Local artist and Peachtree Corners resident, Amy Rader, will be part of the first-ever Atlanta Art Fair, being held at Pullman Yards October 3–6. The fair will feature local galleries, artists and curators alongside a variety of national programs and a dynamic series of public art projects and events presented at locations around town.

Aimed at amplifying local voices and acting as a platform for the city’s incredible creativity, the Atlanta Art Fair — the first major art fair of its kind in the city — will showcase a wide range of artistic styles and genres, including contemporary work, paintings, photography, live performances and innovative projects.

Represented by the esteemed Fay Gold Gallery, Rader will have several pieces on show at the Fay Gold Booth E07, something the artist is thrilled about, as her connection to Gold spans three decades.

“In 1993, while still in high school, I attended a summer arts program at Lagrange College,” Rader recalled. “We took a field trip to visit the top gallery in Atlanta — the Fay Gold Gallery. I stood in awe of the marvelous pieces on display … [Later] after years working with ad agencies for Fortune 500 clients, I was ready to leave my career in graphic design to pursue art full time. Showing my work at a gallery in Buckhead introduced me to Fay Gold 29 years after that visit in 1993. It was a full circle moment.”

A local legend

An Atlanta art legend, Fay Gold is best known for her groundbreaking exhibitions of artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Keith Haring, Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe.

She curated the formative years of Elton John’s personal art collection and raised $750,000 for the Elton John Aids Foundation by creating and chairing two art auctions for the organization. Over the years, she’s also worked with corporate clients and has received dozens of awards for her many contributions to the Atlanta art scene.

Fay Gold represented Rader’s work in a successful art show in 2022 followed by an art auction in 2023 and now at the Atlanta Art Fair in 2024.

A lifelong love of art

In love with art from an early age, Rader was encouraged by a high school teacher to apply to art school, which she did, receiving a scholarship from the Art Institute of Atlanta and graduating from the (now-closed) art school with the Best Portfolio Award. For the past 25+ years Rader has worked within the design and art fields, building an impressive body of work, with a particular focus on creating traditional art and large-scale pieces for hospitality spaces.

Her work can be seen in galleries, private collections, luxury buildings, restaurants and more, including the Buckhead Art & Company Gallery, The Hue Midtown and Chops restaurant in Buckhead.

According to her website, Rader’s notable accomplishments include “being selected to represented Tesla and Microsoft at Art Basel, commissioned work for a new Lake Nona project with Tavistock, creating custom pieces for two $140 million luxury Related Group buildings and commissioned work for Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Prima ships.”

Rader is especially excited about the Atlanta Art Fair — not just being part of it, but the fact that it’s happening at all.

“This is such a big deal for the arts community,” said Rader. “The Art Fair is a wonderful addition to Atlanta’s cultural offerings. I’m describing it as our very own ‘Art Basel’ level fair, with both national and international galleries. We are used to art festivals, but this is a different caliber of event by the producers behind the San Francisco Art Fair, Seattle Art Fair and Art on Paper New York.”

The details

The Atlanta Art Fair takes place at Pullman Yards and other venues throughout the city, October 3–6. Schedules, artist lists, tickets and additional information can be found online at theatlantaartfair.com.

For more about Amy Rader, visit raderdesigns.net.

To learn more about Fay Gold and the Fay Gold Gallery, visit faygoldgallery.com.

Three-day gaming lifestyle festival brings best of gaming, tabletop roleplaying, indies, music, esports and cosplay to the Big Peach

DreamHack (ESL FACEIT Group’s international gaming lifestyle festival) has announced exciting new guests and programming taking place at this year’s DreamHack Atlanta, October 4–6 at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Brennan Lee Mulligan returns to DreamHack alongside the festival’s largest-ever Dungeons & Dragons area. World-class creators, including DrLupo, and the Atlanta debut of the Drag & Drop cosplay drag show hosted by local performer Biqtch Puddin’ are also on the schedule.

“DreamHack features the best of gaming culture from all over the world right here in Atlanta,” said Guy Blomberg, director of festivals, North America, DreamHack. “We’re bringing the best global talent and highlighting local developers, streamers, performers and storytellers to create a celebration of everything to do with gaming.”

Over 20 of the biggest names from Dimension 20, Critical Roll, Lynvannder and more expand DreamHack’s roleplaying offerings

Following his DreamHack debut this summer, Dropout’s resident Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan returns to DreamHack with an all-star cast of adventurers. Joined by Zac Oyama, Erika Ishii, Anjali BhimaniandAliza Pearl, the party will explore an all-new one-shot adventure designed specifically for DreamHack Atlanta.

Fans can also step into the Tabletop Tavern, a dedicated stage for live roleplaying game content presented in partnership with Lynnvander. Veteran storytellers, writers and actors will join forces for a slew of custom adventures. Special guests include worldbuilder and dungeon master Jasmine Bhullar, writer and actress Rekha Shankar, game designer and writer Keith Baker, voice actress Mela Lee and many more.

The LEGO Group makes DreamHack Atlanta debut with all-new Builders Zone

DreamHack guests can expand on the games they know and love through the unlimited creative opportunities of LEGO®️ bricks at DreamHack Atlanta’s all-new Builders Zone, sponsored by the LEGO Group. Attendees can participate in gaming-themed make-and-take builds, contribute to the LEGO brick-built mystery mural on-site or even participate in DreamHack Quests for a chance to take home new LEGO sets. DreamHack will also invite creators to the Main Stage for a competition to celebrate gamers’ creative LEGO builds at the festival — with special guests to be announced.

