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More and better outdoor sculpture, Buckhead as a classy arts district, even an art salon for the North Buckhead community… these are the dreams of Debra Gavant Swan, a local artist with big ideas for Atlanta's cultural scene.
"There are some interesting art events going on downtown, but there's not anything like that in Buckhead," says Debra. The Buckhead arts crawl is "at least one fun event," she adds, but it's not nearly enough. In a metropolitan area of over four million people, says Debra, it's a shame that there is so little good art, and no major arts event. The much-loved arts festival was recently scrubbed, and "Atlanta is unfortunately not serious about art."
But Debra is serious indeed. Her parents opened Gavant Gallery in the 1960's, when Ivan Allen, Jr., was mayor. It was one of the first art venues in the city, and such a major addition to Atlanta that the mayor attended the grand opening. "I spent my childhood around hippie artists," Debra says with a smile, and after a stint with CNN doing computer graphics she turned to making art full-time. She now works out of her home in north Buckhead, creating figurative sculptures that are also jewelry size, which she calls "wearable art."
"I try to make objects people have never seen before," says Debra. "I like to take
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