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Tag: Noah Washington

  • Rosa Duffy’s ‘Uncertain Data’ Challenges How History Is Told

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    The Soloist 2, Wood lathe, pool balls, xerox prints, metal connections, nails. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    Inside a refurbished former motel off Old Hapeville Road, artist and archivist Rosa Duffy’s first solo gallery exhibition asks visitors to reconsider how history is handled, altered, and reclaimed.

    “Uncertain Data: A Counter-Reading,” on view at Hawkins HQ through Feb. 21, brings together sculpture, found materials, and archival imagery to examine how Black histories are distorted, erased, and reassembled. The exhibition, which opened this weekend, marks a milestone in Duffy’s evolving practice, which blends research-driven inquiry with tactile objects that carry symbolism rooted in lived experience.

    Duffy’s work centers on what she describes as “counter-language,” the cultural systems Black communities create in response to displacement and distortion. Across approximately 16 pieces, burl wood, dice, bingo balls, sheet metal, and Xeroxed images appear repeatedly, forming a visual vocabulary shaped by excess, erosion, and survival.

    “I center Black materials in my life and choose to share them with other folks,” Duffy said. “The audience that I’m speaking to when I’m making work is a Black audience. That’s who I make work for.”

    The Sea, Sheet metal, mixed media, sand, glitter. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    The show’s title reflects Duffy’s interest in how information changes hands and how meaning is reshaped over time. Many of the works incorporate layered or partially obscured images, referencing how historical narratives are simplified, fragmented, or manipulated as they move through institutions and power structures. Numbers recur throughout the exhibition,  dice faces, pool balls, and bingo markers, often summing to seven, a figure Duffy associates with spirituality, luck, and excess.

    “My mom was a mathematician. Numbers were a big part of my life,” she said. “They feel spiritual, and if I’m using gaming objects that already carry numbers, that becomes part of the language.”

    Several pieces explicitly trace the movement and reduction of Black populations across geography and time. “The Sea” and “Land” function as companion works, referencing the Middle Passage, Gullah Geechee heritage, and the physical and cultural erosion that followed enslavement and migration. In “Ruby’s Bridge,” Duffy incorporates a distorted image from Ruby Bridges’ first day integrating a New Orleans school, anchoring the work in both personal research and collective memory.

    “It starts iridescent and becomes duller as the vessels get smaller,” Duffy said. “It’s a very literal example of redaction, of being reduced, but not erased.”

    The exhibition was developed over more than a year in collaboration with Alexander Hawkins, founder of Hawkins HQ, who said the show continues Duffy’s long-standing investigation into archives, authorship, and the construction of knowledge.

    “She’s examining how knowledge is collected, who changes it, and why,” Hawkins said. “This show brings those questions into physical form in a way that feels like a natural evolution of her practice.”

    Despite the show’s conceptual rigor, Duffy resists prescribing meaning to viewers, saying the work’s success is measured not by clarity or resolution, but by the conversations it sparks.

    “I don’t need people to walk away saying, ‘I get it now,’” she said. “I don’t even know if I do. I just want them to feel something and talk about it.”

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    Noah Washington

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  • Chamblee reopens Dresden Park after 18-month renovation

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    The 24-acre park has a soccer field, playground, and art. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    CHAMBLEE, GA. – The sun shone, and unseasonable warmth pushed aside December’s usual cold Saturday as Chamblee celebrated the reopening of Dresden Park.

    The City of Chamblee officially reopened Dresden Park on Saturday, Dec. 13, after 18 months of construction, marking the completion of a sweeping, multimillion-dollar renovation that city leaders say reflects both long-term infrastructure investment and the cultural identity of the surrounding community.

    The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held at the 24-acre park on Dresden Drive, drew residents, city officials, and community advocates to celebrate the transformation of one of Chamblee’s most visible public spaces. The project was funded primarily through $10.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, which city officials said were critical to bringing the redevelopment to completion.

    Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    The renovated park now features a three-tier playground, artificially turfed rectangular fields, tennis courts, a dog park, walking trails, new lighting, terraced seating, a pavilion, expanded parking, and a new community center intended to host after-school programs, public meetings, and neighborhood events.

    Mayor Brian Mock said the reopening represents years of planning, persistence, and coordination between city leadership and residents. He noted that even before the city formally assumed control of the park, local officials recognized the need for significant reinvestment.

    “This isn’t just a park,” Mock said. “If it wasn’t for the American Rescue Plan, we would not be standing here today amongst this incredible new property,” he said, adding that early phases of the project focused on stabilizing the site itself, including more than a year of streambank restoration to prevent erosion and flooding.

    Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    According to Mock, the scope of the renovation expanded as planning progressed. City leaders identified the need for a dedicated community building, ultimately allocating an additional $2 million from city funds to construct the center, now located within the park.

    “Where is the place where our residents, our neighbors, can gather?” Mock said. “Where can kids have after-school camps? Where can we have community meetings? The building behind us is that answer,” he said.

    City officials also emphasized that the reopening marks a milestone rather than an endpoint. Future phases include expanded sidewalks, additional trail segments, and long-term plans to connect Dresden Park to a larger regional network of greenways and pedestrian paths, including the Peachtree Greenway, which will allow residents to travel safely between neighborhoods without relying on roadways.

    As part of the reopening celebration, the city unveiled a new public art installation titled Project Monarch: The Flight of Fortitude (Proyecto Monarca: El Vuelo de la Fortaleza) by Georgia-based sculptor William Massey. The monarch butterfly sculpture, fabricated from reclaimed metal, was shaped through a community-driven process that included interviews and storytelling sessions with local residents, particularly from Chamblee’s immigrant communities. The approach reflects the city’s demographics, where nearly 39% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, making the monarch a culturally resonant symbol of movement.