DreamHack Atlanta hosts largest-ever Indie Playground and Artist Alley

DreamHack’s Indie Playground and Artist Alley will have their largest footprints yet, with 60 game developers as well as 60 more independent artists — almost half of which are Atlanta locals. In addition to exploring booths, guests can participate in the Artist Alley Stamp Rally, trade unique pins at the pin swap board, trick-or-treat with vendors and get hands-on with up-and-coming video games. Both the Artist Alley and Indie Playground are open to all guests daily from 12 to 6 p.m.

Drag & Drop cosplay drag show returns with Atlanta debut

Drag & Drop, the festival’s flagship cosplay drag show, will return after its debut at DreamHack Dallas. Hosted by Emmy-nominated artist Biqtch Puddin’, the show will feature a host of new nerdy performances and performers who slay video game bosses, and looks. Participating artists include Brigitte Bidet, LaZanya Ontré, Dotte Com and more. 

Drag & Drop complements a full weekend of cosplay programming for attendees. The festival’s cosplay competition on Saturday, will be judged by an all-star cast of professional cosplayers, including Atlanta-native Pumpkin.Pixie.Princess and host Jahara Jayde.

DreamHack Atlanta sets record with over 500 creator guests, including Jake Lucky, bbjess and more

This year’s DreamHack Atlanta will host the largest creator cohort ever for a DreamHack Atlanta festival, with over 500 local and national influencers onsite. After receiving a record-setting number of applications, DreamHack Atlanta’s host of content creators will participate in Main Stage competitions, host meet & greets with fans and stream live from DreamHack’s Creator Hub. Top guests include Main Stage emcee bbjess, creator interview experts Jake Lucky and HUN2R, veteran streamers DrLupo (hosted in partnership with Anthros) and Amouranth and more.

Georgia FIRST Robotics brings local high schoolers to DreamHack for STEM showcase

Georgia high school students from across the state will take part in Georgia FIRST Robotics’ interactive showcase live at DreamHack Atlanta. The program requires students and their peers to collaborate on creating their own industrial-size robots to go head-to-head in challenging field games. Students are behind it all — from raising funds to designing their teams’ brand to building and piloting their robots — and the festival’s showcase will highlight the work that goes into making these high-tech machinations.

All of this is just one slice of what DreamHack Atlanta 2024 has to offer.

The details

DreamHack Atlanta takes place at the Georgia World Congress Center on October 4–6

For more information on competitions at DreamHack Atlanta — including world-class esports tournaments, grassroots competition in the Freeplay area, cosplay contests and more —click here.

Tickets are still available and start at $45 for a single day or $109 for three-day access.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit dreamhack.com/atlanta/tickets/.

Video game industry leaders will gather in Atlanta October 1–6 for business conferences and events, culminating in the DreamHack gaming festival as it returns to the city for the sixth time. 

Games Week Georgia, curated by Skillshot Media and Ghost Gaming, along with DreamHack, ESL FACEIT Group’s gaming lifestyle festival, is bringing a full slate of video game industry, networking and professional development events to Atlanta in early October. Panels, summits, community activities, and mixers are a few of the events scheduled for the week.

“Games Week Georgia celebrates the gaming and esports industry, exposing global gaming leaders to our thriving local ecosystem and support,” said Todd Harris, Skillshot Media CEO. “This year, Games Week Georgia welcomes well over 200 invited industry speakers and guests across 10 partnered conference events.”

The annual game industry week, delivered this year in partnership with the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s InnovATL2024 initiative, will conclude with the massive DreamHack Atlanta festival at the Georgia World Congress Center from October 4–6. That event will feature activations, mixers and competitions in esports, cosplay, tabletop gaming and more.

“DreamHack Atlanta is the home for every type of gamer, whether your gear of choice is a mouse, controller, dice or sewing machine,” said Guy Blomberg, DreamHack director of festivals, North America. “With an array of competitions, as well as creator-centric programming, our Bring-Your-Own-Computer LAN and so much more, we’re excited to cap off Games Week Georgia with one of our most ambitious festivals in the city.”

Games Week Georgia events

• Atlanta Digital World Summit on Tuesday, October 1
• Esports Summit on Wednesday, October 2
• Entertainment Industry Mixer the evening of Wednesday, October 2
• GirlGamer Atlanta the morning of Thursday, October 3
• Creator Summit the afternoon of Thursday, October 3
• Music & Masks on Main, early evening of Thursday, October 3
• Kickoff Party, late evening of Thursday, October 3
• ESIC Global Esports Summit on Friday, October 4
• DreamHack Indie Playground Mixer on Friday, October 4
• SIEGE2024 @ DreamHack, Friday, October 4 to Sunday, October 6
   

DreamHack Atlanta events

The massive consumer gaming and lifestyle festival, DreamHack Atlanta takes place Friday, October 4 to Sunday, October 6, with programming including:

• Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship for $1M global competition
• ESL Challenger invites pro league hopefuls for $100K tournament
• DreamHack Fighters slate of tournaments & $23,000 prizing for Atlanta’s FGC
• DreamHack Atlanta cosplay with over $3K in competition prizing
• Rocket League, Halo, NCAA 25 and more headline freeplay competitions with over $13,000 prizing
• Tournaments in Magic: The Gathering, Flesh and Blood and Lorcana
   

Tickets and details

Games Week Georgia takes place October 1–6. DreamHack Atlanta will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center October 4–6.

More information and tickets for all Games Week Georgia events can be found on their website, gamesweekgeorgia.com.

For more about DreamHack Atlanta, visit dreamhack.com/atlanta.