ARTISTS-IN-ATHICA: The Athens Institute for Contemporary Art has established a new Artists-in-ATHICA Residency Program that will enable up to six artists or teams to participate in collaborative projects each year. Supported by the James E. Huffer and Betty J. Huffer Foundation, the program will debut with visual artist Gunnar Tarsa and composer Kyle Lewis, who combine their talents as Guy Did Ail. A multisensory experience, Guy Did Ail’s performances consist of live art-making by Tarsa in conversation with musical compositions by Lewis. Exploring the balance between predictability and possibility in art, the duo reflects ideas centered around chance, intuition and automatic drawing. Tarsa will additionally create a site-specific, gallery-spanning drawing, and visitors can drop in to watch it develop during open studios held Mondays through Fridays through Feb. 27 from 1–6 p.m. Guy Did Ail will perform on Feb. 24 and Feb. 27 from 8–10 p.m. 

The artist residency program is being launched in conjunction with “Beast It,” a new series of experimental installations and performances that will take place from now until May. In addition to Guy Did Ail, Lewis will organize “Surrender,” three nights of minimalist, improvisatory and aleatory music. Curated by composer Monique Osorio, the collaborative installation “Surround” will be on view Mar. 3–11 with contributions from Jeremy Kiran Fernandes, James Davis Barsness, Logan Shirah, William Dantzler and other artists, while the opening night includes performances by Lambda Celsius, Richard Gumby, Cult of Riggonia, a play, clown troupe, improv and more. 

ATHICA’s annual “Emerges” exhibition of rising artists will follow from Apr. 7–May 13, and “Lupita’s Revenge,” a shadow-puppet play accompanied by a live soundtrack of Latin American songs from Tango Hambre, will be performed on Apr. 26. Residency proposals are now being accepted for this year’s remaining cycles, which will run from June through August and September through November. Ideas will be considered in any discipline, including but not limited to visual, cinematic, theatrical and performance-based projects. Visit athica.org for details. 

OUTGOING AND INCOMING: This week is the last chance to catch three of four exhibitions currently on view at the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art before they end Feb. 23. “Oscillations” is a collection of clean, collaged colored-pencil drawings by Jon Vogt that resemble patterned waveforms, while “We Have So Much to Talk About” aims to create a dialogue about how ideas are shared and understood through collaborative prints, sculptures and videos by printmaking and book arts students Sarah Kennedy and Trent Johnson. In “This Is a Developing Story,” Los Angeles-based artist Amanda Ross-Ho uses video, sculptures of enlarged objects and textiles of newspaper images for an installation inspired by a personal experience. 

On view through Mar. 1, “Tripwire” touches on themes of technology, home, surveillance and sociopolitical tensions through the works of immigrant artists and artists from the American South. Originally from Bangladesh, Mahera Khaleque weaves tapestries that juxtapose beautiful fabrics with print advertisements, reflecting her personal integration process and position straddling two cultures. Atlanta-based artist Masud Olufani, who will speak at Lamar Dodd on Mar. 7 at 12:20 p.m., contributes fascinating sculptural works that embody emotional depth and spiritual resonance. Indian-American artist Sayak Shome’s installation “Marden(sic) eArth” allows viewers to look through a monocular at an image of Mars, reflecting his interest in how technology aids individuals in understanding the world around them. Curated by MFA candidate Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay, the exhibition also features works by Zane Logan, Zachary McCauley and Sara Santamaria. 

Three new exhibitions will open at the Dodd Galleries with a reception Mar. 1 at 5 p.m. “Cryptic for the Simple Minded” is a compilation of abstracted weavings, paintings and sculpture by MFA candidates Whitney Cleveland and Katlin Shae. In “Michael,” Dodd Fellow in Photography Forest Kelley imagines the life of his uncle, an artist and gay man who is presumed to have committed suicide shortly after the Food and Drug Administration licensed the first HIV antibody test in 1985. “The 2018 Science and Medical Illustration Exhibition” will include works by undergraduate students in science illustration at UGA and graduate students in medical illustration at Augusta University. All exhibitions will remain on view through Mar. 23.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: WUGA’s creative fundraising series Artists in Residence returns for a new season, offering an opportunity to drop in and explore the private homes, studios and gardens of some of the most interesting artists in town. The series returned earlier this month at the home of painter and sculptor Leonard Piha, and upcoming featured artists include multimedia sculptor and painter Lisa Freeman on Mar. 24 and muralist and activist Broderick Flanigan on Apr. 21. Visitors can scope out the home of jeweler and wire sculptor Noah Saunders on May 19, as well as illustrator and graphic novelist Eleanor Davis on June 16. The series concludes for the year at the home shared by photographer and musician Chris McKay and oil still-life painter Manda McKay on Aug. 25. 

All events are held rain or shine from 3–5 p.m., and admission is $10 for Friends of WUGA or $20 for non-members. Interviews with the artists will be broadcast the week of each event. Reservations can be made by contacting Cathy Bradberry at 706-542-9842 or [email protected].