Art on the Atlanta BeltLine Announces Jurors for 2020-2021 Exhibition

Art on the Atlanta BeltLine has selected a jury for the upcoming 2020-2021 Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition. The eight-member jury panel is comprised of artists and arts professionals from the Atlanta community and represent a diverse set of media, expertise, and demographics. In keeping with Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s vision for equity and inclusion* in all Atlanta BeltLine projects and programs, the jury is tasked with selecting projects for the upcoming exhibition that represent the richness and diversity of the Atlanta arts scene.

The 2020-2021 call for artists closed on Friday, May 15, 2020 and jurors met virtually from May 27-28. They reviewed proposals for artists and art professionals (including murals, performances, and special projects), sculptures, and the Residency Program.

The full list of selected jurors is as follows:

Bem Joiner – Principal/Creative Culture Curator, Atlanta Influences Everything

Bem Joiner headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Bem Joiner believes in Atlanta. Born and raised in the city, he has a pure passion for its people and its progress, and he majorly contributes to what makes culture in Atlanta, cool and captivating. As a creative culture curator, Bem has managed and consulted a variety of lifestyle brands and designed meaningful programs for clients like Sprite, Mississippi Dept. of Education, truth.com, Jack Daniels, Nissan, the National Black Arts Festival and countless others. He has also booked “early-adopter” shows for Drake, Kendrick Lamar and the Goodie Mob reunion. Bem is also one of the founders of CreativeCall.org which is a community service effort/collaboration between Atlanta and Stockholm creatives and was most recently the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Center for Civic Innovation in South Downtown Atlanta. He is also currently sitting on the boards of three non-profits, Chop Art & The Wren’s Nest and the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project.


Caitlin Murphy – Innovation Partnerships for SCADpro, Savannah College of Art and Design

Caitlin Murphy headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Caitlin Murphy works in industry partnerships for Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta location. Previously, she curated for ArtLifting, a socially-conscious corporate art sales company. She earned her masters degree in Art History and Museum Studies at Tufts University and her undergraduate degree in Art History and Political Science from the College of Charleston. She currently lives on Atlanta’s westside with her fiancé and dog, Sully.


Cleigaie Narcisse – Gallery Manager and Curator, Future Dead Artists/Future Gallery

Cleigaie Narcisse headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Cleigaie Narcisse, is an Atlanta-based Arts Administrator passionate about supporting artists and creatives alike. Originally from Bronx, New York she was exposed to everything from graffiti street art to museum exhibits and developed a strong affinity to art in all its forms early on. After studying Graphic Design at Kennesaw State University, she interned with Cartoon Network’s in-house production studio, Williams Street, on projects for their Adult Swim programming block. With a professional background in Marketing, Creative Direction, Brand and Project Management, Cleigaie quickly acclimated to the Atlanta arts scene and nurtured her passion to support the arts.

In 2018 she signed on as the Gallery Manager and Associate Curator of Future Gallery in East Point Atlanta and Project Manager of the artist collective Future Dead Artists. Going on to co-curate over 15 exhibitions, artist talks and workshops featuring local, national and international visual and performance artists. In 2019 she head curated Dead Ringer Vol. III, a Future Dead Artists’ annual juried group exhibition, featuring a unique concept of the creative inspiration processes between visual artists and photographers.

She has been published in both Visionary Artistry Magazine and Voyage ATL. And as a passionate volunteer has worked with MOCA GA, Sinclair Gallery and various other arts organizations and independent artists around Atlanta.  Possessing a deep interest representation and cultural awareness within communities Cleigaie is dedicated to representing and creating inclusive and equitable opportunities for local artists.


