The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, located at 75 Bennett Street in Atlanta, is dedicated to contemporary Georgia art created by artists who were either born in the state or who have made the state their home. The focus of the collection is primarily mid–twentieth century to the present and includes works by nationally renowned artists Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Beverly Buchanan, Harry Callahan, Howard Finster, and Nellie Mae Rowe.
The museum was founded in 2002 by David Golden, president of CGR Advisors, a real estate advisory company in Atlanta, and Annette Cone-Skelton, an artist and art consultant. CGR Advisors donated its art collection, which had been curated by Cone-Skelton, to the fledgling private, nonprofit institution. As of 2005 the museum housed a permanent collection of more than 250 works by 113 artists in a variety of media, including mixed media, paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures. From bold color lithographs made by Trena Banks, Joni Mabe, and others for Rolling Stone Press in Atlanta to elegantly composed photographs by John McWilliams, Virginia Warren Smith, and others, the Museum of Contemporary Art embraces diverse media and aesthetics in the works of its permanent collection.
Previous exhibitions include the grand opening exhibition of new sculpture by Martin Emanuel; Artists of the Heath Gallery: 1965-1998, comprising solo exhibitions of works by Herbert Creecy, Cheryl Goldsleger, Kojo Griffin, and Hope Hilton; and special exhibitions from the permanent collection, which is accessible online through the museum’s Web site. In November 2002 the museum mounted Color, Culture, Complexity, an exhibition curated by Ed Spriggs, of the Hammonds House Galleries in Atlanta, and Dan Talley, cofounder of Art Papers magazine and former director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center in Atlanta. The exhibition, an exploration of the history and current conditions of race relations in America, spotlighted the works of artists from around the country and included digital photographs by Amalia Amaki (of Atlanta and Delaware), computer-generated images by Marcia Cohen (of Atlanta), a triptych painting by Harry DeLorme (of Savannah), iris prints by Robert B. Stewart (of Atlanta), and conceptually derived digital prints by Lisa McGaughey Tuttle (of Atlanta).
In addition to its exhibitions, the museum also sponsors ShedSpace, a community-oriented program to support local arts, and the Artist Resource Council, which serves as a conduit between artists and museums throughout Georgia.
