The Studio Hot Fun in the Summertime

Art, movies, music, bike tours and beach party on tap

By Collin Kelley

If a vacation isn’t in the cards this summer, never fear! There is plenty – and we do mean plenty – to do around Intown to keep the entire family happy. Whether it’s a blockbuster art exhibit, an art festival, a nighttime bike ride or a beach party, Atlanta has staycation options galore.

Andy Warhol at The High Museum

The High Museum of Art will mount the exclusive exhibition “Andy Warhol: Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” from June 11 through Sept. 3. According to the High, the comprehensive retrospective is the largest exhibition of its kind presented and features more than 250 prints and ephemera by Andy Warhol, including such iconic screenprint portfolios as “Marilyn Monroe” (1967), “Campbell’s Soup I” (1968), “Electric Chair” (1971) and “Mao” (1972). For more information, visit high.org.

Coca-Cola Summer Movie Festival

The Fox Theatre and Coke team up again for the annual film festival, and Harry Potter fans are sure to be delighted by this year’s announcement. All eight “Harry Potter” films will be screened, while there will also be sing-a-long versions of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Mary Poppins”, and “Casablanca” will mark its 75th anniversary. For dates and tickets, visit foxtheatre.org.

Atlanta Moon Ride

The Atlanta Moon Ride hits the streets on Friday, June 9, at 11 p.m. for a 6-mile bike ride through some of Atlanta’s coolest neighborhoods beginning and ending in Piedmont Park. Participants are encouraged to ride with flair – dressing in costumes, decorative helmets and glow sticks. Tickets are $30 and proceeds benefit local nonprofit Bert’s Big Adventure. For more information and tickets, visit atlantamoonride.com.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit oldfourthwardparkartsfestival.com.

Concerts in the Garden

The Atlanta Botanical Garden’s concert series will feature Gladys Knight (June 18); Michael Feinstein (July 7); Barenaked Ladies (July 21); Brandi Carlile (July 23); Punch Brothers and I’m With Her (Aug. 11); Lifehouse and Switchfoot (Aug. 20); Buddy Guy (Aug. 25); and Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Love & Comedy Tour (Sept. 8). For tickets and information, visit atlantabg.org.

Callanwolde Jazz on the Lawn

The annual series at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center will feature Rhonda Thomas (June 16); Joe Gransden (June 30); Joey “Papa J” Sommerville (July 14); Virginia Schenck and Free Planet Radio (July 28); and Bob Baldwin (Aug. 11). For tickets and information, visit callanwolde.org.

Summer in the City

Formerly known as the Decatur Beach Party, this year’s rebranded event will still feature 60 tons of sand, kids activities, rock climbing, food and music from 5 to 11 p.m. on June 16. New this year: the event is free! Visit decaturdba.com/events/beach-party.

Tunes from the Tombs

This year’s Tunes from the Tombs at Oakland Cemetery will also act as a memorial tribute to Col. Bruce Hampton, who collapsed and died on stage at the Fox Theatre last month. On June 10, members of the Hampton Grease Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit and Tinsley Ellis will headline the event. Also on the bill: Delta Moon, Secondhand Swagger, Cadillac Jones, Trey Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband, Five Eight, Bad Spell, Spencer Garn & The Diamond Street Players, Blake Rainey and his Demons, Dang, Dang, Dang, Atlanta Rock ‘n Roll All-Stars, Octave Atlanta, Little Country Giants, Wasted Potential Brass Band, and Bonaventure Quartet. Atlanta Taiko Project and NerdKween will busk throughout the cemetery. Tickets, $15 in advance or $20 at the gate, are available at TicketAlternative.com.

Atlanta Cycling Festival

The free, week-long festival, June 10-17, will feature 35-plus events and rides. The festival is geared towards connecting bicyclists of all ages and experience levels with each other and to support local bike-friendly businesses and organizations. For more information, visit atlantacyclingfestival.com.

Atlanta Streets Alive

The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition introduces a new route on the city’s Westside on June 11 from 4 to 8 p.m.

Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival

Nearly 100 arts and craft vendors will be on hand for the annual festival on June 24-25 at Historic Fourth Ward Park. There will also be a children’s play area, live music and food.

A 4-mile stretch of Marietta Street and Howell Mill Road will be closed to motorized traffic, but wide open to people on foot, bikes and other human-powered activities. For the route and more information, visit atlantastreetsalive.com.

By Isadora Pennington

“The word HealiUm has a big red U, what do you think that symbolizes?” Jim Peera asked. “It signifies you; today is your day. It’s your day to be you.”

Peera is the director and artist behind the local art collective HealiUm Center in Candler Park. He runs the organization with the help of his wife Donna, their children Haseena and Iman, and a team of dedicated volunteers.

Originally from Tanzania in East Africa, Peera and his family fled during the UgandaTanzania War to France, where they lived as refugees before eventually moving to England. After his father’s death, Peera’s brother in America suggested that he relocate there to complete high school. He later attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and it was there that he met Donna, who was attending The University of Arizona.

“I was a designer, so she was my model,” he explained. “We traveled together, and we’ve been halfway around the world together as a couple.”

After growing tired of living in California, they moved across the country to Atlanta to escape the fog and crowd. “Little did we know…” he trailed off with a chuckle. In the 25 years that followed, they have built a family and a community here in the city.

Peera’s appreciation for America and the city is what led him to come up with the HealiUm Center concept. “It’s for the community, that’s what it is for,” he said. “I’ve been in America for about 40 years now, so the idea comes to me at a time when things are falling apart and for me it was – how do I contribute to a country that has done so much for me and opened their hearts? How can I pay them back? How can I pay it forward?

“I felt that there was a disconnect in America,” Peera continued. “People were spending a lot of effort and time with their kids, but the adults were being left out. The parents were taking care of kids, making sure they went to art classes in school, but the parents fell short.”

He noticed that most adults could only really let loose at bars or sporting events, and not a lot of spaces were dedicated to creativity for people of all ages.

“There needs to be a place where people can come out and express themselves freely, because at the end of the day, we are all creative beings, you know.”

The HealiUm Center features an art gallery, art studio, photo studio, event room, Zen room, music and performance space, and a sanctuary. While it may look unassuming on the outside, to step inside is to be transported to another world. Colorful artwork of all types adorns the walls, rows of tables with easels await the next art class, and local musicians play in the basement of the church. The walls are painted bright colors with a specific correlation to colors of the chakra that infuse the different spaces with varying energies.

For just $15, visitors can partake in weekly Open Studio sessions that occur in the evenings. There’s a fully equipped stage for musicians and the fee covers art supplies such as canvases, paints and brushes. Volunteers can also work in exchange for access to the center, and the space can be rented out for parties and group events.

One of the current, on-going events is the Art of the Heal, a campaign to send over 100,000 pieces of art to the White House by July 4. Inspired by the actions of and controversy surrounding the current administration, Peera intends to provide a creative outlet for coping with the unstable political landscape.

“The idea was to kind of get people to come together and really explore the fact that we all have a lot more in common than what is different,” he said. “There’s a lot more commonality within this society and the people than the guy at the top wants us to believe.”

While the Art of the Heal project hopes to bring artwork to the attention of politicians on a national level, the HealiUm center continues to provide affordable and accessible creative opportunities to their growing community of artists in Atlanta. “A lot of the kids, they call us mom and dad, it’s like their home here,” he laughed. “This is their creative home, they come and share their stories with us, so we have built this cool extended family of artists.”

For more information about the HealiUm Center, visit healiumcenter.com.