Arts and Culture

Atlanta: The Cultural Capital of the South

Atlanta’s arts and culture scene is one of the most vibrant in the U.S. The Woodruff Arts Center, the country’s third-largest arts campus – comprised of High Museum of Art, Alliance Theater and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra – draws more than one million visitors annually. Atlanta’s arts scene spreads well beyond the city’s world-class venues as a new wave of visual art installations and street murals have rolled in, adorning parks, walls, tunnels and walkways with color and jumpstarting Atlanta’s independent artist’s scene. The city’s roots also dig deep into its cultural past with historic events including Civil War battles, the birth of the civil rights movement and the Centennial Olympic Games.

Fast Facts

• Atlanta boasts more than 50 visual art galleries and more than 30 playhouses and theatres.
• The metro Atlanta region has more than 1,700 cultural non-profit organizations, generating more than half a billion dollars in economic activity.
• Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood features the largest concentration of arts facilities and organizations in the Southeast, with 25 different arts and cultural venues, more than 30 permanent performing arts groups, and 22 various entertainment facilities.
• Atlanta’s residing symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has won 17 Grammys, more than any other U.S. symphony.
• Atlanta has two Smithsonian affiliates: Georgia Aquarium and David J. Sencer CDC Museum.