City/Cité: ATLiens Visit Planet MARS 

Photography exhibition 

Opening event September 22 5-8pm  

Exhibition will run from September 22–October 20 

Join us this Friday, September 22 from 5-8pm at Chastain Arts Center and Gallery, Atlanta for the opening of ATLiens Visit Planet MARS, including a discussion with the artists and curators, as well as a DJ set with DJ Djel (Marseille) and Salah Ananse (Atlanta)! 

Villa Albertine and France Atlanta are thrilled to open ELEVATE, Public ART Festival Celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop, with ATLiens Visit Planet MARS, an exhibition that captures the early origins of Hip-Hop communities in two creative capitals—Atlanta and Marseille.  
 
In this exhibition, photographers Shannon McCollum and Jean-Pierre Maéro present rare access to the foundational artists, spaces, and moments of Hip-Hop in Marseille and Atlanta, respectively, that would help establish these cities as contemporary cultural capitals. Much like “ATLiens” distinguish themselves within an Atlanta context and “Planet MARS” is distinguishable from Marseille, Hip-Hop communities in these cities found ways to claim their own sense of self while laying the groundwork for generations of artists to come.  
 
Considered the “Gordon Parks of Hip-Hop,” Shannon McCollum’s work has blessed the pages of the coveted publications The New York Times, Rolling Stone, XXL, Boston Globe, Vibe, and Black Enterprise. 
 
From 1984 to 1995, Jean-Pierre Maéro shot video and photo portraits of the first rap groups from Marseille. His work has been presented in numerous French cultural institutions (Mucem, Philarmonie de Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, Musée de l’Immigration… ) 

ATLiens Visit Planet MARS is presented by Villa Albertine as part of City/Cité Atlanta x Marseille, ELEVATE, and France-Atlanta, in partnership with AMI/Friche la Belle de Mai. Made possible with the support of the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Institut Français. 

Designed in 2015 and first implemented in Chicago and San Francisco, City/Cité is a transatlantic cooperation and exchange program on urban issues and city making, initiated by Villa Albertine. Coming to Atlanta for the second time, City/Cité Atlanta x Marseille 2023 will host discussions and artistic programming that highlight connections in culture, urban development, and society between Atlanta and Marseille. 

ATLiens Visit Planet MARS is curated by Floyd Hall and Elodie Le Breut.