Illuminated Spaces:
Roberto Rafael Navarrete
Fairburn Antique Mall - 10 NW Broad Street, Fairburn, GA
August 5 - october 31, 2023
Illuminated Spaces is a public art series showcasing the heart of downtown Fairburn, GA as a vibrant destination for site-specific art & light installations by emerging local & national artists.
Presented by The City of Fairburn in partnership with Dashboard, the series goes beyond traditional art exhibitions by intentionally integrating the city’s infrastructure & vacant spaces into art activations that harmoniously blend environment, artistry, & light to create dialogue, inspire reflection, & ignite the imagination. Illuminated Spaces positions public art at the forefront of The City of Fairburn’s award-winning revitalization plan for downtown, supports emerging artists, and seamlessly integrates artwork into the city’s fabric to reshape the way citizens and visitors alike perceive and experience their surroundings.
Press
FEATURING ROBERTO RAFAEL NAVARRETE
For the inaugural iteration of the Illuminated Spaces series, football legend and hometown hero, Eric Berry, entrusted the vacant Fairburn Antique Mall to become the canvas for two 20’ window-front installations by artist Roberto Rafael Navarrete. Navarrete is known for transmuting physical space by deconstructing and knotting his materials to explore transformations of the body and mind as it heals from systemic trauma.
Titled Portals, the installation merges Navarrete and Berry’s shared mission of healing to transform the historic space through an ingenious combination of paper cloth, wood, and mesmerizing light, designed to transport viewers between worlds, and provide an opportunity for restoration and community reflection on the past, present, and future of the City of Fairburn.
ARTIST TALK
On October 26, 2023, Roberto Rafael Navarrete joined Dashboard Project Director Abigail Justman to discuss the making of his Illuminated Spaces installation, Portals, as well as the foundations behind his art practice.
Illuminated Spaces is an ongoing series, and will continue to roll out through 2024 with a rotating lineup of artists and artworks in unexpected places, to be announced.