Atlanta’s High Museum of Art

By alantvuong on October 3, 2021

I recently went to Atlanta for Imagine Music Festival and since the festival was cancelled almost last minute, I had lots of time to check out some of Atlanta’s most popular attractions. Since this was my third time in the city, I have already done a lot of fun things already. One place I really wanted to visit the last time I was in Atlanta and didn’t have time for was The High Museum of Art. This trip, I had to make it happen and it was definitely worth the wait.

About The Museum

Atlanta High Museum of Art was established in 1905 and is located on 1280 Peachtree Street in Atlanta’s Midtown area which is the city’s art district. The High as it is often called, consists of 4 buildings and is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center. With a total of over 312,000 square feet of space and over 18,000 pieces of art work in it’s permanent collection, this art museum is massive and can take a full day to go through.

The High

Getting There

My friend and I did stay at a hotel in the Midtown area and it was really easy to get to. My friend just wheeled my wheelchair and got us to The High in just 15 minutes. At first we had no idea where the entrance to the museum was because the building was so huge.

there are ramps and elevators to get you to the main entrance

We saw a wheelchair ramp on the side of the building and followed that way but once we got up the ramp and to the doors, it was locked. We went back out and around the side and finally found an elevator to get to the main entrance of the museum. General admission is $16.50 and is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday Noon to 5 PM.

Exhibits

After greeting and chatting with our host Lindsey, we casually started with the main level of the main building. There are 4 floors plus a basement level, so this museum should take a while to get through.

thanks for having us visit Lindsey

We noticed in addition to elevators, there was also a nice gradual ramp that takes you to every floor of the museum. Each floor also has sky bridges that connects you to the other buildings.

nice gradual ramp that connects every floor

there are several elevators too

sky bridges that connects the buildings

We started with the temporary exhibit: Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America. This is at The High until December 11, 2021. After the first World War, amateur artists without any training began showcasing their work in major museums, thus “gate crashing” the art community.

in front of Gatecrashers exhibit

I am not an art expert, but it was really awesome to see so many great pieces from non professionals. The museum galleries were really spacious and it was easy for my wheelchair to move around. The museum wasn’t really busy for a Tuesday so there was lots of room to socially distant ourselves from others. Face masks are also mandatory throughout the museum.

some cool art

Since we spent a really long time at this first exhibit, we went a faster pace for the rest of the museum. We still got to see every sculpture and every art piece in every building though. My favorite though was another temporary exhibit: Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting. This exhibit only runs until September 26, 2021. Lucky we get to see it right on time.

interesting light fixtures

Some of the rooms in this exhibit is darkened so that we could better see the radiance and beauty of some the the lighting fixtures. It was nice to see so many different examples of lighting designs over the past 100 years.

Outside The Lines

Starting this summer and through November 28, 2021, The High will feature Outside The Lines in the the outside space by the entrance. It is a fully immersive maze that is accessible and inclusive for all types of people to go through including those in wheelchairs, those who are blind or those with mental disabilities.

inclusive art exhibit

It was surrounded by green space, chairs and a cafe and it was a perfect spot for my friend and I to relax for a bit before going to get food. There are also a few art sculptures located here too including The Invisible Man.

The Invisible Man

With it being my third time visiting Atlanta, I was so happy to finally get the chance to visit The High Museum of Art. The buildings are really wheelchair accessible with ramps, elevators, sky bridges and lots of room for wheelchairs to get around. We spent almost 3 hours but felt if we slowed down our pace, it could have been 4 hours or more. I highly recommend everyone to visit this art museum when in Atlanta.