About

Founded in 1973 by a group of Atlanta photographers, Nexus was a storefront cooperative gallery supported by member dues and staffed by volunteers. In 1976, the organization leased an old elementary school and began to increase its activities and formalize its infrastructure. Nexus Press, dedicated to creating unique publications by invited artists, was begun, and studio spaces for working artists became a core part of the organization.

Nexus marked its 10th anniversary with a commitment to develop a higher public profile, expand its Board of Directors, and increase its financial security through fundraising efforts. In 1984, the name of the organization was officially changed to Nexus Contemporary Art Center. The Atlanta Biennial and Art Party became signature events during this period. In 1987, seeking a permanent home, the Board completed a $1.95 million capital campaign to renovate a 35,000 square foot warehouse complex on Means Street, near the Georgia Tech campus.

The multi-year, phased renovation had the Press move into the new facility first, followed by the Gallery and, finally, the Studio Artist Program. 1996 was an exciting year for Atlanta with the Summer Olympics bringing international attention to the city. 1998 marked the 25th anniversary of Nexus, which had established itself as a contemporary arts center of national consequence. Its local presence played a major role in the urban renewal of the historic Marietta Street Artery corridor.

In 2000, Nexus was renamed the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (nicknamed the Contemporary), asserting its pride of place in the Southeast and acknowledging a peer relationship to arts venues in other cities. We became one of thirty-one organizations selected in 1999 to participate in the multi-year Warhol Initiative, receiving a significant grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to undertake long term institutional planning. Nexus Press closed in 2003, leaving a legacy of some 150 titles produced, each exploring the formal and conceptual possibilities of the book as a work of art. Broadsides, boxed sets, folded sheets, and variously bound books produced at Nexus have been sought by and distributed to collectors, booksellers, galleries, museums, and libraries around the world. Nexus Press books are available for purchase in our Shop.

Since 2005, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center has developed original and often-imitated programs including Artist Survival Skills, a series providing information, training, and networking opportunities for artists to develop their creative lives and careers; 15 Minutes, monthly discussions and portfolio reviews for artist members of the Contemporary; Open Studios, a biannual event bringing together our studio artists and the general public; Avant Garden, a monthly infotainment event co-hosted with the Atlanta Film Festival; and the Resource Room, a social and educational space featuring books, catalogs, periodicals, and digital media focused on contemporary art and visual culture. The Resource Room also features a community bulletin board for exhibition and event postings and free Wi-Fi access. In 2009, we helped found the Westside Arts District, featuring monthly Saturday art walks with educational programming coordinated within the district’s art spaces.