DIRECTOR'S WELCOME
Photo Credit: Brittainy Laubauck
Welcome to The Athenaeum,
Athens newest contemporary art space. Making up some 5000 square feet, we house an art gallery, a space for workshops, lectures, and classes as well as a Reading Room to peruse texts and listen to records that connect with the exhibitions in the gallery. The mission of the Athenaeum is to pursue art and ideas with rigor; to serve as a flexible space that invites extended looking and encourages critical thinking. To this end, we produce one exhibition per semester as well as our annual MFA exhibition. Taking from themes presented in the works on display, a series of programs interrogate those themes and link it to research and thinking happening across the University and in the Athens community. The Athenaeum is always free and we hope that you will return to this space regularly, to look at and contemplate the work on view and to engage in our various programming. As in ancient Greece, the Athenaeum is a sanctuary dedicated to learning – a place where people gather and connect with leading artists and scholars in pursuit of goals once associated with Athena, goddess not only of art and civilization, but also the many noble goals that art can serve: wisdom, courage, and justice.
Athens newest contemporary art space. Making up some 5000 square feet, we house an art gallery, a space for workshops, lectures, and classes as well as a Reading Room to peruse texts and listen to records that connect with the exhibitions in the gallery. The mission of the Athenaeum is to pursue art and ideas with rigor; to serve as a flexible space that invites extended looking and encourages critical thinking. To this end, we produce one exhibition per semester as well as our annual MFA exhibition. Taking from themes presented in the works on display, a series of programs interrogate those themes and link it to research and thinking happening across the University and in the Athens community. The Athenaeum is always free and we hope that you will return to this space regularly, to look at and contemplate the work on view and to engage in our various programming. As in ancient Greece, the Athenaeum is a sanctuary dedicated to learning – a place where people gather and connect with leading artists and scholars in pursuit of goals once associated with Athena, goddess not only of art and civilization, but also the many noble goals that art can serve: wisdom, courage, and justice.
PEOPLE
Rachel Waldrop
Director and Curator
Lindsey Reynolds
Director of the Lupin Reading Room
Xenia Aims, MFA '28
Graduate Assistant
Hail Holtzclaw, MFA '27
Graduate Assistant
Brooke Ussery
Preparator, Athenaeum and Dodd Galleries
2026-2027 Gallery Ambassadors:
Yuree Choi
Sydnee Eubanks
Ashera Ly
Xander Ruhlow
Sydnee Eubanks
Ashera Ly
Xander Ruhlow
CONTACT
The Athenaeum is a non-collecting contemporary art exhibition venue affiliated with the University of Georgia and the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
The mission of the Athenaeum is to support artists, pursue contemporary art and ideas with rigor; to serve as a flexible space that invites extended looking and encourages critical thinking. We are dedicated to presenting the work of major artists in the field of contemporary art as well as centering under-recognized and emerging artists in the commission of new works and projects.
In our 5,000 square foot building, we house an art gallery, a space for workshops, lectures, and classes as well as a Reading Room to peruse texts and listen to records that connect with the exhibitions in the gallery. The gallery produces exhibitions and programming that examine the cultural and social contexts around us, challenge contemporary perceptions of art making to provide a framework for intellectual and creative inquiry.
Our branding and logo were designed by The Black School in the summer of 2021.
The mission of the Athenaeum is to support artists, pursue contemporary art and ideas with rigor; to serve as a flexible space that invites extended looking and encourages critical thinking. We are dedicated to presenting the work of major artists in the field of contemporary art as well as centering under-recognized and emerging artists in the commission of new works and projects.
In our 5,000 square foot building, we house an art gallery, a space for workshops, lectures, and classes as well as a Reading Room to peruse texts and listen to records that connect with the exhibitions in the gallery. The gallery produces exhibitions and programming that examine the cultural and social contexts around us, challenge contemporary perceptions of art making to provide a framework for intellectual and creative inquiry.
Our branding and logo were designed by The Black School in the summer of 2021.
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessible entrance is available at the front of the building off of West Broad Street. Accessible parking is located directly behind the Athenaeum in UGA lot W-16 and corresponds to the front entrance on West Broad Street. Please contact Rachel.Waldrop@uga.edu to arrange access through the rear staff entrance. Accessible, gender-neutral restrooms are also available.
Descriptive tours for blind and low-vision visitors are available by request and include verbal description of artworks. Please contact Rachel.Waldrop@uga.edu to arrange.
Descriptive tours for blind and low-vision visitors are available by request and include verbal description of artworks. Please contact Rachel.Waldrop@uga.edu to arrange.