the gallery and ended the show prematurely Images courtesy of the artists The losses were immediate and devastating There is a misconception that printmaking is all about making duplicates but much of the work included in the show was unique and cannot be replicated Alexander explained Even pieces that appeared outwardly intact could not be saved Soot and smoke do a lot of damage to artwork she reported Evans noted Alexander also carried a demanding burden in the aftermath She had to call people and say Hey your work is gone he revealed There is a misconception that printmaking is all about making duplicates but much of the work included in the show was unique and cannot be replicated En masse curator chloe Alexander The economics behind the art For independent artists a lost artwork is more than a single sale Each piece represents materials framing delivery installation and time There s a lot of expense to put on a show Evans stated The artist is already invested Printmaker Jamaal Barber who also had work in the exhibition mentioned the financial ripple effects are far larger than the greater part people realize It s a loss but in the loss of terms of things on the spectrum he declared I got like five shows going and if work for one of the shows burns or gets destroyed the next show is affected So that kinda has a cascade Barber estimated that losing his woodblocks meant is off the table for me It s not even an option anymore He explained the economic chain in simple terms Imagine being a used car salesperson you only get paid for the cars people buy but you also gotta make the cars He noted that other artists connected to South River experienced parallel setbacks Jess Self was getting ready for a show at a Marietta museum and all her stuff is damaged That s the entire show that she d been working on for months Studio exhibiting artists affected Artists emphasized that the fire s impact should not be viewed as two competing tragedies Studio tenants lost workspaces tools and machinery essential to their practice En Masse artists lost finished works framing and months of preparation The losses they declared compound one another Barber described the scale of the impact as a whole financial sector getting wiped out Alexander echoed that the problem is shared It has been amazing to see the outpouring of aid for all the artists who have experienced the sudden loss of their practices and livelihoods she commented adding that South River filled a vital gap Anyone who has looked for a studio in the city knows that there is a severe shortage of affordable spaces available Read More Spruill announces winner of AMPLIFY mural contest Atlanta artist Jamaal Barber joins art-infused MTV reality show Where promotion is needed now Both Alexander and Evans encouraged Atlantans to collect and engage with the work of impacted artists work artists as a means of assistance Barber emphasized the need for continued visibility for artist communities across the city Several fundraisers have been launched to encouragement both studio tenants and exhibiting artists The fire revealed how deeply intertwined Atlanta s artist communities are Studio tenants face the long road of replacing tools and rebuilding their practices while the printmakers of En Masse confront the loss of dozens of works months of labor and future opportunities tied to the exhibition Together their experiences offer a fuller picture of what was lost and what it will take for the broader arts public to help them rebuild The post The South River fire s quiet toll on Atlanta s printmakers appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta