Returning this spring, the Circulating Stamp Project invites art lovers and collectors alike to create their own limited-edition print by visiting four different art venues in the Athens area. Led by the Lyndon House Arts Center, this interactive activity was designed to encourage engagement within the local art scene. The Circulating Stamp Project will be held across three consecutive Third Thursday events on March 19, April 16 and May 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. (hours vary by location).
This year’s design was created by Abigail West, a graduate of UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art and a printmaker who specializes in linoleum block prints inspired by nature and adventure. The image, which has been divided into four color layers on rubber stamps, features daffodils, the official flower of Athens. By visiting all four participating venues — Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA), the Georgia Museum of Art, the Lyndon House Arts Center and the Winterville Cultural Center Gallery — visitors can use the stamps to gradually assemble the layers of their one-of-a-kind print. Participants can visit the venues in any order.
The Circulating Stamp Project highlights Third Thursday, a citywide initiative established in 2012 that encourages established art venues in Athens to stay open late for after-hours art experiences. Third Thursday is held the third Thursday of every month from 6 to 9 p.m. The initiative supports art venues through collaboration and cross-promotion and encourages residents to actively explore artwork in person at least once a month. Several of the venues, including the Georgia Museum of Art, have committed to staying open late every Thursday evening, and many often schedule special events such as opening receptions and artist talks to coincide with Third Thursday.
For a full list of what’s on view at all participating Third Thursday venues, visit 3thurs.org.
ATHICA
In celebration of Youth Art Month, ATHICA will host a pop-up exhibition of works by Clarke County high school students March 17 – 31. The gallery’s annual Members’ Showcase, featuring works by artists who help support the volunteer-led gallery through memberships, will run April 18 – May 10.
Georgia Museum of Art
In addition to works from the permanent collection, the Georgia Museum of Art currently has four different temporary exhibitions on view. “We, Too, Are Made of Wonders” brings together historic, modern and contemporary works from the museum’s permanent collection that explore and respond to the night sky, outer space and the vast universe. “Shacks, Stories and Spirit: Beverly Buchanan and the Art of Home” includes drawings, found object assemblages and sculptures that reflect the artist’s interest in southern vernacular architecture. “asinnajaq: Three Thousand” combines archival videos with animations, soundscapes and contemporary video footage to imagine a future created for and by Indigenous people. On view in the Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden, “Looking Through a Sewn Sky: Rachel Hayes” is a commissioned installation of color-field canopies that engage the natural and built landscape of the garden. “We, Too, Are Made of Wonders,” “Shacks, Stories and Spirit” and “asinnajaq” are on view through June 28, while “Looking Through a Sewn Sky” remains on view through July 30, 2027.
The museum will host several events that coincide with Third Thursday: Student Film Night: “Wall-E” and Yoga in the Galleries on March 19; Yoga in the Galleries and a film screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” on April 16; and Yoga in the Galleries on May 21.
Lyndon House Arts Center
This is the final call to see three exhibitions scheduled to close March 21. “Creative Tracks: Artwork from Inside the Athens-Clarke County Jail” spotlights a new studio art program designed to enhance the well-being and rehabilitation of people who are incarcerated. “hold still, please” features intimate abstract landscapes by Kate Kaiser that explore space, memory and the quiet tension between presence and absence. “En mi mente” is a series of energetic, figurative drawings in charcoal and wax pastels by Sebastian Granados.
The Lyndon House Arts Center’s anchor show for the spring season is its 51st annual Juried Exhibition. This year’s juror, Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, director and chief curator at the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, New York, selected 130 works by 91 Athens-area artists from a pool of 599 works submitted by 215 artists. An opening reception will be held March 19, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., and artist talks will be held on April 9, 16 and 23 at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition will remain on view until May 17.
“18,443 Souls: A Metamorphosis of Coffee Culture,” on view through May 8, is a site-specific installation by Maria Nissan that repurposes coffee and tea filters touched by thousands of people across Athens, Georgia, and Florence, Italy. On view April 2 – June 27, “Surface Tension” brings together garments made from eggshells by Erika Diamond and safety vests made from bulletproof Kevlar by Chelsea Lillo.
Winterville Cultural Center Gallery
The Winterville Cultural Center Gallery currently has several exhibitions that close March 26. “Art Al Fresco” includes a variety of familiar scenes created on site by the Athens Area Plein Air Artists, while a Firefly Trail digital photography contest spotlights winning images of the local landmark. Solo shows include “The Art of Stillness” by resin artist Anita Eberhart-Shaw, “A Connection to Place” by art quilter Sarah Hubbard and new sculptural works by ceramicist Kelly King. Winterville Elementary School’s annual student art show is also on view through March 28.
The gallery will host its third annual juried exhibition April 24 – June 12. This year’s guest juror is Kathryn Réfi, curator at the Lyndon House Arts Center. The exhibition welcomes original two- and three-dimensional work by adult artists from the immediate area and beyond.
Authored by:
Jessica Smith
