Burnaway

Local culture is part of what gives a city character and makes living there worthwhile. That’s why BURNAWAY supports local businesses and homegrown artistic talent. This month we teamed up with Scoutmob to bring you suggestions for unique art experiences paired with cool unique restaurants around Atlanta. Think of it like a wine pairing: What sort of taste might make a nice match for that delectable art show you plan to visit next weekend?
See below for Henry Detweiler’s top recommendations for arts event, plus food pairings by Allie Bashuk of Scoutmob, for the month of June 2012.
ART: WEEK OF JUNE 11
SEAT, the latest public work presented by Flux Projects, is a sculpture and pavilion composed of hundreds of stacked wooden chairs. Installation continues at Freedom Park through the week of Monday, June 11, 2012, when SEAT is tentatively scheduled for completion. If this is going to anywhere near as good as last year’s Freedom Park installation by Flux, then we should be getting excited. (Click here to read BURNAWAY’s review of Charlie Brouwer’s Rise Up Atlanta.) SEAT will provide shade and a place to sit in Freedom Park throughout the summer until its dismantling in September.
FOOD: PONCY HIGHLANDS

Walk or bike along the Freedom Park PATH trail. (Click here for a map.) Start by grabbing an iced mocha latte at Condesa Coffee and then work your way to a snack at the market underneath Parish, the corner of North and North Highland avenues for a King of Pops, and a glass of wine and/or coffee at Java Vino. At this point you’ve burned enough energy to a deserve lamb lollipops at Two Urban Licks or a haute dog at HD1 (conveniently, there is a pop-up Scoutmob deal!). Finally, get a night cap at either Manuel’s or Righteous Room, North Highland’s beloved watering holes.

ART: FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Andy Ditzler continues his Film Love series with Painters Filmmaking at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (ACAC) on Friday, June 15. This installment of Film Love features a selection of hand-painted films from some of the most notable artists and filmmakers of the twentieth century. Ditzler selected these films to go along with the Painters Panting exhibit currently on view at ACAC (click here for BURNAWAY’s review), so be sure to check out the art before or after the screening. The program begins at 8PM and is $5 general admission and $3 for students and seniors.
FOOD: WESTSIDE
There’s been a lot of hype around Ford Fry’s new restaurant The Optimist, a “fish camp & oyster bar,” and we’ve heard nothing but wonderful things. Go for yourself and tell us if expectations are on par. If seafood ain’t your thing, there’s some pretty stellar food and art at Spoon, which is just a stone’s throw from ACAC. And for artisanal brews with modern art, Octane is always the ticket.

ART: SATURDAY, JUNE 16
In another offering from Flux Projects this month, artist Brad Downey will take to the sky with his piece, Portrait of My Father. From 10AM-2PM on Saturday, June 16, an airplane trailing a banner showing the image of a cloud, taken from an old photograph of the artist’s father, will travel the skies of Atlanta. Following this flying exhibition, Debbie Michaud of Creative Loafing will lead a public Q&A at Room & Board (1170 Howell Mill Road) at 2-3PM. The project debuts in conjunction with the Westside Arts District’s Third Saturday Art Walk, so there should be lots to see and do while keeping an eye out for the plane.
FOOD: ROOFTOP RESTAURANTS
If money was no object, then we’d buy an international ticket and dine at the travel-inspired restaurant, One Flew South, located in Terminal E of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A cheaper thrill would be making a beeline to a rooftop for some open-sky viewing: Sundial Restaurant, 5 Seasons Westside, The Republic, Tin Lizzy’s, Six Feet Under, Cafe Circa, Glenn Hotel, or Boners BBQ. Atlanta has no dearth of primo rooftop dining.

ART: SATURDAY, JUNE 16
The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) will kick off their new exhibition, Skate It or Hang It!?, with a day-long celebration of all things skateboard called Skate Peachtree on Saturday, June 16. The day will begin with a gathering at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue that will skate to MODA, followed by skate demos and music until the official opening at 1PM. The all-day event ends with an after-party at the W Midtown at 8PM. The exhibition will run at MODA through September 16.
FOOD: MIDTOWN
Start alongside the skaters at the corner of Ponce and Peachtree at The Georgian Terrace’s Cafe Mims. Then skate your way down Peachtree and hit up some of Atlanta’s best: Baronda, Empire State South, R. Thomas, and Sufi’s (pro tip: use your Scoutmob deal).

ART: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
{Poem 88} continues their Films for the 99% screening series with Peter Askin’s 2007 documentary Trumbo on Wednesday, June 20. The film details the life of screenwriter, novelist, and American Communist Party member Dalton Trumbo and his imprisonment and blacklisting during the federal investigations of Hollywood in the late ’40s. Expect an intimate evening with an informed discussion after the film for those interested. The screening begins at 8PM and is free to the public.
FOOD: WESTSIDE
It’s hard being in the 99% on the Westside, but it’s not impossible. Find delicious, authentic, and cheap Mexican food at Nuevo Laredo, take advantage of the Scoutmob deal at Westside Pie, or wait in line at Taqueria del Sol for $2-$3 tacos to put a hurtin’ on your hunger, but not on your wallet.

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