Illumine the annual art event at Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery has wrapped for 2022. Illumine is an art installation held in the Victorian garden park once a year to bring awareness to the beauty of the grounds and its history to the city. This year's center leaned more towards education versus art exhibits, but it was still worth the walk in the evening among the cemetery residents. We've included a pictorial essay of our visit and hope you enjoy it.
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The evening started off at dusk with the eerie spectacle of large balloons lighting your path.
History of the indigenous peoples at Oakland long before it was a cemetery.
The original plots for enslaved peoples were unearthed and moved for white residents. Illumine this year highlighted the restoration of the African American burial grounds and also posted ledgers of all the slaves and people of color buried at Oakland.
Thomas Askew – an Oakland resident – became well known for photographing middle to upper-class African American society. His portraiture is quite beautiful. I wish I'd captured more of it.
An art installation hanging from the trees in the park to emphasize textiles and garments in the south.
Another major project of this year's Illumine fundraising was the restoration of the women's comfort station.
Illumine is always a beautiful stroll through Oakland Cemetery at night. As we've mentioned countless times in this blog, any chance we get to visit the cemetery at night we take. It's so picturesque against the back drop of Atlanta. If you missed out on Illumine this year, plan ahead for it next year. It's usually held the last weeks of April to the beginning of May.
