Community Highlights: Meet The Bakery Atlanta of The Bakery Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to The Bakery Atlanta.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Bakery began in 2017 as a grassroots artist collective creating opportunities for artists to collaborate, experiment, and share work with their community. After several years of operating as a volunteer-led initiative, we became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2023 to build a more sustainable foundation for the work we had already been doing.

Since then, our growth has been remarkable. In just a few years, we’ve expanded from a small collective into a year-round artist-services organization supporting hundreds of artists and welcoming thousands of attendees through exhibitions, workshops, performances, youth programs, and community events. We have developed free public resources for artists, increased access to affordable professional development opportunities, and created new pathways for emerging curators, educators, and cultural workers to gain experience and build their practice.

Today, The Bakery serves as an anchor tenant and programming partner at The Supermarket in Atlanta, where we present a wide range of exhibitions and public programs that reflect the diversity and creativity of our city. In 2025 alone, we welcomed more than 3,000 attendees across more than 125 programs and 17 art exhibitions.

What continues to drive our work is a belief that artists deserve accessible opportunities to create, connect, and grow. As Atlanta continues to evolve, we are committed to strengthening the local arts ecosystem by providing a supportive first step for emerging artists while creating meaningful cultural experiences for the broader community.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but we know that’s true for many grassroots arts organizations.

One of our biggest challenges has been figuring out how to sustain community-centered arts programming in a field where resources are limited. For many years, The Bakery was powered almost entirely by volunteers, passion, and a belief that artists deserve opportunities to share their work and connect with their communities. While that energy helped us grow, it also highlighted the need for more sustainable systems and funding.

Like many arts organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant uncertainty. We had to rethink how we operated, adapt our programming, and determine what role we could play in supporting artists during a particularly difficult time. That period ultimately pushed us to formalize our structure and eventually become a nonprofit organization.

Since then, one of our ongoing challenges has been balancing growth with accessibility. We want our programs to remain affordable for artists and audiences while also ensuring that the people who make the work possible – including artists, educators, and staff – are compensated fairly. As Atlanta continues to grow and change, maintaining accessible creative spaces and opportunities remains a challenge for the entire arts community.

At the same time, those challenges have reinforced why our work matters. Every obstacle has pushed us to become more thoughtful, more collaborative, and more committed to building a stronger arts ecosystem for Atlanta artists and audiences alike.

As you know, we’re big fans of The Bakery Atlanta. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Bakery is an Atlanta-based arts nonprofit that supports artists through exhibitions, public programs, professional development opportunities, and community-building initiatives. Our mission is to broaden awareness of, and build community around, progressive ideas in the arts.

What makes The Bakery unique is our focus on serving as a first step for emerging artists. Many of the artists, curators, educators, and cultural workers who participate in our programs are exhibiting work, leading workshops, organizing events, or developing projects for the first time. We believe that creative communities thrive when people have opportunities to experiment, take risks, and gain experience in supportive environments.

Today, we present year-round contemporary art exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, youth programs, community events, and creative gatherings at The Supermarket. Beyond our in-person programming, we also provide free resources that help artists find opportunities, connect with one another, and navigate their careers.

We are perhaps best known for creating welcoming, low-barrier entry points into the local arts community. Whether someone is an artist looking for their first exhibition opportunity, a young person attending a workshop, or a community member walking into a gallery for the first time, we strive to make the arts feel accessible rather than intimidating.

What we’re most proud of is the community that has grown around this work. Since becoming a nonprofit in 2023, we’ve expanded our reach significantly while staying true to our grassroots roots. At its core, The Bakery is about creating opportunities. We believe artists deserve places to experiment, collaborate, and build sustainable creative lives, and we are proud to be part of making that possible in Atlanta.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
We’re fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible creative community, so many of the resources that inspire us come directly from people and organizations in our own city. The Bakery Atlanta’s blog, AltGaze, helps keep us connected to all things art, culture, and DIY.

We also love following local arts publications like Burnaway, IMPACT Magazine, and Rough Draft Atlanta’s Sketchbook newsletter to stay informed on what’s happening across the region. We enjoy listening to Could Be Pretty Cool, a podcast created by one of our board members, Kacie Willis, that highlights creative people, projects, and ideas shaping the city’s cultural landscape.

Another group we follow closely by attending meetings, reading their newsletters, and blog posts is Arts Capital Atlanta, a coalition of arts leaders, funders, and community partners working together to strengthen the nonprofit arts sector across metro counties. They’re working to address shared challenges and build long-term solutions as our state is consistently ranked last (49th or 50th) for per capita public arts spending. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies estimates Georgia will rank 55th among U.S. states and territories, with just $0.14 per person in state arts funding. We believe this initiative is one of the most important things happening in the arts right now.

Pricing:

• Many community programs and events are free to attend.
• Workshops and classes typically range from $10–$50 per participant, depending on the program.
• Artist opportunities, exhibitions, and professional development programs vary in cost, with many opportunities offered free or at low cost.
• Current events, workshops, and artist opportunities can be found at www.thebakeryatlanta.com.
• Donations help us keep programs affordable and accessible while supporting artists! https://www.thebakeryatlanta.com/donate

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebakeryatlanta.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebakeryatlanta
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebakeryatlanta
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-bakery-atlanta/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebakeryatlanta3909