FRIDAY: Deanna Sirlin opens at Whitespace. Above: Retracings, an installation by Sirlin at the High Museum in 1999.

I had the strange luck this week of stopping at the Georgia State transit station … as the escalators overflowed with boisterous Fair Tax hooligans heading for the Georgia Tea Party protest. The irony? They were all riding MARTA. This weekend look forward to creative community action, video and sculptural installation, and, yes, even origami. (And don’t forget the Atlanta Film Festival!)

FRIDAY: Ride MARTA Day!!

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

RIDE MARTA DAY
System-wide community action
Ride MARTA Day, a timely public transit advocacy campaign, asks that all Metro Atlantans get on the bus or train as part of their daily commute this Friday. Contact rachael@sopobikes.org for more info.

WHITESPACE GALLERY
Deanna Sirlin: Everything is Optional
Known for her large-scale installations and use of video, digital media, and existing architecture, Deanna Sirlin opens a show of new paintings and sculptures at Whitespace from 7-10PM. Artist talk Sat. May 9 at 2PM. Continues through May 16.

ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER
Four artists, four shows
Here are the artists and titles: Mark Wentzel’s “Morale Hazard”; Rae Goodwin’s “Relativity”; Tamy Ben-Tor’s “Videos”; and untitled street performances by Nancy Popp. Opens at the Contemporary from 7-9PM. See also Saturday’s entry for gallery talks.

KIBBEE GALLERY
Yana Dimitrova: We Collected Stories
The newly christened Kibbee Gallery (688 Linwood Avenue, directly behind Fellini’s on Ponce) opens a solo exhibition by Yana Dimitrova from 7-10PM.

SATURDAY: Westside Arts Walk. Above: Jiha Moon, Cardiowood.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

WESTSIDE ARTS DISTRICT
3rd Saturday Art Walk
The membership for the Westside Arts District now includes the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. Two noteworthy events:

ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER
Artist Talk at 11:00 am. Open 11 am-5 pm.
General Admission, $5; Students and Seniors, $3; Members, Free; Children under 12, Free.
Artist Talk: Exhibiting artist Rae Goodwin discusses her work, focusing on personal history, collaboration, and documentation.

ROBERT C. WILLIAMS PAPER MUSEUM
Artist/Gallerist talk 1:00pm. Open 11am-3pm. Free.
Atlanta-based contemporary artists Nate Moore [represented by Get This! Gallery] and SALTWORKS Director Brian Holcombe will discuss the current exhibition at The Paper Museum. Nate Moore’s origami jets rely upon rigorous geometry and give dimension, depth, and sometimes movement to found object paper. Brian Holcombe will present the works of artist Jiha Moon.

THE INDEPENDENT
The Animation Draw collaborative
In ASIFA-Atlanta’s exquisite corpse demonstration, animators will take turns drawing, picking up where the last animator left off, at the Independent from 11-4PM. The resulting film will screen at the Drink and Draw Tuesday, April 21, 9PM at the Highlander. See also below for more ASIFA events at Atlanta Film Festival.

MOCA GA
Group Drawing/Drawing Correspondence
“Nutty professors” Angus Galloway and Paul Rodecker lead a collaborative drawing exercise at MOCA GA from 1-5PM, to coincide with an extended viewing of the two artists’ “Drawing Correspondence” show.

SUNDAY: That Evening Sun at Midtown Art Cinema.

ALL WEEKEND/ONGOING, APRIL 16-25

ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL
Multiple venues*
The festival website boasts: “Since 1977, the Atlanta Film Festival has brought the newest and most daring voices working in cinema to Atlanta audiences.” Here are a few highlights, courtesy of Creative Loafing’s Wyatt Williams. Additionally, ASIFA-Atlanta encourages animation fans to see:

Animation Extravaganza 1 Shorts Program
Friday, April 17 at 10:30pm
Monday, April 20 at 5:00pm
Midtown Art Cinema

Idiots & Angels
Saturday, April 18 at 4:45pm
Midtown Art Cinema

Animation Extravaganza 2 Shorts Program
Sunday, April 19 at 8:30pm
Wednesday, April 22 at 1:45pm
Midtown Art Cinema

Los Campeones de la Lucha Libre
Tuesday, April 21 at 7:25pm
Wednesday, April 22 at 4:45pm
Midtown Art Cinema

VORTEX L5P/WONDERROOT
Scion fundraiser
This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10-6PM, Scion is hosting a benefit for WonderRoot at the Vortex in Little Five to support WonderRoot: “Test drive a Scion for FREE and get a $15 gift certificate to the Vortex! If you like, donate a portion of your gift certificate to WonderRoot.”

APACHE CAFÉ
Art Mondays exhibitions and model sessions
Apache Café hosts a live model for practicing artists and amateurs every Monday from 7:30-11PM. Admission is $4 general, $5 for photography. This month also features an exhibition of paintings by Corey Whitehead, open daily.

*See the Atlanta Film Festival website for ticket prices.

Except where otherwise noted, all events on our To Do Lists are free and open to the public. Keep checking previous Lists for more ongoing shows!