Woodruff Arts Center is a

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight ...

and

performing A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

arts center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...

located in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

. The center houses three not-for-profit arts divisions on one campus. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing ...

, and the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

History

In 1962, Atlanta suffered an unprecedented loss when an airplane, the '' Chateau de Sully'', carrying the leaders of Atlanta’s arts and civic community, crashed at Orly Airport in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. As the city grieved, it came together and used the devastating loss as a catalyst for the arts and built a fitting memorial to these victims. This led to the creation of the Atlanta Arts Alliance. The Memorial Arts Center, as the Woodruff was originally known, opened October 5, 1968. The building was designed by Atlanta architect,

Joe Amisano Joe Amisano (1917–2008) was an American architect, especially known for his work in Atlanta. Born in New York, he graduated from Pratt Institute in 1940 and won a Prix de Rome in 1950. He joined the Atlanta firm that became Toombs, Amisano and ...

. It was renamed the Woodruff Arts Center in 1982 to honor its greatest benefactor,

Robert W. Woodruff Robert Winship Woodruff (December 6, 1889 – March 7, 1985) was an American businessman who served as the president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 until 1985. With a large net worth, he was also a major philanthropist, and many educational ...

. The art center also included the

Atlanta College of Art The Atlanta College of Art (ACA) was a private four-year art college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1905, it was the oldest art college in the Southeast when it was sold out by the Woodruff Arts Center board of directors to the Sava ...

, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the High Museum of Art. All three entities were combined into one corporation. The Alliance Theatre was added in 1970 as the fourth division of the Woodruff and 35 years later in 2005, a fifth division was added when Young Audiences joined the center. This addition ensures that the Woodruff’s PreK-12 programs now reach more than one million children annually, the largest base of any arts center in the country. The Woodruff campus expanded in 1983 with the addition of the

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

-designed High Museum of Art building. This building made Meier the youngest

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

-winning architect at that time. On November 12–13, 2005, the Woodruff introduced its largest expansion since opening in 1968. The new addition features two new exhibit buildings and a new administrative and curatorial building for the High Museum of Art; a residence hall and sculpture studio; a full-service restaurant — Table 1280 at the Woodruff — as well as a public piazza and a new parking structure. This new "village for the arts" was designed by another Pritzker Prize winner, Italian architect,

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (2 ...

Layout

The Woodruff campus sits on with a planned expansion to . Currently, the campus includes of exhibition, educational and performance space, plus a garage located beneath the village. The Woodruff Arts Center houses the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre, and the High Museum of Art.

References

External links

Woodruff Arts Center website
{{Coord, 33.79051, -84.38517, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Arts centers in Georgia (U.S. state) Performing arts centers in Georgia (U.S. state) Midtown Atlanta Theatres in Atlanta Music venues in Atlanta Tourist attractions in Atlanta

History

Layout

See also

References

External links