The ATL Arts Collective

About The ATL Arts Collective

If you're curious about the people making Atlanta a more creative, interesting, and joyful city, you're in the right place. Welcome to ATL Arts Collective, powered by ArtsATL. Every week, host and executive producer Kim Drobes gathers artists, journalists, musicians, writers, performers, and other fascinating humans for conversations about what's happening in Atlanta's creative community. Along the way, you'll discover new exhibitions, performances, concerts, restaurants, festivals, ideas, and the people making this city so special. With original reporting from ArtsATL writers, interviews with artists and cultural leaders, and a different featured contributor each week, ATL Arts Collective is part arts magazine, part insider's guide, and part conversation among friends. New episodes every Wednesday.

Publisher

Wordplay Collective

Category

arts · leisure · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Mar 2026

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

33 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Nocturnal Lattes, Atlanta X Porto, Robin Shakedown & More | ATL Arts Collective

   Featured contributor Summer Evans joins us to talk about her new Rough Draft Atlanta podcast, From the Paper to the Pod. Plus, we go inside the Atlanta BeltLine x Porto Artworks residency, chat with Robin Danger Vincent about DIY ethos, and ArtsATL’s Executive Editor Shane Harrison runs down the top spooky-season arts and cultural events. Prefer to watch while you listen? We’re @atlartscollective on YouTube. Summer Evans, From the Paper to the Pod Our featured contributor is Summer Evans, a podcaster, journalist, and photographer who hosts the new Rough Draft Atlanta podcast From the Paper to the Pod. Summer joins Kim to discuss the vision behind pulling back the curtain on local reporting and building transparency with readers. For Beats, Bites & Sites, Summer recommends Horizon Theater for immersive theater, Ameer's for delicious Mediterranean, and the Chattahoochee Nature Preserve for the intersection of art and nature. Atlanta BeltLine x Porto Artworks Residency Arts ATL’s Jeff Dingler reports on an exciting international exchange program that brought Atlanta artists Joelle Ngalame and Tracey Murrell to Porto, Portugal, for a six-week sculpture and fabrication residency. Murrell gained life-changing experience watching large-scale designs come to life from schematic to shipping, while Ngalame left behind a permanent iron flower sculpture titled A Husband's Love at her apartment complex, bridging cultural and language gaps through shared storytelling. Nocturnal Lattes at Terminus 72 Evans shares her in-depth reporting on Terminus 72, an experimental Marietta coffee shop opened by Ika Xiao that operates exclusively from 9 PM to 5 AM. Serving college students like KSU night owls, hospital workers, and anyone looking for a safe, alcohol-free community space after dark. Xiao shares why she opened the cafe and what she hopes for the business's future. Robin Shakedown’s new album ArtsATL’s Jordan Owen chats with multi-instrumentalist Robin Danger Vincent, the creative force behind the band Robin Shakedown. They discuss the new album, I Don't Know, Lady, I Just Work Here, which takes a sharp, witty look at modern entitlement. In protest of AI-generated music, Vincent recorded every instrument herself using basic gear and GarageBand, emphasizing that art's true value lies in the human journey and grit of creation rather than immediate digital output. ArtsATL Best Bets Shane Harrison runs down ArtsATL’s top picks for Atlanta arts and culture events, including the Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade, the Stone Mountain Highland Games, stand-up comedian Ali Siddiq at State Farm Arena, and Kathy Griffin at the Buckhead Theatre. Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday. Special thanks to this week’s sponsors: Vintage ATL Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective. Thank you to the CP Group and Downtown Atlanta Inc. for providing the ATL Arts Collective with a home at CTR Culture Studios. Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records. Jordan Owen composed all other original music in this episode. Set art by Gina Thompson. ☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support our work. ☕

2. 