Clifton Guterman – Associate Artist and Teaching Artist, Actor’s Express

Clifton Guterman headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Clifton Guterman is a producer, director, casting director, actor, teacher, and member of the Atlanta theatre community since 2001. He formerly served as the Alliance’s Artistic Assistant, as Casting Director and National New Play Network Producer in Residence at Actor’s Express, where he is an Associate Artist and Teaching Artist, and as the Associate Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit, where he served for eight seasons.  A member of the Advisory Committee for The Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Shulers), Clifton also sits on the Atlanta Area Actors’ Equity Association Liaison Committee and is the Artistic Advisor for Audition Revolution. Clifton has directed locally with Theatrical Outfit, The Atlanta Opera, and Alliance Theatre. As an actor, he has appeared locally with Alliance Theatre, Actor’s Express, Dad’s Garage, Synchronicity, and Theatrical Outfit. Regional: Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, San Jose Rep, Weston Playhouse, Barrington Stage, and The O’Neill Center. He has appeared in numerous Atlanta-shot films, TV shows, commercials, and industrials and is represented by Houghton Talent. Education: BA in Drama, University of Georgia; MFA in Performing Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design. Clifton is from Iron City, a blink-and-you-will-miss-it town in southwest-GA. He and his husband Chad live in Cabbagetown and are obsessed with their two Schnauzers.


Dr. Candy Tate – President / CEO, Culture Centers International 

Dr. Candy Tate headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Dr. R. Candy Tate is founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Culture Centers International, Inc. (CCI). CCI’s vision is to be a community development corporation for corridors of African Diasporic memories by sustaining cultural heritage of these hallowed grounds around the world. Our mission is to transform communities with the collection of their history of African Diaspora institutions, to educate the community through the arts, and to sustain the legacy of the African Diaspora through historic preservation. Our Westside Mural Project transforming Atlanta’s historic Westside is directed by artist Charmaine Minnifield. It includes “Murals in Schools” such as Frederick Douglass High School and M. Agnes Jones, and “Murals that Matter” social justice work of such Minnifield’s Civil Rights women Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson and Ella Baker, as well as artists as Gilbert Young and Cecil Bernard. Andrea Thompson, Director of Creative Spaces, leads efforts to catalyze communities with “Culture Centers” of museums, art galleries, and special event spaces in historic bank vaults, fire stations, military bases and more.

Dr. Tate is an alumna of Emory University (BA), Georgia State University (MPA), University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee (MA), and Clark Atlanta University (DAH). She has been an Art Historian and Arts Administration for more than almost 30 years, currently serving as Assistant Director of Emory College’s Center for Creativity & Arts and an adjunct professor at Clark Atlanta University in the Art and Fashion Department. Her research interests include cultural politics in Atlanta, African-American photographers, veterans’ history, and African Diaspora historic preservation. Continuing Education awards include being a 2017 alumna of the Art Leaders of Metro Atlanta (ALMA) sponsored by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), and a member of the 2019 Class of the Environment Justice Academy (EJA) sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Tate’s community involvement and network is vast and varied. She is a newly elected board member of Historic Atlanta, a non-profit devoted to historic preservation, and she serves on the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN). Tate incorporated and served as Branch Historian for the Atlanta Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH) in 2015, and she is a founder/secretary for the Georgia Chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE). She is a silver star (25 year) member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in the Pi Alpha Omega Chapter and an active member of Ben Hill United Methodist Church Visual Arts and Veterans Ministries. She was re-elected President of the Buckhead/Cascade City Chapter of The Links, Incorporated for 2019-21 where it will celebrate 25 years of friendship and service “building sustainable futures for women and children of African descent.” As a charter member and officer since its inception in 1995, she was their first elected Vice-President of Programs, serving from 2015-2017. Tate also led the chapter to its first national award for an innovative art mural program with residents at Jerusalem House who serves women with AIDS and their children. “Musical Cascades: Linking Heart & Soul,” a signature national Classics through the Ages Arts program, is another award-winning chapter effort started in 2000 with her leadership, and it continues to give collegiate music scholarships and mentors middle school students at the Atlanta Music Festival Conservatory where she serves on their board. The chapter’s Linking Leaders Forum and Heart & Soul Ball are continuous efforts to bring transformative, intergenerational programming to the community. Some of the chapter’s charities have included Jerusalem House for Women with AIDS/HIV and their children, the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, Upward Bound Youth in Ladies First Finishing Academy, and most recently Solomon’s Temple Shelter for Domestic Violence Survivors.


