The Atlanta Art Fair’s 2025 Around Town series will spotlight the enduring legacy of the late Radcliffe Bailey with Southern Ground: The Legacy of Radcliffe Bailey and the Future of Black Southern Art, a panel discussion celebrating one of the South’s most influential contemporary artists.
Taking place Friday, September 26, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta, the free public program will bring together leading voices in Black Southern art whose practices reflect Bailey’s profound influence and the cultural richness of the region.
Panelists include conceptual artist Michi Meko, mixed-media artist Navin Norling, multidisciplinary artist Ato Ribeiro, and lens-based artist Sheila Pree Bright. The discussion will be moderated by curator and cultural strategist Karen Comer Lowe, a longtime collaborator and advocate of Bailey’s work.
The conversation will explore themes central to Bailey’s legacy and relevant to today’s art world, including the role of place and regional identity in contemporary art, the importance of mentorship and artistic lineage in the Black South, and the ways artists create for and within Southern Black communities while engaging national and international audiences.
Presented during the second annual Atlanta Art Fair, the event invites audiences to reflect on how Bailey’s vision continues to shape the creative practices of a new generation of artists, and how the Black South remains a vital force in shaping contemporary art conversations worldwide.