   7 Oct 2026

   CLAVVS, Nu Africans, Voiceless Mass & More | ATL Arts Collective

   Featured contributor Jamaal Barber joins us to talk about printmaking, MTV/Smithsonian’s The Exhibit, and how he amplifies Black artists through his Studio Noize podcast. Plus, synth-pop duo CLAVVS discusses their new album Into the Cave of Crumbling Gold, and we learn about the Nu Africans exhibition at Hammond House Museum. We also prepare for the Atlanta premiere of Voiceless Mass, and explore ArtsATL’s Best Bets with Executive Editor Shane Harrison. Prefer to watch while you listen? We’re @atlartscollective on YouTube. Jamaal Barber and Studio Noize Our featured contributor is Jamaal Barber. The artist and printmaker is also a podcaster, and his Studio Noize podcast highlights and amplifies Black artists across all mediums. He joins Kim in the studio to talk about his experience competing on the art-based reality competition show The Exhibit, and discuss the origins of Studio Noize. For Beats, Bites & Sites, Jamaal recommends seeing intimate live performances at City Winery, dining at Southern-fusion spot Poor Calvin’s, and exploring the tranquil collection at the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum. CLAVVS and Into the Cave of Crumbling Gold Kim visits CLAVVS (Amber Renee and Graham Marsh) in their home studio to discuss their new album, Into the Cave of Crumbling Gold. The Atlanta-based duo talks about how technical limitations fuel their artistic process, providing them with a creative path for their music and videos. They also share the story behind their tarot card video for "Dark Age,” their rejection of AI in pop music, and their return to Atlanta's creative community post-pandemic. Maurice Evans and Grace Kisa: Nu Africans Jamaal takes us to Hammonds House Museum for a conversation with mixed-media artists Maurice Evans and Grace Kisa. The pair discusses the return of their 2020 exhibition Nu Africans and the expanded work, which features 14 new gorgeous pieces, following its pandemic interruption. Raven Chacon’s Voiceless Mass Arts ATL reporter Doug DeLoach highlights the Atlanta premiere of Voiceless Mass by composer Raven Chacon. Performed at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Midtown on October 12 by Ensemble VIM and Bent Frequency, the Pulitzer Prize-winning piece reflects on church history and the silencing and amplification of voices. ArtsATL Best Bets Shane Harrison runs down ArtsATL’s picks for Atlanta arts and culture, including the Georgia Symphony Orchestra's American Tapestry, Oakhurst Porch Fest, Chalktoberfest at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, Kelundra Smith's Other Paths to God at Horizon Theatre, and The Ghastly Dreadfuls at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday. Special thanks to this week’s sponsors: Vintage ATL Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective. Thank you to the CP Group and Downtown Atlanta Inc. for providing the ATL Arts Collective with a home at CTR Culture Studios. Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records. Jordan Owen composed all other original music in this episode. Set art by Gina Thompson. ☕ Want to buy the podcast a cup of coffee? Here’s how to support our work. ☕

3. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Motherships, Microbones, A Different World Reboot & InnerSpace | ATL Arts Collective

   Featured contributor Chad Radford joins us to talk about Atlanta music, record collecting, RAD/ATL, and his book Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History. Plus, Kenny Murray talks with Debbie Allen about the new A Different World reboot filmed in Atlanta, Atlanta artist Fabian Williams brings sci-fi and social commentary together in a new immersive installation, and Atlanta Center for Photography shares how it is building a sustainable year-round home for photography. Chad also takes us inside InnerSpace, an Atlanta DIY concert series connecting musicians, visual artists, and generations of the city’s underground music scene, and we explore ArtsATL’s Best Bets with Executive Editor Shane Harrison. Prefer to watch while you listen? We’re @atlartscollective on YouTube. Chad Radford & Atlanta Music Our featured contributor is Chad Radford, former Creative Loafing music editor, founder of RAD/ATL, and author of Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History. He joins Kim to talk about music journalism, his encyclopedic record collection, Rocktober and the challenge of making room for music that might be too strange, abstract or offbeat for the mainstream. For Beats, Bites & Sights, Chad recommends the Garden Club at Wild Heaven in the Lee + White district, Near Wild Heaven, Wild Heaven’s non-alcoholic beer with an R.E.M. connection, and the Pittsburgh Yards area of the Southwest BeltLine Trail where layers of Atlanta street art, graffiti and murals include work connected to So So Def and artists including VANE, Hense, Born and Dr. Dax. Fabian Williams’ Mothership ArtsATL’s Brittany Mackins visits Atlanta artist Fabian Williams, also known as Occasional Superstar, for Mothership: Sirius B. What It Is, What It Was, and What It’s Gon’ Be, an immersive three-level exhibition in Atlanta’s Edgewood Arts District. Moving through the past, present, and future, Williams uses science fiction and American history to ask who gets to decide what’s possible. The exhibition also brings young people into the conversation, asking students to imagine the future they want and what they want Atlanta and the world to look like. Debbie Allen & A Different World The beloved ’90s sitcom A Different World is back, and this time Atlanta is part of the story. ATL Arts Collective contributor Kenny Murry talks with director and executive producer Debbie Allen about the new reboot, filmed in Atlanta and featuring Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College. Allen talks about bringing the original cast’s sense of family into a new generation, working with showrunner Felicia Pride, why Netflix pushed the reboot toward a single-camera approach, and what Atlanta added to the world of Hillman. Kenny also gets Allen talking about some of the original series’ unsung heroes, including Mary Alice and Ron Mosley. InnerSpace: Atlanta’s Underground Music Scene Chad Radford takes us inside InnerSpace, the DIY concert series created by artist and curator Carl Janes. What began as a studio and underground performance space in Underground Atlanta evolved into a pop-up series at Halfway Crooks Beer Garden in Summerhill, connecting musicians, visual artists, and different generations of Atlanta’s underground music community. Janes creates custom video projections for each band, bringing his visual-art practice directly into the performances. And he introduces us to some of the musicians and artists shaping the series, including Token Hearts and Gunga. The InnerSpace Fall Concert Series runs through November 13, with all-ages shows, $10 admission, and free entry for ages 15 and under. Making It Work: Atlanta Center for Photography For our monthly Making It Work series, Jasmine Henschel of Gulch Magazine talks with Lindsay O’Connor, executive director of Atlanta Center for Photography, about the organization’s evolution from Atlanta Celebrates Photography into a year-round photography center on Edgewood Avenue. O’Connor discusses ACP’s exhi

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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