Photo by John Ramspott.
Special thanks to Gregor Turk and John Ramspott who submitted photographs from yesterday’s rally at Atlanta City Hall. We were not able to identify everyone in these photos, but feel free to comment below and let us know your thoughts!
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
John Ramspott explains some background for these images:
“The city of Atlanta has proposed a 50% cut in support for the arts for its 2012 budget. Specifically, Mayor Kasim Reed has proposed that the funding for the Contracts for Arts Service program of the Office of Cultural Affairs be cut from $470K to only $235K.
“Art supporters gathered in front of city hall … from 5pm to 6pm to protest these cuts. They then went into city hall to address the City Council in an orderly, peaceful manner.
“Organizations such as WonderRoot, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Flux Projects, Eyedrum, MINT Gallery, Dodekapus, Dance Truck and the Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition all came out in support of maintaining current spending levels for the arts.”
(Click here for more info on the City of Atlanta budget cuts to the arts.)
Gregor Turk secures an aerial camera to a cluster of baloons. Photo by John Ramspott.
Other than the balloons, the camera would have been hard to notice. Photo by John Ramspott.
The balloons rise above Atlanta City Hall. Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by Gregor Turk in collaboration with members Harland Boys & Girls Club Members for the City As A Learning Lab project.
Photo by Gregor Turk in collaboration with members Harland Boys & Girls Club Members for the City As A Learning Lab project.
With the two photos above, Gregor Turk writes:
“We wanted to get more photos when the crowd got larger, but shadows and the loss of one balloon were factors. (We didn’t want the rig to crash on the crowd.)
“This aerial photography project is part of the City As A Learning Lab which is a project between Ga. Tech (under Prof. Carl DiSalvo) and Harland Boys and Girls Club funded by National Science Foundation. Youth Art Connection is also involved. The objective is to work with youth incorporating some element of robotics with an outcome that intersects both art and the public.”
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
Chris Appleton of WonderRoot gives testimony before Atlanta City Council. Photo by John Ramspott.
Ramspott continues:
“Speakers such as Louis Corrigan of Flux Projects talked about how he keeps his business in Atlanta because of the local artist community that he loves. He talked about how art attracts businesses, jobs and revenue. He and others talked about improved education and test scores, improved quality of life and increased tourism.
“As cities around the country struggle with decreased revenue and shrinking budgets, art programs find themselves increasingly under attack. But if you believe statistics such as ‘for every $1 invested in the arts by local government, $13 in revenue is generated,’ perhaps the arts should be left alone, if not increased.”
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
Photo by John Ramspott.
