Flux Projects: Inspiring Wonder and Environmental Awareness through Public Art in Atlanta

Flux Projects is using art to disrupt everyday life in the Atlanta area and inspire imagination, wonder and awe. Founded in 2009, Flux Projects commissions public art that invites audiences in Atlanta to explore the city’s sites and stories to imagine future possibilities. The Molly Blank Fund has granted $40,000 to Flux Projects to support these ongoing art projects and the inspiration they provide to the people of the Atlanta metro area.

Flux Projects programs and projects are Atlanta-specific but also tap into national issues and topics. The art projects are free and open to the public, usually multi-media and include sculptures, paintings, videos, murals and dance. Since 2010, Flux Projects has presented 134 projects engaging nearly 700 artists.

As the world celebrates Earth Day in April, the foundation is highlighting some of our grantees focusing on environment, conservation, land and water.

Several Flux Projects initiatives have an environmental focus, including the “Atlanta to the Atlantic” art project, which aims to raise awareness of the South River and its environmental health. Beginning in Atlanta, the South River flows south to the Atlantic Ocean and was identified as the fourth most endangered river in the United States in 2021.

For the “Atlanta to the Atlantic” project, artists will journey hundreds of miles on the South River, via kayak and foot, to the Atlantic Ocean. To highlight the interconnectedness of Georgia’s urban and rural communities, the artists will invite engagement from local communities along the way. Documenting this journey through video, audio, drawing and writing, their observations will construct a dynamic portrait of the human and natural communities united by this vital waterway.

After the journey, the artists will create a series of temporary public art installations in three Atlanta neighborhoods: Arthur Langford Jr. Park, Kirkwood Urban Forest and Perkerson Park.

Set to debut in the Fall of 2025, these installations, and their supporting programs, will highlight the presence of the waterway, offer opportunities for recreation and reflection and incorporate elements of the collective portrait that emerged along the journey.

Both a physical and artistic journey, “Atlanta to the Atlantic” seeks to strengthen the relationship between residents and the water flowing through their neighborhoods while building community understanding of how to improve the river’s water quality and enhance the health of the environment.

“Flux Projects has always been a very experimental organization,” said Flux Projects Executive Director Anne Archer Dennington. “Some elements of what we do will always stay the same, like working with amazing artists creating meaning for audiences in public spaces. But how that looks will always change and evolve to keep people engaged and excited about the messages being communicated through the art.”

Flux Projects is raising the bar for the arts in Atlanta and supporting the development of a robust art scene that is central to the city’s identity. In proud support of that, the Molly Blank Fund continues to invest in causes and organizations that Molly believed in, including those that contribute to building a vibrant arts and culture community.