(Turbulence by Otherpole)

For nearly a decade, Flux Projects has presented public art projects that transform public space, help artists advance their careers, and inspire audiences of all ages. On September 26 – 29, Atlanta’s senses reach another level with FLUX: Ponce City Market, an immersive sound art experience. Curated by artist and musician Ben Coleman, we have invited eleven artists to create works that evoke the history of the site and challenge how we experience it in present-day.

Flux Projects approaches public art as a pathway to investigate Atlanta spaces in ways that bring a site’s past, present, and future into conversation. As curator Ben Coleman points out, “A project about sound is also a project about listening,” and thus FLUX: Ponce City Market will create moments that invite visitors to “listen” to the space ways that help reshape how they view the site, its history, and our connection to place.

The Location:

The site and building in which Ponce City Market is housed has transformed with Atlanta throughout the years.  Originally the site of Ponce de Leon Springs and later Ponce de Leon Amusement Park, the building we now know as Ponce City Market was constructed by Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 1926 and has been a historic landmark on the city’s skyline ever since.  Participating artists will explore the building’s rich history as a place of gathering and transition in Atlanta.

About the Artists:

Participating artists include:  Jane Foley, Tricia Hersey, Eli Keszler, Otherpole (Kai Riedl & Éric Marty), Talecia Tucker, Unexpected Collective (Rebecca M. K. Makus, Alley Jessop Nattinger, and Peter A. Torpey), and Mark Wentzel & Andrew Lackey.

Artists were selected from an open call for concepts that requested ideas on how to approach the location through projects that featured sound as the primary medium.  Seven projects were selected from ninety submissions.

Collectively the artists are creating works that turn a 12-story stairwell into a stringed acoustical instrument, return the sound of passing trains to The Shed along the BeltLine, connect us to the stream that runs underneath the site, introduce us to the workers in the building, and allow us to echo our voices through the great hall, among other surprises.  This diverse group of artists approach their projects with backgrounds in music, sound design, theater, fashion design, public health, theology, data visualization, technology, and augmented reality.

( A Resting Place by Tricia Hersey)

About the Curator:

Ben Coleman is a British multi-disciplinary artist and curator. His practice encompasses performance, sonic art, music, and mixed-media installation projects. Coleman received a BA in Contemporary Performance Making from Brunel University, London, and earned a Certification in Music Recording & Audio Production at Recording Workshop, Ohio. Cross disciplinary collaboration is critical to his current practice, which encompasses work with choreographers, visual artists, and theater practitioners. His work has been presented by a variety of cultural organizations including the High Museum of Art, Alliance Theatre, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Gibney Dance, Dashboard, Georgia Institute of Technology, Tanz Farm, the Object Group, Seven Stages, and Emory Dance.

About Flux Projects:

Flux Projects produces temporary public art projects that connect and grow artists and audiences in Atlanta through the creative power of place.  These projects disrupt the everyday and inspire imagination, wonder and awe.  They support artists to take risks and grow their practices whether they are internationally acclaimed or producing their first public work.  They create communal spaces for people of all walks of life.  And they bring a location’s past, present and future into conversation in ways that open our eyes to new possibilities.

Since our first project in 2010, Flux Projects has presented 29 individual projects and another 86 projects as part of six FLUX events, which combine multiple projects to explore a site over several days, all free and open to the public.

 In addition to public projects we present a project incubator called Flux Exchange, a Visiting Curator Series, a Flux Film series, and The Extension podcast.

To learn more about Flux Projects and the upcoming FLUX: Ponce City Market, visit www.fluxprojects.org.