ELEVATE 2025 Festival Transforms Atlanta into Cultural Hub

Atlanta's neighborhoods transformed into vibrant cultural hubs during the ELEVATE 2025 festival, themed "Rooted & Rising," held from October 10 to 12. Organized by the City of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs, the festival celebrated the city's rich cultural heritage from the late 1980s to early 2000s, featuring a diverse array of events across West End, Sweet Auburn, Castleberry Hill, and South Downtown.

The festival's theme, "Rooted & Rising," paid homage to Atlanta's cultural evolution and resilience. Executive Director Adriane V. Jefferson emphasized the festival's mission to make art accessible by transforming public streets into performance spaces. "The stage is literally the streets," Jefferson stated. "The stage can literally be block parties. The stage can happen anywhere." (axios.com)

Approximately 50 to 60 artists participated in the festival, fostering discussions on cultural preservation and neighborhood development. Jefferson highlighted the festival's role in encouraging conversations about changes occurring across city neighborhoods, particularly the West End, and how to embrace preservation while also embracing the evolution of the future. (axios.com)

The festival featured a diverse array of events, including spoken word performances, DJ-curated music, fashion shows, a hair show, health and artist markets, and more. Each day was curated by local creatives who bridged past and future:

• Friday, October 10: Steele Fresh
• Location: The Carrie Steele Bridge, 125 Ted Turner Dr.
• Activities: Soul Fresh Sound Bowl Session and Wellness activation, live art and vendors market, DJ sets featuring DJ Rasyrious, runway fashion show featuring local designers, spoken word performances, and live band performance by Tiffany Goode & The Goode Stuff Experience.

• Curator: Courtney Brooks, an Atlanta-based curator and visual artist. (elevateatlart.com)

• Saturday, October 11: The Culture Comb Out

• Location: Underground Atlanta, 50 Upper Alabama St.
• Activities: Community stretch, fitness, and affirmation practice at Woodruff Park, wellness activations, games, and play at Underground Atlanta, gallery stroll along Artist’s Row, and The Crown Classic Hair Showdown, a '90s-inspired hair show.

• Curator: Melissa Alexander, a photographer and storyteller. (elevateatlart.com)

• Sunday, October 12: Welcome to the Westside

• Location: Westview Corner Grocery, 1562 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.
• Activities: Artist and makers market, DJ sets featuring Atlanta classics from the '80s to 2000s, beatmaker/producer open mic, live music performances, gallery show and artist talk at 1521 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., workshops including cobbling, pottery, Capoeira, and drum circle sessions, and panel discussion and film screening at The Pearl Cleage & Zaron Burnett Center for Culture and Creativity.
• Curators: Stephen Wilkins and Jordan Neal of SLW & Steady Productions. (elevateatlart.com)

The City of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of Executive Director Adriane V. Jefferson, organized ELEVATE. Jefferson, formerly the cultural affairs director for New Haven, Connecticut, aims to attract younger audiences by compressing the festival into a focused three-day event. (artsatl.org)

ELEVATE 2025 emphasized cultural preservation as a form of public health, highlighting how creativity sustains communities. By transforming public spaces into performance venues, the festival fostered community engagement and accessibility to the arts. The focus on Atlanta's cultural heritage from the late '80s to early 2000s served as both a tribute and a call to action for cultural preservation and neighborhood development. (elevateatlart.com)

Since its debut in 2011, ELEVATE has been recognized nationally, named one of the top 50 public art projects in the country by the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network and ranked among the top 10 projects for City Livability. The festival has sparked dialogue within city planning and urban design departments, city council, and surrounding communities about the value of cultural districts in urban growth. (elevateatlart.com)

ELEVATE 2025's success underscores Atlanta's commitment to celebrating and preserving its cultural heritage, while fostering community engagement and dialogue on the city's evolving landscape.