Author: ArtsyChowRoamer

Epic Art Adventures

PRO TIP: TOURS WITH ANDY STEINMAN

“Have you heard about those art tours that guy is doing around Atlanta?” asked a woman recently. I laughed and said I had indeed heard about them from her husband! Confusing for some that Andrea Steinman goes by the name of Andy. 😆 In this post we’ll talk about the epic art tours I discovered she has been putting together for years in Atlanta.

I was visiting a gallery recently and was introduced to Steve Steinman when he came in. He is a well known local sculptor and shows off and on at Thomas Deans Fine Art. In the making of small talk he happened to mention that his wife does these art tours.

My ears perked up. I said “she does what?” He said “She does these art tours once a month on Thursdays and has a nice group of people attending”. Well, I knew I needed to know a lot more about this. I thought my readers would be extremely interested in what she was doing.

THURSDAYS WITH ANDY

So I called Andy for a chat and an interview on what the tours were all about. Andy used to keep the gallery listings for Atlanta Magazine and she was an assistant to the art critic there as well. Because people knew that about her they used to ask her to take them to galleries for a tour all the time.

They rightly figured she knew some good stuff about art and would be a terrific tour guide. So about six years ago she asked her Temple (Temple Sinai of Sandy Springs) if they would like her to do it for the members. They said yes.

Art Adventures was born. Andy laughingly recalled that first tour signed up 5 people and only 2 showed up. She thought maybe she shouldn’t do it anymore; that maybe no one was interested. The two that showed up begged her not to give up and to do it again.

So Thursdays with Andy continued with her telling her friends, neighbors and exercise class about it. In the seven years since, she has built a wonderful email list with a great diverse group of people who continually show up for her outings.

LUNCH TOO? YES PLEASE!

At the beginning of each month, Andy sends out an email to her list telling them the date, time and place of where they will be meeting. She does a little research on restaurants and picks something interesting close to where the tour will be.

So in a way it becomes a food adventure as well as an art tour. The following has built over the years by word of mouth for the most part as she does not have a website. She likes to keep it around 30 or less in the group each time and it usually fills fairly quickly.

The tour costs $25 and each attendee pays for their lunch. Eating together has fostered real friendships among the regulars. Friendships that might not have otherwise occurred.

WHO ATTENDS ART ADVENTURES

While the first groups tended to be just females, Andy says their men attendees have grown quite a a bit. The people who come are retired, students, collectors and professionals like doctor’s and lawyers. They have a tendency to be well traveled, curious and interested in learning.

She has also had a few artists and two attendees who have been on Fulbright Scholarships. They are a fun group that always enjoy the places Andy picks. The average age is probably in the middle somewhere but she has had as young as 22 and as old as 97!

They come from all around the Atlanta area. She gets people from Lake Lanier, Ball Ground, Decatur, Winder, Sandy Springs, Alpharetta and Dunwoody-just to name a few!

WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN?

Of course galleries and museums are a natural starting point for tours. They have been to Thomas Deans Fine Art, Parish Kohanim Fine Art, I.D.E.A. Gallery, Alan Avery Art Company and Kai Lin Art. They have been to many of the areas university museums as well as the The Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.

They toured the MARTA stations by train to see the program they have instituted throughout their system called Artblound. It was a two day tour to see all the things on offer in the stations including live performances with dance and theatre. They also did a two day event to see all of the artworks that Hartsfield Jackson has now installed in the airport.

They also did an expansive tour of the Abernathy Greenway Park located in Sandy Springs which houses play structures created by sculptors. They got to tour the art collection and weaving studio of a personal friend of Andy’s whose house in this area will be left to the park to use as event space.

They have toured many individual homes as Andy tries to find places to visit that you wouldn’t normally have access to. They also toured The Temple on Peachtree made famous after appearing in the movie Driving Miss Daisy. I have always wanted to see the inside of it myself having heard the Sanctuary was designed after King Soloman’s Temple in Jerusalem; said to be stunningly beautiful.

WHERE ARE THEY HEADING NEXT?

For April, this Thursday will be a lunch at 26 Thai Kitchen & Bar and then off to TEW Galleries. The restaurant looks wonderful and Timothy will be a fabulous host with a great gallery and group of artists to showcase.

May brings a tour of the Mercedes Benz Stadium collection. June will be a spin through EBD4, the fabulous creative industrial space belonging to artist Elyse Defoor. I am heading there myself on the 30th for a look at her latest works before she changes it out to the new exhibition.

July has yet to be decided and August looks like it might be a two day event at the home of former designer and gallery owner, Eve Mannes. Sure to be an unbelievable collection of lovely art.

CONCLUSION

After seven years Andy says they have never been to the same place twice. That sort of blew my mind that you could come up with a monthly tour for seven years and still be going to different places all around Atlanta. Many people privately speak to their disappointment that Atlanta is not New York from an art standpoint.

It was Pat Conroy who said “Why are you always trying to feed people Chateau Briand when all they want is barbecue?”; supposedly said about the South and their lack of interest in anything lofty like good writing or great art.

While it gets a good laugh I have to admit that I don’t find that to be the problem others might think. I believe these epic art adventures tell a truth about the art scene in Atlanta.

We have a lot of places to experience art. We do have collectors. We also have blooming public and government sponsored programs of support for the arts in Atlanta and all around it as well.

Clearly Andy has tapped into an interest, a curiosity and a group of people who want to learn and know more about what the city has to offer. She is doing a fantastic job and you need to go for an epic art and food adventure soon!

If you would like to be added to Andy’s email list and get started on your next adventure, don’t be a stranger! Send her an email to andysteinman@yahoo.com. There are still plenty of great tours in planning.

That’s my pro tip for the day! Now you know all about the epic art tours waiting for you. If you enjoyed what you read, you might also want to read other blogs under Artful Ideal. Until next time…

Cheers,

ArtsyChowRoamer

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TO MY READERS: This post was updated with more info, pics and upgraded content on 8/4/20. Due to Covid Andy has had to get creative with her Art Adventures. She isn’t letting her group of avid art lovers down however. Right now she is doing a series of virtual tours in galleries, museums and collectors homes by Zoom. She also has asked for several knowledgeable speakers to inform and delight her group. She keeps finding interesting ways to change up the Zoom so her tours will stay epic to anyone who wants to join or continue on during these troubling times. Take some time for yourself and de-stress with beautiful art tours!