WABE Arts
WABE Arts features stories of art and culture in Atlanta. The podcast covers local artists, exhibitions, and cultural events. It is produced by WABE, Atlanta's NPR station.
Episodes
VIVO Summer Strings Institute Culminates in Free Concert at Symphony Hall
VIVO, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Summer String Institute, wraps up today with a free concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott stopped by the ASO this week to see what five days of rehearsal taught a group of young musicians from different backgrounds about playing as one. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Atlanta Storytellers turns one with ‘The Songs That Shape Us’
Atlanta Storytellers marks one year with its fifth show, “The Songs That Shape Us,” pairing live personal stories with live music at Eddie’s Attic. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with founder and director Josh Cuthbertson about how a standing Moth date with his daughter turned into a storytelling series — and why he’s in no hurry to outgrow it.
John Simmons photography exhibit wraps at Mason Fine Art
Emmy-winning cinematographer and photographer John Simmons has spent six decades documenting Black life in America — starting at 15, shooting for the Chicago Defender. Now, a selection of that work is on view at Mason Fine Art in Atlanta, in a solo exhibition called “It Started in the 60s,” running through July 25. WABE's Sherri Daye Scott sat down with Simmons at the
Operator, connect me to Atlanta World Cup culture
More than 100 visitors and locals stopped by WABE's phone booth at the Atlanta Cultural Exchange this summer, sharing what their impressions of the city during FIFA World Cup 2026. On this episode, hear from radio personality Jade Jones, a visitor from South Africa, a shoutout to local creative Dante Kyle, and a very confident young voice with strong opinions on who's taking home the trophy. Sherr
What's feeding Harry Connick Jr. ahead of Chastain Park
Harry Connick Jr. made his Carnegie Hall debut this year with an original orchestral piece written as a tribute to his late mother. On this episode of WABE Arts' What's Feeding You?, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Connick about writing that piece, the idea behind his forthcoming book, “Babe: Elaboratio,” and why he never plans a set list before a show. Connick brings his band to Chastain
How Hip-Hop Made Atlanta': Regina Bradley on OutKast and trap
Atlanta is a hip-hop capital now, but it wasn’t always. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Dr. Regina N. Bradley, associate professor of English and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University and author of “Chronicling Stankonia,” about how the city and the music shaped each other, from OutKast and the Dungeon Family to trap and the neighborhood
Atlanta poet Ashlee Haze wins South Arts literary grant
Atlanta poet and spoken word artist Ashlee Haze is one of sixteen writers to receive a 2026 South Arts Literary Arts Grant. Her award is going toward “KIERA,” a nonfiction book and audiobook exploring abundance, wealth and liberation for Black women and the historically marginalized. For Haze, the project is as much about how the story gets told as what it says.&nbs
Shakespeare Out of a Hat brings improv chaos to Atlanta’s Shakespeare Tavern
The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse on Peachtree Street is home to some of Atlanta's most polished classical theater. But a few nights a year, the stage belongs to something wilder. Actors don't know their roles. In some cases, they don't even know what play they're performing. They find out the same way the audience does — when someone reaches into a hat. That's the premise of 
chefATL is back — and it’s already won an Emmy
chefATL started as a class assignment. Now it’s an Emmy winner. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Astrid Sims, a SCAD student director who worked her way up from production assistant to helming two episodes of the student-produced docuseries made in partnership with WABE. Sims, who also took home a 2026 Gracie Award for Director (TV – Student), talks about what
Fútbol, faith, and fans: ADAMA opens 'The African Game'
The World Cup has come to Atlanta, and a new exhibition at ADAMA, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, is asking viewers to look beyond the pitch. On this episode of WABE Arts, WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott walks through “The African Game,” the immersive body of work by photographer and filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu, shot across nine African countries over more than
SanSe Atlanta: A celebration that doubles as a lifeline
Now in its eleventh year, SanSe Atlanta is Georgia’s largest Puerto Rican festival — and one with a philanthropic mission. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Belisa Urbina, co-founder and CEO of Ser Familia, about what it takes to bring Puerto Rico’s post-Christmas spirit to Alpharetta in June and proceeds go directly to mental hea
PJ Morton on the making of ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’
GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter and longtime Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton is back with a new double album: ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning,’ half R&B, half gospel, out June 19. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Morton about the project’s origins and the Bogalusa, Louisiana studio where he recorded it. Morton also shares the kismet behind the album&
Ministry of Art: Artful ATL returns with 30+ Atlanta artists
Artful ATL started with a simple idea: Atlanta artists deserve a professional space, real collectors, and a direct path to income — without giving up a percentage of what their work brings in. Now in its second year, the annual exhibition and sale returns Saturday, June 13 to Atlanta Contemporary with more than 30 artists selected from more than 200 submissions. On this episode of WABE Arts,
Art as a Language: Joyce Kim’s Gold Medal Portfolio
When Joyce Kim immigrated to Georgia from Korea in the third grade, she couldn’t yet speak English, but she could paint and draw. Art, she says, was a familiar language in an unfamiliar place. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Kim about the body of work that earned her a Gold Medal Portfolio Award from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the organizatio
Amplify Decatur celebrates 'A Decade on the Square' with Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
The Amplify Decatur Music Festival has been turning live music into community support since 2010 — and a decade ago, it claimed the Decatur Square as its home. This week, the festival marks ten years outdoors with a lineup headlined by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, on a brand-new downtown stage about to host its very first concert. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks wi
Inside 'American Sublime': Amy Sherald’s homecoming at the High Museum
For more than a year, ‘Amy Sherald: American Sublime’ packed museums in San Francisco, New York, and Baltimore. Now the exhibition — the largest of the Georgia native’s work to date — has arrived at its final stop: Atlanta’s High Museum, the city where Sherald honed her craft. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Angelica Arbelaez, ass
‘Basura’: Gloria and Emily Estefan on writing music that serves the story
In 2019, producer Michael Shulman invited Gloria Estefan to score a musical he was developing based on ‘Landfill Harmonic,’ a documentary about a children’s orchestra in Paraguay that builds its instruments from recycled trash. Estefan invited her daughter Emily to write alongside her. On this episode of WABE Arts, Sherri Daye Scott talks with Gloria and Emily Estefan &mdas
WABE Arts: Atlanta Fringe Festival 2026
The Atlanta Fringe Festival opens Wednesday, May 27th. Fifty-one shows. Nearly 250 performances. The lineup is selected by lottery — open to artists of all backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Donnie: The road back to the stage
🎶 Almost twenty-five years ago, singer-songwriter Donnie released “The Colored Section”, a gospel-rooted concept album that became a touchstone of Atlanta’s indie soul scene. Then he disappeared from public life for nearly two decades. On this episode of WABE Arts, Donnie sits down with WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott ahead of his performance at the 49th An
Kamasi Washington: What's feeding the jazz titan
🎧 Grammy-nominated saxophonist Kamasi Washington headlines Saturday night of the 49th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival. Before he took to the stage, he sat down for WABE Arts' "What's Feeding You?" series. Washington, talking about where he finds inspiration, what he's reading right now (hint: Ninja Turtles), how he grounds himself, and why Atlanta has a special place in his story. He also names the n
Biographer Matthew Hild on the life and legacy of Olivia Newton-John
🎭 Georgia Tech historian Matthew Hild spent years researching the woman behind the pop star — and he argues the most iconic thing Olivia Newton-John ever did wasn’t star in “Grease” or sing “Physical.” It was the cancer treatment center she fought to build in Australia, which now draws patients from around the world. Hild talks with WABE Arts and Cultu
Shakespeare gets a laugh track: 'M.A.C.B.E.T.H.' at Art Farm at Serenbe
🎭 Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” reimagined as a ’90s sitcom, staged outdoors in a Georgia meadow. Producer Lena deLoache had never produced live theatre outside before writer and director Erin Stegeman invited her to help bring “M.A.C.B.E.T.H.” to life at Art Farm at Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills. The world premiere opened May 8 and runs through May 17. deLoach
Honey Pierre brings ‘Notions’ to One Contemporary Gallery
🧵 Atlanta fiber artist Honey Pierre’s solo show “Notions” opened May 2 at One Contemporary Gallery, a survey of six years of work tracing her practice from canvas to punch needle and back to paper. Pierre talks with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about what people will find when they walk through the door, how she picked up punch-needle on YouTube d
Pain Into Color: Atlanta Ballet's 'Frida'
🎭 Atlanta Ballet opens the East Coast premiere of "Frida," a full-length narrative ballet about the life of Frida Kahlo, May 8–10 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa talks with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about how she put Kahlo's pain, resilience, and artistic legacy into movement. Plus, Fernanda Cámara of the Consulate Genera
Atlanta Film Festival at 50: Chris Escobar on legacy, careers and what's next
🎬 The Atlanta Film Festival marks its 50th anniversary this year Executive Director Chris Escobar traces how a short film by Ray McKinnon and Walton Goggins won the 2001 festival, qualified for the Oscars — and launched careers still building today. Plus: what Escobar says Atlanta needs to invest in to become a world-class festival city. 🎧See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jon Batiste: What's Feeding Him Before His Atlanta Debut
🎹 Eight-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste opens his 2026 Fantastical Tour Saturday at Chastain Park with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, a rare orchestral date. He tells WABE Arts what keeps him grounded on the road, why all music is folk music, and what Atlanta means to him. 🎧See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Tree House: Inside Inman Park's modern outlier
🌳 The neighbors called it the Tree House before Colin Sutter ever moved in. Built in 1999, 231 DeGress Avenue is one of Inman Park's few modern homes: four stories, floor-to-ceiling windows, trees close enough to touch from inside. It has never been on the Inman Park Festival Tour of Homes. Until now. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with co-owner Sutter about the house, a gard
Lois Reitzes & Robert Spano: America @ 250
🎧 She's back. Beloved City Lights host and public radio legend Lois Reitzes returns to WABE for a special conversation with conductor Robert Spano ahead of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's America @ 250 concert series. Spano reflects on the music, the moment, and what it means to mark 250 years of American history through live performance. The ASO's America @ 250 runs
Isa Miles: Returning to 'A Raisin in the Sun'
🎭 Seven years after her first turn as Ruth Younger, actor Isa Miles is back in Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun.” She says the intervening years have given her something new to bring to the role. Miles speaks with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about returning to one of American theater's most iconic characters, why the play's themes remain universal, and w
Rory Berg: Georgia's Poetry Out Loud champion heads to D.C.
🎭 A Roswell High School senior won Georgia's top poetry competition — and Walt Whitman helped her do it. Rory Berg, the 2026 Poetry Out Loud Georgia state champion, talks with WABE Arts about the Whitman poem that sealed her win, what drew her to the competition as an actor, and the new poems she's bringing to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C., April 27–29. 🎧See o
The Beauty Project Brings Wonderland to Smith-Gilbert Gardens
A unique garden experience is blooming in Kennesaw this month. Kennesaw State University’s Department of Theatre and Performance Studies is partnering with the City of Kennesaw and Smith-Gilbert Gardens on ‘The Beauty Project: Through the Looking Glass’ — an immersive production for young audiences performed by college students. Sherri Daye Scott talks with KSU professors a
WABE Arts: Actress Taylor Polidore Williams
From Clark Atlanta University student to Netflix leading lady, actress Taylor Polidore Williams has quickly garnered a worldwide fanbase for her role of Kimmy in Tyler Perry's hit streaming drama, "Beauty in Black." She recently spoke with WABE Arts contributor Kenny Murry on Atlanta's music, culture and what's next down the road on her bucket list.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati
S. Epatha Merkerson: Legacy, Atlanta and 'Chicago Med'
Emmy and Golden Globe winner S. Epatha Merkerson stopped by WABE Studios after receiving the Black Women Film Network's On Her Shoulders Preservation Award and ahead of a special exhibit at Atlanta's Apex Museum showcasing costumes from her role as Sharon Goodwin on NBC's "Chicago Med." She talked with WABE Arts editor Sherri Daye Scott about what the honors mean, why Atlanta's creative scene is "
Gordon Parks 'The South in Color' comes to Atlanta's Jackson Fine Art
enty years after Gordon Parks documented the segregated South for Life Magazine, more than 40 of those photographs are coming to Atlanta. Jackson Fine Art co-owner Anna Walker Skillman traces the gallery's decade-long relationship with the Gordon Parks Foundation — from a meeting in Paris in 2011 to this landmark exhibition, curated by MacArthur Fellow Dawoud Bey. On view at Jackson Fine Art
Monica Campana: Frida Kahlo and an act of resistance
As Women's History Month comes to a close, Atlanta artist/activist and Living Walls co-founder Monica Campana shares how Mexican painter Frida Kahlo saved her life. Campana , who moved to the U.S. from Peru at 15, her the story of identity, displacement, and why stepping out of her front door is an act of resistance with with WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott . 🎧See omnystudio.com/lis
Callanwolde's Spring Concert Series returns to Atlanta
🎭 Spring arrives with live music at sunset on Callanwolde's estate grounds. WABE Arts and Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Executive Director Andrew Keenan and Operations Director Adam Faust about the 2026 Spring Concert Series: sixteen artists across four outdoor nights, running through May 8th. The lineup spans blues, soul, Americana, jazz, and classic pop.See omnystudio.com/listener
Dionne Warwick: What's Feeding Her Right Now
onne Warwick has been making hits for nearly six decades — and she's not done yet. Ahead of her March 20 performance at Atlanta Symphony Hall, the six-time Grammy winner and 2023 Kennedy Center honoree sits down for WABE Arts' "What's Feeding You?" series. She talks classic TV, a new album of Diane Warren songs with emerging artists, and a long-awaited collaboration with Earth, Wind and Fire
Meryanne Loum-Martin: Marrakech, Atlanta, and the Black diaspora
What happens when a world-class cultural destination decides Atlanta is its next partner? 🎧 Meryanne Loum-Martin built Jnane Tamsna, an acclaimed nine-acre boutique hotel in Marrakech, into a gathering place for the global Black diaspora. Now she's bringing that vision to Atlanta. If you care about Black cultural leadership, global art, and what it looks like to build real economic ecosystems acro
WABE Arts: Fab Five Freddy's 'Everybody's Fly'
Cultural icon Fab Five Freddy brings his debut memoir, "Everybody's Fly" to Atlanta's Tara Theatre. He spoke WABE's Sherri Daye Scott about the worlds that shaped him, bridging hip-hop and downtown New York's art scene, and the curiosity that drove it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Peter Van Sant on the Georgia murder that hooked him
️ A wealthy family. A 10-acre farm in Cherokee County, Georgia. And a murder. Award-winning CBS News correspondent Peter Van Sant covered the Farris family murder case for "48 Hours,” now he’s going deeper with his new six-episode podcast, “Blood Is Thicker: The Farris Wheel.” WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talked&n
Boris Kodjoe: Purpose, Community and What’s Feeding Him Now
Boris Kodjoe has spent 25 years building a career between Hollywood and the world — from “Madea’s Family Reunion” and “House of Cards” to the Full Circle Festival in Ghana to the Kodjoe Family Foundation. At the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s 10th Annual African-American Partnership Leadership Luncheon, he sat down with WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sher
Beth Hyland premieres ‘Fires, Ohio’ at the Alliance Theatre
Playwright Beth Hyland on ‘Fires, Ohio,’ a Chekhov-inspired world premiere at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre through March 22.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bet on Your Future: Atlanta’s Lunar New Year casino night
Lunar New Year celebrations often center family traditions, but Atlanta’s Asian American Advocacy Fund is planning a nightlife-style take. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott speaks with Nicole Kang about “Bet on Your Future,” a Feb. 27 casino night at The Supermarket in Atlanta featuring live music, games, local AAPI businesses and an art showcase with 13 Asian Amer
Inside Atlanta Opera’s future Beltline home
🎭 The Atlanta Opera has broken ground on a new home along the Atlanta Beltline: the Molly Blank Center for Opera and the Arts, backed by a $27.5 million leadership gift from The Arthur M. Blank Foundation. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott spoke with Atlanta Opera general and artistic director Tomer Zvulun inside the historic Bobby Jones Clubhouse minutes before the ceremony. He exp
BAM! returns to SCAD with a celebration of Black love
SCAD’s annual Black History Month concert, “BAM! — Black Artists in Music,” is back. This year’s concert centers on Black love, pairing student performers with guest artists, including Grammy-nominated Avery Wilson and Tony-nominated Amber Iman, for a show designed to land as both performance and collective release.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Adriane Jefferson on Atlanta arts funding and what’s next
Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs has issued two big signals: expanded city arts funding and the newly announced 2026 Atlanta Jazz Festival lineup. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with Executive Director Adriane Jefferson about her first year in the role — from distributing more than $2 million in grants to building a community-shaped creative ac
Broadway Sideways at The Breman
Broadway classics, reimagined in Atlanta. “Broadway Sideways” comes to the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, featuring members of the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus and Atlanta Women’s Chorus performing songs by Broadway composers in unconventional casting. Musical director Jason Wynn and Breman executive director Leslie Gordon discuss representation, partnership and how Atl
Spike Lee returns to Atlanta for ‘School Daze’ screening at the Fox Theatre
When “School Daze” premiered in 1988, it was controversial before most audiences ever saw it. Written and directed by Spike Lee, the satirical, music-driven film examines life at Mission College, a fictional historically Black campus, and sparked debate among HBCU leadership even before cameras rolled. Why ‘School Daze’ faced pushback before filming Some administrators obje
Sarah Higgins on Art Papers’ final year
After nearly five decades of publishing contemporary art criticism from Atlanta outward, Art Papers is preparing for its final year. WABE Arts & Culture editor Sherri Daye Scott speaks with executive and artistic director Sarah Higgins about how the publication is choosing to “end well” — from planning its final issue to preserving its archive and creating space for reflectio
Reconnecting the Man to the Legacy: Inside AILEY
Ahead of a special screening at Art Farm at Serenbe, WABE Arts goes inside AILEY, the documentary that reconnects choreographer Alvin Ailey to his life, voice, and legacy. Director Jamila Wignot and former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company member and educator Nasha Thomas reflect on hearing Ailey in his own words, the role of rehearsal as sacred space, and why Atlanta audiences have long
WABE Arts: What’s Feeding You? with James Dean
Quiet mornings, creative resets, and playful reinvention. As Pete the Cat takes the stage at the Center for Puppetry Arts, creator James Dean joins WABE Arts to talk about working in silence, remixing The New Yorker, finding inspiration around Atlanta, and what he hopes young readers carry with them. Hosted by Sherri Daye Scott as part of our “What’s Feeding You?” seriesSee omnys
Coming home to the King of Pop: ‘MJ the Musical’ in Atlanta
‘MJ the Musical’ returns to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, and for cast members Michael Nero and Zuri Noelle Ford, it’s a homecoming. The two Atlanta-connected performers talk with WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott about stepping inside Michael Jackson’s creative process, from rehearsal-room discipline to the collaborators who shaped the Dangerous World Tour. 🎧
Blue Man Group’s new ‘Rockstar’ comes to Atlanta
Blue Man Group returns to Atlanta with a refreshed national tour — and a new character audiences are seeing in the U.S. for the first time. WABE Arts talks with drummer and composer Ursula Sargent, who performs as the show’s new Rockstar, about the energy behind the role and touring life. 🎧See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“AIM HIGH: Tuskegee Airmen” and the Power of Play
At the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, a new exhibit invites kids to explore aviation history through movement, imagination, and hands-on play. “AIM HIGH: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen” blends real artifacts with STEM learning to help young visitors connect to a legacy of flight — and possibility.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
WABE Arts: Broken Promises and Reconstruction
A new permanent exhibition at Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights revisits Reconstruction, one of the most misunderstood eras in American history. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott speaks with Chief Programs Officer Kama Pierce about Broken Promises, an exhibition that traces post–Civil War progress, backlash, and the journalists and artists who document
WABE Arts: A final frame at Emory Cinematheque
🎧 Film scholar Matthew H. Bernstein marks his final semester at Emory University by curating “Matthew H. Bernstein’s Farewell Favorites,” a 14-film Emory Cinematheque series running through April. He reflects on why communal moviegoing still matters, the care behind archival screenings and the themes of resistance shaping the lineup. 🎬See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor
WABE Arts: Inside Dad’s Garage’s TheatreSports Tournamen
At Dad’s Garage Theatre, competition isn’t really the point. The TheatreSports Tournament returns Jan. 9–31, turning improv into a fake rivalry shaped by audience reaction. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with ensemble members Ronnie Johnson-Lopez and Amanda Lee Williams about how the tournament works, where it came from, and why live, participatory theater
2026 Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival
Jewish storytelling is rooted in tradition, but it isn’t fixed. As the Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival returns Jan. 8–11, WABE Arts explores how stories move across generations, cultures, and lived experience. Festival coordinator Audrey Galex and featured storyteller Laura Simms reflect on storytelling as a living practice shaped by memory and place.See omnystudio.com/listener fo
Gregor Turk’s ‘Myriad’ at Piedmont Park
A new permanent public artwork is now part of Piedmont Park. Atlanta artist Gregor Turk walks WABE Arts through “Myriad,” his latest mirrored installation near the Meadow entrance off the Atlanta Beltline. Recorded just days after the unveiling, this episode explores how movement, reflection, and shared space shape the experience of public art in Atlanta’s most visited parkSee om
‘A Drag Queen Christmas’ returns to Atlanta
Holiday traditions don’t look the same for everyone. “A Drag Queen Christmas,” now in its 11th year, has become a seasonal ritual for audiences across the country. WABE Arts speaks with host Nina West and first-time tour performer Suzie Toot about how the show blends spectacle, humor and deeply personal holiday traditions — from Hanukkah numbers to chosen-family celebration
WABE Arts: Curating André Leon Talley’s legacy after loss
A final exhibition, finished without its creator. At SCAD FASH in Atlanta, “André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever” reflects years of collaboration — and the challenge of honoring a fashion icon after his death. WABE Arts & Culture editor Sherri Daye Scott spole with Rafael Gomes, creative director of the SCAD fashion museums, about curating Talley’s wardrobe, prese
Marlon Wayans: Atlanta, Legacy, and Building an Industry
Marlon Wayans has been coming to Atlanta for 30 years—and now he's considering making it permanent. The comedian and actor discusses filming “Scary Movie 6” at Tyler Perry Studios, why Atlanta audiences supported his work before Georgia became a film hub, and what he learned about respect on set from Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Wayans also shares how his brother Keenen's advice
WABE Arts- ‘La Orquesta’ and the Buford Highway Orchestra
A new PBS/POV Shorts documentary is shining national attention on a youth orchestra rooted along one of Atlanta’s most diverse immigrant corridors. “La Orquesta” follows retired music teacher Juana Alzaga and the children of the Buford Highway Orchestra through a full school year of rehearsals, concerts, and community. WABE Arts & Culture Editor Sherri Daye Scott talks with A
Jason Orr restores FunkJazz Kafé documentary with AI
Filmmaker Jason Orr returns to his 2011 documentary "Diary of a Decade" with AI-assisted restoration tools that didn't exist when he first captured the early years of Atlanta's FunkJazz Kafé Arts & Music Festival. The festival, which ran for three decades without ever announcing its lineup, featured emerging artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and Janelle Monáe alongside cultur
Doug Shipman leads South Arts into its 50th year
South Arts — the nine-state regional arts organization based in Atlanta — has named outgoing Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman as its next President and CEO. Shipman joins WABE Arts to explain why he’s returning to cultural leadership, what the South needs as federal arts funding shifts, and how he plans to support artists across the Southeast in South Arts’ 50th
Ryan Wilson on Mentoring HBCU Founders
🎧 Atlanta entrepreneur Ryan Wilson — co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot — joins Season 5 of REVOLT’s “Bet on Black,” where nine HBCU student founders pitch real companies on national TV. WABE Arts Editor Sherri Daye Scott speaks with Wilson about why “Bet on Black”’s focus on young Black innovators matters, how lived experience shaped his role
Atlanta Holiday Classics: ‘A Christmas Carol’ + ‘Nutcracker Suite’
🎭 Two Atlanta holiday traditions return with renewed energy. At the Alliance Theatre, director Amanda Watkins leads this year’s “A Christmas Carol,” bringing fresh perspective, expanded casting, and a deeper focus on community connections. Then Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre shares its one-hour “Nutcracker Suite,” created for families and first-time ballet-goers,
Donnell Rawlings on Comedy, Longevity, and Atlanta
🎤 Comedian Donnell Rawlings — known for his roles on “Chappelle’s Show,” and appearances on the “Kill Tony” podcast and decades of stand-up — returns to Atlanta for a weekend at the Atlanta Comedy Theater. Rawlings talks with WABE’s Kenny Murry about how he went from club heckler to headliner, why staying funny matters more than labels, and what it t
WABE Arts: Music, Memory, and Solidarity
Six-time Grammy-nominated folk musician John McCutcheon headlines A Song for Ukraine at the Lawrenceville Arts Center. The benefit concert, organized by Atlanta-area Ukrainian community members and HelpingUkraine.US, raises funds for art therapy, education, and creative spaces supporting children displaced by the war. McCutcheon reflects on solidarity, his earliest union performances, and writing