Emma Chammah – Project and Program Management Consultant

Emma Chammah headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Emma Chammah is a project and program management consultant with over 10 years of experience in architectural design, art fabrication and implementation of design/build and community-based projects. Emma worked as a project manager for a variety of clients in New York and Washington, DC, before managing a nationally recognized nonprofit community arts program in San Diego. Since moving to Atlanta in 2018, she partnered with Roswell Arts Fund as their Public Art Administrator, participated in the Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta program and is concurrently growing her textile-based art practice. Emma holds a Masters in Architecture from Tulane University.


Quianah Upton – Cultural curator, community organizer and creative entrepreneur

Quianah Upton headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020Quianah Upton is an Atlanta based cultural curator, community organizer and creative entrepreneur.  She’s the founder of the experimental design and art platform, Arbitrary Living, of Nourish In Black, where she creates healing, dialogue based food gatherings, and Friends & Neighbors which encourages black and brown creatives to heal through play.

Originally from the Virgin Islands & South Florida, her background informs her love of lush, emotive art and communal greenspaces.

She is an artist working with embroidery, floral arrangement and spatial design and a collector of colorful stories. Her creative approach displays a combination of these disciplines with a focus on cultural integrity, historical context and urban greenspace.


Veronica Kessenich – Executive Director, Atlanta Contemporary

Veronica Kessenich headshot - Art on the Atlanta BeltLine jury 2020As Executive Director, Veronica Kessenich stewards the mission and strategic plan of Atlanta Contemporary, guiding the artistic programming with an array of independent curators and program partners. Kessenich joined Atlanta Contemporary in June 2013 as Development Director and was appointed to the role of Executive Director in July 2015. Kessenich authored and executed the Capitalization Fund grant that underwrote Atlanta Contemporary’s transition to free admission which since implementation has seen a radical transformation in annual attendance – an over 109% increase.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Kessenich received her Bachelor’s Degree from Saint Mary’s College (IN) and her Master’s of Philosophy in Art History from St. Andrews University (Scotland). She has been active in the field of art as an art administrator, art historian, curator and consultant for over fifteen years. Beginning her career as Gallery Director at Atlanta’s prestigious Fay Gold Gallery, Kessenich has worked as a lecturer at Agnes Scott College, the Savannah College of Art & Design – Atlanta, and the Art Institute of Atlanta. In recognition of her contributions to the arts, Kessenich was named one of Atlanta’s 500 Most Powerful People (Atlanta Magazine, 2019), received the CCA Community Impact Award (Emory University, 2016) and was named one of Atlanta’s Women of Power (The Atlantan, 2015).

Kessenich is a motivated social activist and civic entrepreneur involved in many national and Atlanta-based organizations. Mission-driven, positive, innovative, and a savvy communicator – she flourishes in fast-paced, highly creative work environments.


Art on the Atlanta BeltLine is largest temporary public art exhibition in the history of Atlanta. It showcases the work of hundreds of visual artists, performers, and musicians along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. This spectacular project places working professionals alongside emerging artists and draws residents and visitors into some of the most unique public spaces in the City of Atlanta, providing powerful perspectives on the city and its vibrant neighborhoods. The exhibition showcases how art strengthens and beautifies current and former industrial areas and creates signature spaces exemplifying the transformation of the city through the Atlanta BeltLine. Art on the Atlanta BeltLine touches almost 20 intown communities.

More information about Art on the Atlanta BeltLine is available at art.beltline.org.

* The Atlanta BeltLine’s equity and inclusion vision is that: All legacy residents, new residents, and business owners – regardless of age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, ability, income, or political ideology – benefit and prosper from the economic growth and activity associated with the Atlanta BeltLine.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *