Cinque Hicks
What will be on the cover? Will the publication repeat what we’ve already seen and heard? Will it be little more than a glossy coffee-table ornament, or will it have something truly fresh and significant to say? This morning’s announcement brings to mind these questions and more.
Burning, breaking news: The Atlanta-based foundation Possible Futures announces Atlanta Art Now, the first in a series of illustrated books about visual arts in our city, selecting Cinqué Hicks as creative director in charge of overseeing the final product. Although known primarily as art critic for Creative Loafing newspaper, Hicks has more years of experience in book production. The text will comprise contributions from a team of three writers: Hicks alongside Catherine Fox of ArtsCriticATL and freelance critic and ART PAPERS staffer Jerry Cullum.
More from the press release:
Possible Futures announces new publication to solidify Atlanta as major player in contemporary art ideas Atlanta, Georgia – January 5, 2011 – Possible Futures, Inc., an Atlanta-based foundation, is excited to announce the 2011 publication of Atlanta Art Now, a book designed to trace ideas and critical trends at play within Atlanta’s contemporary art scene by examining the work of some of the city’s most dynamic and relevant artists.
By coupling incisive critical accounts of artists’ work with lavish photography and professional production values, the book, scheduled for release in November 2011, will establish a highly visible touchstone for Atlanta’s diverse community of art professionals and enthusiasts.
“We’ve conceived of 2011′s edition as a pilot that, if it’s successful, can be repeated in the future,” said local art critic and writer Cinqué Hicks, who will be acting as Atlanta Art Now’s founding Creative Director.
In the fall of 2010, Possible Futures, Inc. founder Louis Corrigan approached Hicks as well as Atlanta art critics Catherine Fox, co-founder of the online fine-arts magazine ArtscriticATL.com, and Jerry Cullum, editor-at-large of Art Papers magazine, with an early vision of the project. After a series of exploratory conversations, as well as gallery and studio visits, the three writers, who now comprise Atlanta Art Now’s curators, agreed that such a high-profile publication would be both viable and desirable for the Atlanta scene.
“The Atlanta arts community stands to benefit greatly from a visible and informed public conversation about the most meaningful lines of critical inquiry currently being pursued in this city,” said Corrigan. “My hope is that Atlanta Art Now would help situate the most engaging trends within the work of Atlanta-area artists within discussions of contemporary art at the regional, national, and even international levels.”
More information on Atlanta Art Now will be forthcoming in the months ahead. Possible Futures is a non-profit operating foundation. Its mission is to nurture Atlanta’s creative culture and educate the public through the support and presentation of artists, writers, and performers. For more information, visit www.atlantaartnow.com or www.possiblefuturesatl.org.
(Disclosure: Possible Futures provided a significant grant to this publication in September of 2010. However, the grant was given unconditionally and with the understanding that, among other reasons, “meaningful arts criticism is vital in that it challenges artists to do their best work.”)
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