WABE Arts: Revolution and Reimagination
The Atlanta Opera reimagines “La Belle et la Bête,” Philip Glass’s hypnotic fusion of live performance and Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film—where music and image merge into one dreamlike experience. Then, a once-banned Black cinema classic returns to the big screen: “The Spook Who Sat by the Door, newly restored in 4K, with insight from Nomathandé Dixon and
WABE Arts: Lois Reitzes & Norman Mackenzie on Beethoven’s Ninth
Episode Description): 🎧 WABE’s beloved Lois Reitzes sits down with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Director Norman Mackenzie to explore Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 — its revolutionary design, emotional depth, and lasting message of joy. Together, they reflect on the influence of Robert Shaw and how Music Director Natalie Stutzman is guiding a new era of sound at Symphony Hall. L
WABE Arts: IrishFest Atlanta & Debbie Gibson: Tradition and Transformation
🎧 Two creative journeys converge in metro Atlanta. As IrishFest Atlanta returns Nov. 7–9, founder Teresa Finley and musician Kieran O’Hare share how music and community keep Irish tradition alive. Then pop icon Debbie Gibson joins WABE Arts to discuss her memoir “Eternally Electric,” the message behind her music, and her upcoming author talk at the MJCCA Book Festival.See o
WABE Arts: A Dream Deferred & The Man of Many Fathers: Two Atlanta Stories on Power and Legacy
Two Atlanta stages, two perspectives on power and legacy. CNN anchor Abby Phillip talks about her new book “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power” ahead of her conversation with Ambassador Andrew Young at the Atlanta History Center. Then comedian Roy Wood Jr. shares what inspired his “The Man of Many Fathers” book and tour and why Atlanta w
WABE Arts: Soul, Stage & Civic Sound: Ruby Velle’s Call to Action & Brian Jordan Jr.’s Riley Mixtape
Atlanta’s creative pulse runs through two new releases.🎶 Soul frontwoman Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics step up for democracy with “Step Right Up,” a rallying cry for joy and civic engagement ahead of Election Day 2025.🎭 Then actor and musician Brian Jordan Jr. blends theater and sound in “Riley, the Mixtape, “ featuring Big Freedia, Amber Iman, Natalie Weiss, and O
WABE Arts: Photographer James Hicks - Moments: Icons, Legends & Muses | Oct. 28, 2025
From the flash of a camera to the rhythm of a beat — Atlanta photographer James Hicks reclaims fashion history through a Black lens in his new exhibit Moments: Icons, Legends & MusesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
WABE Arts: Oakland’s After-Dark Tradition & The Roots’ Black Thought on Creativity
Atlanta, past and present, in one quick listen: editor Sherri Daye Scott visits Oakland Cemetery’s after-dark tradition Capturing the Spirit with designer Sean Fahie and Oakland’s Sandy White (“enlightened, not frightened”). Then The Roots’s Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter shares what’s feeding him ahead of ONE Musicfest—creative discipline, infl
WABE Arts: Roseanne Cash to keynote Ideas Festival Emory 2025
Ideas Festival Emory turns the university’s Oxford College campus’s historic quad into an open-air forum for conversation, performance, and community learning. Organized by the Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement, the annual gathering invites the public to experience university research in motion — from live music to graffiti art to fireside chats with authors and scient
WABE Arts: Horizon Theatre’s “Heart Sellers” centers Asian storytelling and Atlanta collaboration
When “Heart Sellers” opens at Horizon Theatre, it brings a rarely heard story to the local stage—two immigrant women finding friendship in 1970s America. The play arrives through a collaboration between Horizon and East by Southeast, an Atlanta collective supporting Asian and Asian American artists across disciplines. Actor and producer Michelle Pokopac, who stars as Jane in the
WABE Arts: Karyn Kusama on Girlfight's 25th Anniversary & Ice Cube on Legacy and Lyrics | Oct. 9, 2025
In this episode of WABE Arts: Filmmaker Karyn Kusama reflects on her groundbreaking debut Girlfight twenty-five years later, ahead of its special screening at the Plaza Theatre as part of the Atlanta Film Society’s ¡CINEMÁS! series for Hispanic Heritage Month. Rapper and filmmaker Ice Cube joins contributor Kenny Murray to discuss his creative process, Atlanta’s influence
Viktor&Rolf at the High Museum and The Crown Classic Hair Showdown at ELEVATE featured on WABE Arts
Hear from curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot on his vision around Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements at the High Museum of Art, and from Atlanta creatives Tracee Anderson and Nikki Marshall on taking part in The Crown Classic Hair Showdown during this year’s ELEVATE public-art festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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