Starting as executive director March 16, Lauren Haynes seeks to revitalize the half-century-old art institution that one former board leader critiques as ‘just surviving.’
Visitors enjoy “Christian Walker: The Profane and The Poignant” exhibit at Atlanta Contemporary in 2025. (Natrice Miller/AJC)
By Felicia Feaster – For the AJC
Updated 2 hours ago
After a four-month search, the Westside nonprofit arts center Atlanta Contemporary has hired its next executive director, Lauren Haynes.
Haynes, 44, a resident of Long Island City, New York, is the vice president and curator at Governors Island Arts, the arts and cultural program of the Trust for Governors Island.
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On a key challenge in her newly appointed role as Atlanta Contemporary’s executive director, Lauren Haynes says, “It’s definitely about how you build these relationships (with funders) and also develop a program and a space that people want to be a part of.” (Courtesy of Claudia Lucia)
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Floyd Hall (pictured) resigned as Atlanta Contemporary’s executive director in August. Everett Long then stepped down as the Contemporary’s board chair to serve as interim executive director. (Natrice Miller/AJC)
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Atlanta Contemporary, founded in 1973 as Nexus, in its Westside home. (Courtesy of Atlanta Contemporary)
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A recent opening at Atlanta Contemporary for “Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution.” (Courtesy of Atlanta Contemporary)
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Work by New York self-taught artist Timothy Curtis is a 2024 exhibit at Atlanta Contemporary, “Inkblots and Feelings Charts.” (Courtesy of Atlanta Contemporary)
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Correction
This story was updated to correct the credit on the photo of Lauren Haynes.
