Callanwolde Fine Arts Center raising money for expansion

ATLANTA - Ask Andrew Keenan about the mission of Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, and you’ll get a quick answer.

"We do old-school really, really well," he says.

Keenan is executive director of the Atlanta nonprofit community arts center, and recently gave Good Day Atlanta a unique "behind the scenes" tour of the 12-acre property. The centerpiece is the historic mansion, built beginning in 1917 as the family home of Charles Howard Candler.

"He went by Howard. Howard was the only person to be president of Coca-Cola twice," says Keenan. "[The house] is built like a fortress. Literally during World War II, it was the designated fallout shelter in the neighborhood. So, I like to tell people, if you're driving down Briarcliff…and there's a tornado warning, come here." 

Indeed, there’s a lot of concrete — even the attic floors are concrete — but the home’s real foundation is music. The mansion was essentially built to accommodate a massive Aeolian organ, with pipes filling four full chambers and ornamental openings throughout the house serving to flood its halls with music.

Thus, it makes sense that in the 1970s, the home and its accompanying buildings were transformed into a hub of fine arts. Summer is an especially busy time for Callanwolde, as young campers spend the days there unleashing their creativity.

"Right now, we've got about 80 children here for summer camp, and they're in just about every room of the mansion," says Keenan. "And they spill over into the carriage house and the conservatory."

That’s why Callanwolde has launched an $8.5 million capital campaign called Build. Inspire. Grow. Now in its public phase, the campaign aims to expand arts education and community programming through additions including a new 2,258-square-foot pottery studio and 10,263-square-foot flex arts building. The master plan was designed by architecture firm Perkins&Will.

"We want to do it to where the buildings that we do are kind of a backdrop, so in a way, it's kind of subservient to all the kind of creative and artistry that's happening within," says senior project designer Chad Stacy.

When asked what makes working on Callanwolde a unique experience, senior project architect Katlyn Leach answers, "It's the history of the space itself, but also the work that they've done through the programming. Callanwolde is such a storied institution."

For more information on the Build. Inspire. Grow. capital campaign, click here.