feature: atlanta renaissance man, sean fahie, talks art

If you’re a part of the Atlanta art scene, you probably know who Sean Fahie is. He was honored by Creative Loafing, one of the city’s alternative news outlets, as the Renaissance Man for 2014. In addition to publishing two books, he’s produced two films, and maintains two regularly scheduled events around Atlanta. The city’s art scene has grown since Fahie moved here, and he’s partly responsible. He’s been hosting events in what now might be the hippest spot in the city before gentrification made it that way. As more people move into the quickly developing interior of the city, there continues to be an upswing in audiences at arts and cultural events.

By Shantay Robinson, AFROPUNK Contributor

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His first film, ‘A Day in the Life of Tim Friday’, is a look at the alternative lifestyle of an artist living in Atlanta. We see Tim Friday riding his bike around town, to his band’s rehearsal, to dinner with friends, and hooking up with a girl. The film sold out at the Landmark Theatre and was streamed through AFROPUNK for the world to see. This year, Fahie produced another film, ‘If You Know the Words, Feel Free’, which premiered to an intimate audience in an Atlanta lounge this month. His second film is a hybrid narrative and documentary that follows him around the city as he talks to artists in Atlanta about being artists in Atlanta.

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In addition to the films and the books, Fahie also hosts to two gatherings regularly — Pretty Sweet Party that held a block party in association with A3C Hip Hop Festival and The Influencers that invited Matt Morgan, one of the co-founders of AFROPUNK to speak to the city. His events tend to bring out a brand of young alternatives who aren’t being serviced by other venues. Like him, they aren’t a part of the mainstream popular culture, but love the arts and culture.

Although Fahie has a strong hold on the city, he’s not originally from Atlanta. He was born in St. Croix, and the Virgin Islands, grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and attended art school in Savannah, Georgia. When it was time for him to make a decision about which city he would move to get his artistic career in gear, he decided he doesn’t like the cold, so New York was out and California is just too far away. So Atlanta was his next choice. And we’re happy to have him.

When Fahie moved to Atlanta, we were in the middle of a recession, so opportunities for artistic work were scarce. But the beauty in the recession is that it forced a lot of artists to think outside of the box.  Without gallery representation, many had to fend for themselves to get their careers started and maintain a following. They took to social media to promote shows at art galleries they rented for themselves. And this activity has continued, as things have economically gotten, better. Fahie is an advocate for promoting the arts inside the city as well as exporting it throughout the world. “I feel artists of Atlanta, that I know, are kicking ass at making sure people get to know who they are …They are doing a great job of updating their sites, hitting social media and not just for pleasure but for business.”.

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When asked what his greatest contribution to the Atlanta art scene has been, [insert Fahie’s infectious laugh here] he says, “Honestly, I don’t think I have a great contribution because when I think about it, and this is a little selfish, but all I was really trying to do was figure out what the art scene was, so I could meet other artists and meet the gallery owners.”

“Atlanta’s like the wild wild west right now in a sense that the community is really amazing. The people are really open and willing to share. They’re willing to meet with you and build ideas.” Fahie’s charismatic personality is probably why he can get people to help him make a film without paying them or even providing Kool Aid. Artists in Atlanta are amped to be making the city a first-class artist community..

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As the world begins to realize that Atlanta has a world-class arts community that should be recognized, the artists here are preparing themselves for that position.  And although art openings are filled with people for the party atmosphere, Fahie recognizes that the only way the arts community in Atlanta will thrive is if more people begin collecting. He’s not trying to be an art snob, but says, “I feel like sometimes Atlanta has a lot of fans, which is great because we need people to enjoy our stuff, but I don’t think there are a lot of buyers yet.”

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https://seanfahie.carbonmade.com

* Shantay Robinson is a freelance arts writer in Atlanta.