Hambidge Hive levels up for the 2025 Hambidge Auction

The space’s central hallway features “all streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full” by Joel Silverman. This immersive installation invites visitors to walk atop a projection of Betty’s Creek, a stream on Hambidge Center’s property, while surrounded by a lenticular image of the woods, with an urban setting visible from the other side. A live soundscape plays audio of the stream from Hambidge — 112 miles away — and multisensory additions of fog and the scents of hemlock and sassafras further connect the installation to Hambidge’s rural home. Meanwhile, visitors to the Hambidge’s Spring House in Rabun Gap will hear live sounds of the bustling streets adjacent to the Uptown.

Marryam Moma’s “WUNDERLAND NOIR: Reimagined” occupies two adjacent walls, with the entry point framed by oversized paper flora. A mural and playing-card-inspired art piece are complemented by paper butterflies that seem to be frozen in time as they flit from one scene to another. Connecting to Moma’s Tanzanian heritage, and combining concepts of Afrofuturism, the installation explores rest, healing, self-preservation and reprieve within the context of Black life.

“Meet Me on the Dancefloor” is a hand-tufted installation that offers a joyous splash of color and playful characters portrayed in a rug, wall hanging and oversized boom box. Artist Maxwell Blankenship explores queer identity via texture and storytelling, all through the art of tufting.

Mike Black presents “Dukkha,” an oversized tangle of ductwork reminiscent of early 2000s-era screen savers. Painted a cheery bright blue and looming over the heads of visitors, the piece speaks to the interconnectedness of life through shared suffering. Inspired by dukkha, a term often used in Buddhist teachings that can be described as “the suffering of suffering,” this piece encourages viewers to find tranquility amid the chaos and pain of life.

Roberto Rafael Navarrete, a first-generation Peruvian-American artist who resides in Atlanta, created “Boveda.” This series of fabric-wrapped columns glows from within, presented as bovedas — or altars — that represent the different paths before us through life, particularly for those who are, like Navarrete, children of immigrants.

T.W. Pilar’s “Synthetic Grove: social ecology 01″ offers a mirrored forest (on forms ranging from 6.5 to 9 feet tall) where the reflections of viewers and the urban setting are framed by prints of regional flora. The installation suggests that the viewer is not outside of nature but rather an integral part of, in the artist’s words, “ecological memory and built environments.”

In the auction, crafts, clay, fiber and multidisciplinary works offer a wide variety of subject matter, message and approach. There are also some collaborative pieces this year, a new option available to artists.

Beyond the 2025 Hambidge Auction, organizers plan to continue exhibiting in, and using the space at, the Uptown. With programming planned during the Atlanta Art Fair and Atlanta Art Week, the team is putting together a full slate of workshops, exhibits and events. One upcoming exhibition will feature MFA students from University of Georgia and Georgia State University.

“This is a space for the fellows in Atlanta to come together as a community,” said Development Director Kathryn Derryberry. “It’s missional for Hambidge to showcase emerging to established artists.”

Auction and party Saturday. VIP hour: 6-7 p.m. General admission: 7-10 p.m. $60-$400. Pre-bidding available online. Uptown Atlanta, 575 Main St. NE, Atlanta. hambidge.org.

ArtsATL (artsatl.org) is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. ArtsATL, founded in 2009, helps build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.