Burnaway Magazine: Your All-Access Pass to the Arts

Atlanta’s art scene is inspiring, unique, flourishing and ever-changing. Yet, some city dwellers aren’t quite sure how to experience it or look deeper beyond gallery exhibit openings and the occasional review in the Journal-Constitution.

Burnaway, an online arts publication (and 501c3) headquartered in Grant Park, launched in 2008 with the purpose of educating and engaging the community.

“It’s an entry point that’s wide enough for people to get involved and not be intimidated,” said editor-in-chief and co-founder Jeremy Abernathy.

“Our mission is to provide access to the arts, but to always challenge people. To be exciting enough for people to want to be challenged.”

In the publication, you might find an article on the Four Coats Neighborhood Mural Project (four murals by different galleries coming soon to Atlanta’s urban landscape), an in-depth review (and history) of hometown artist Radcliffe Bailey’s current exhibit at the High Museum, and the “To Do List,” a calendar of the best art events/exhibits happening in the coming week.

What you won’t find is snooty, self-righteous arts writing. It’s a fresh voice, and often, the staff writers are artists themselves.

“There has been a trend of discouraging artists from writing about other artists,” Abernathy said.

“But there are things that artists see about each other’s work that [people who aren’t artists] can’t. They are often very insightful because they have a stake in art that’s authentic.”

The question lingers for some: How can a magazine be a nonprofit?

“Journalism is a service and people are used to getting it from a for-profit source,” Abernathy said.

“But there isn’t a strong commercial demand for arts and arts writing. There is a huge art industry but it’s not a mass industry like television or movies. It makes sense to do it as a nonprofit.”

Burnaway receives funding from private individuals and advertising (which Abernathy said is “extremely affordable”). The publication received a $30,000 grant from Possible Futures last year.

“That [grant] has become a cash reserve. Our operations budget comes mostly from earned revenue.”

They also hold multiple fundraisers each year, which can easily qualify as “must attend” parties for the arts community and beyond. The next event will be in September (while details have not been disclosed, we can tell you that it will be in the East Atlanta Patch—stay tuned).

The fundraising events, where artists’ works are for sale, are just another way that Burnaway advocates for talented artists and projects that wouldn’t typically get the exposure they should.

“In 2008 [when we started Burnaway], there was a basic need for something like this. Newspapers were under a lot of strain and people weren’t getting the amount of coverage that the arts were used to. In that sense, we were answering a need but also adding something that wasn’t there before.”

Reading a story in Burnaway is only the start of being engaged in the arts.

“An article should be a beginning, not an end. It should invite participation and the conversation should continue. That’s why online is the best format for this,” Abernathy said.

Read the comments on a Burnaway article and you’ll find everything from art connoisseurs giving their opinions (in depth) on a story to light notes like, “Looking forward to more work like this. Nice to see such high quality work being done right in the ATL.”

The publication is succeeding in its mission and will only continue to give Atlantans easy access to the arts and hopefully, inspire the community to not only open their eyes to the arts, but open their minds.

Get in the loop and sign up for Burnaway’s newsletter by visiting Burnaway.org.