    “I’m not a fan of an artist saying, ‘This is what should be here,’” Massey said. “I want to ask the community. You tell me what represents you. You’re looking at it every day,” he said.

    Massey said the monarch butterfly emerged organically during conversations with residents as a shared symbol of movement, perseverance, and hope, particularly within Latin American and Spanish-speaking cultures. The piece took nearly two years to bring from concept to completion.

    Community liaison Tony Guerrero, who helped gather stories and perspectives for the artwork, said the sculpture reflects lived experiences often overlooked in public spaces.

    “No one migrates for fun,” Guerrero told attendees. “People migrate because staying costs more than living, because what lies ahead carries more hope than what was left behind. The monarch reminds us that borders may divide land, but they do not divide humanity.

    City officials said the combination of recreational amenities, infrastructure investment, and culturally responsive public art positions Dresden Park as a central gathering place for one of Chamblee’s most diverse neighborhoods.

    “This isn’t just a park,” Mayor Brian Mock said. “We wanted a place where our residents and neighbors can gather, where kids can have after-school camps, where we can hold community meetings, and really make this the heart of the community.” 

    Officials encouraged residents to explore the park, participate in upcoming programming, and view the installation as a symbol of Chamblee’s evolving identity.

    “This park reflects who we are now,” Mock said, “and where we’re going.”

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  • Home Depot Foundation Launches $10M Skilled Trades Program for Youth

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    The Home Depot Foundation launched a new pilot program this Thursday aimed at introducing young people to skilled trades careers, partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to address a growing labor shortage in construction and related fields.

    At the Warren Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, dozens of volunteers worked with students during the program’s inaugural event. Middle and high school students built picnic tables, benches and Adirondack chairs for use around the club, while younger children in grades K-5 participated in a workshop to build piggy banks.

    The program addresses a critical workforce shortage. The United States currently has about 400,000 open jobs requiring skilled plumbers, carpenters, electricians and HVAC specialists. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    The initiative is part of a $10 million nationwide investment by The Home Depot Foundation to expand access to skilled trades training across Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix. The two-year pilot program aims to reach more than 1,000 youth.

    “Less than 3% of young people and high schoolers consider a job in the skilled trades,” said Erin Izen, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “There are these misperceptions that it’s dirty, that they don’t make a lot of money, things that really aren’t true.”

    Izen, who has been with The Home Depot for 21 years, said the foundation’s goal is to show young people there are alternatives to traditional four-year college paths.

    “We have a lot of youth that don’t know that there’s other options besides four year degrees and different careers where you can get dirty and use your hands,” she said. “For us, it’s important that we have youth like you have here at the Boys and Girls Club know that there are these wealth building careers and other options outside of just going to college.”

    Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    The program addresses a critical workforce shortage. The United States currently has about 400,000 open jobs requiring skilled plumbers, carpenters, electricians and HVAC specialists. That number is projected to reach 3.9 million in the next decade, according to foundation officials.

    “The United States has a big problem where we have a growing skilled labor gap,” Izen said. “It’s 400,000 open jobs today, projected to be 3.9 million in the next 10 years, and that’s got a big impact on our economy.”

    Marlon Montgomery, vice president of youth development for Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, said the partnership focuses on exposing young people to career opportunities they might not otherwise consider.

    “Our programs are centered around exposure opportunities,” said Montgomery, who has been with the organization for just over two years. “We say that we ignite unlimited potential in kids and teens by providing these types of opportunities.”

    Montgomery emphasized the importance of hands-on learning in changing perceptions about skilled trades careers.

    “Sometimes our kids aren’t thinking about this opportunity, and so today’s really about exposing our kids and teens to the potential, looking ahead in their future, building bright futures through hands-on learning,” he said.

    The Atlanta native expressed enthusiasm about the program’s potential impact: “I hope they have fun. I hope their brains and minds are opened up to an opportunity with skills trade, and hey, I hope they become fans of Home Depot, because we certainly are.”

    Rob Armstrong, director of life and workforce readiness at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, brought a decade of workforce development experience to the partnership. The San Diego native, who moved to Atlanta in 2021, said the program addresses a critical need in communities.

    Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

    “Previous to Boys and Girls Club of America, I worked in workforce development for roughly about 10 years, and getting into this work really dives deeper into the need of what is needed in our community,” Armstrong said. “Being able to get young people the exposure that they need or that they want to have different careers in different sectors.”

    The initiative builds on The Home Depot Foundation’s existing Path to Pro program, which has operated since 2018 with a $50 million commitment to skilled trades training. Since its launch, the program has introduced more than 490,000 people to skilled trades professions and trained more than 60,000 participants, including youth, high school students and military veterans.

    “So far, we’ve introduced over half a million people, and we have trained over 60,000 people in the skilled trades, and we don’t see it stopping anytime soon,” Izen said.

    Thursday’s event marked the beginning of regular programming that will continue throughout the two-year partnership. The program is designed with age-appropriate activities, with elementary students focusing on basic building skills through projects like the piggy banks, while middle and high school students tackle more complex carpentry and construction tasks.

    The Warren Club serves hundreds of children and teens annually, providing programming during after-school hours. The Home Depot Foundation has committed to investing $750 million in veteran causes by 2030 and continues its focus on disaster relief and skilled trades education.

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