Where Creativity and Community Meet

Abernathy Arts Center

Metro Atlanta is a wonderful place for the arts, and local cities offer special ways for the community to connect with the arts. Local arts centers can help your family affordably engage in the arts.

Whether or not your child shows an early passion for the arts, creative exploration can play a meaningful role in his development. Arts programming introduces young students to a wide range of creative experiences — from shaping clay on a pottery wheel to experimenting with watercolors to exploring gallery exhibits. Community arts centers make these opportunities accessible through affordable classes, workshops, camps and events designed to spark curiosity and imagination.

As an extracurricular activity, the arts encourage critical thinking, self-expression and personal growth. Children are free to experiment with different mediums, discovering what excites them, what challenges them and how they best express their ideas. Along the way, they’re exposed to artists and art forms they may not encounter in a traditional classroom, expanding both their creativity and their appreciation for the arts.

Arts centers also invite families to learn and create together. With adult classes available, parents can reconnect with their own creativity and share that journey with their children. These shared experiences help families connect with one another and with the broader community, fostering a sense of belonging and well-being through common interests.

Beyond classes, arts centers serve as cultural hubs, showcasing work by local artists and creating site-specific installations that reflect the character and heritage of the city. Festivals, exhibitions and other cultural events celebrate the local creative community while inspiring innovation and entrepreneurship.

For children, visiting these spaces offers more than visual inspiration — it provides insight into other people’s ideas and emotions, nurturing empathy, curiosity and a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Engage with the arts as a family at a local center near you.

• Chastain Arts Center: This educational facility offers classes, workshops and exhibits in a variety of creative mediums, including an annual summer camp.
• Callanwolde Fine Arts Center: Callanwolde offers arts education programs in performing, visual and literary arts, and throughout the year, visit for concerts and special events.
• Hudgens Center for Art & Learning: Adults and kids will love trying their hands at art projects with classes and workshops. The center also has tons of exhibited artworks and sculptures, along with an interactive Kid’s Zone.
• Spruill Center for the Arts: This community art center provides more than 800 visual arts classes to all ages and skill levels with instruction in ceramics, drawing, jewelry and more.
• The Nixon Centre for the Arts: Part of the Coweta County School System, this venue hosts performances and programs throughout the year, along with workshops for aspiring thespians.
• Mable House Arts Center: This center offers a wide range of engaging and educational classes for children and teens in performing arts, music and visual arts, along with workshops, camps, adult classes and homeschool programs.
• The Art Place: A Cobb County PARKS Facility, The Art Place holds exhibits, community events, theater productions, artist markets and classes for adults and children.
• Southwest Arts Center: The mission of Southwest Arts Center is to produce and present quality arts education, cultural activities and events to the citizens of South Fulton with programming in dance, music and theater, as well as classes and camps.
• Emma Darnell Aviation Museum and Conference Center: Part of Fulton County Arts & Culture, this venue connects the community to the arts with exhibits, public art installations, summer camps and instruction for children, teens and adults.
• ArtsXchange: This cultural facility engages the community through a combination of the arts and social justice with workshops, exhibits, concerts, classes, films, performances and community gardens.
• Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/Douglas County: Connect with the arts at this facility with classes, workshops, camps, live performances, exhibits and special events.
• Abernathy Arts Center: Join in a vibrant and inspiring creative community with a morning,  afternoon, after-school, evening or Saturday arts class at this center.
• Woodstock Arts: Classes and workshops explore both performing and visual arts with a focus on acting, singing, dancing, improvisation, drawing or portfolio development.