Kirkwood’s Empire Arts Gallery gives exhibition area, a boutique store and tattoos. (Photograph by Jessica Locklar)
Empire Arts Gallery takes up area — actually. Whereas nestled amongst cafés and outlets on either side of Hosea L. Williams Drive in Kirkwood, the gallery sits barely aside in its personal nook. Mild streams via the large glass home windows, illuminating the art-filled partitions inside.
Inside, the gallery’s three areas — artwork gallery, tattoo studio and boutique — brim with bustling dialog. It’s a sunny Friday night on the gallery, and Jessica Locklar, who serves each because the gallery coordinator and a tattoo artist, is engaged on a tattoo coverup. The partitions of the studio are lined with work and monochrome tattoo sketches, and a string of heat lightbulbs thread throughout the window. Locklar fills in a floral design, pausing from time to time to verify in together with her shopper, Andie.
Empire Arts Gallery was based in 2020 by Brandi Good and Malia Rifkin, with the mission to have a spot for artists to point out and promote their work and construct neighborhood — and for purchasers to be tattooed in a secure atmosphere.
“They’re each ladies and tattooers — in a sort of a poisonous, sort of masculine, sort of gross atmosphere normally. And they also had been like, you understand, we’re going to do our personal factor,” Locklar mentioned.
Locklar joined in 2021, initially as an artist collaborating in one in all their exhibits and later as a tattoo apprentice. Sara Slick, supervisor and tattoo apprentice, joined the next 12 months. Slick displays on the character of the job as a balancing act, noting that she and Locklar are actively concerned in each tattooing and organizing gallery occasions. Slick describes the dynamic as collaborative and filled with care, and that the 2 of them are “incredible co-workers and low-key besties.”
Locklar says that the mix of gallery, studio and boutique feels pure and one will typically lead guests to a different. “The three parts actually work collectively as a result of we will make artwork doing this, we may help individuals present their artwork after which they will promote their artwork to the boutique. It’s actually symbiotic.”
For instance, welcoming the artwork neighborhood via the gallery exhibitions permits for a lot of guests to find the tattoo studio. In the end, the tattooing funds the area and retains the doorways open — a mirrored image of the DIY spirit of the artist neighborhood in creating areas for artists.
“Tattooing may be very collaborative. So in the event you get somebody that you just actually click on with — which is, I’d say, more often than not — they’d come again. We aren’t your conventional tattoo store; it’s a a lot hotter place. We embrace individuals right here higher than different outlets,” mentioned Locklar. Andie, who’s mid-session with Locklar, agrees.
“I’ve been coping with tattoo outlets for over 20 years. You go to quite a lot of them. It’s very arduous. This one’s very gentle. In different phrases, you’re feeling extra welcome. Plenty of them, they’re like, what would you like? This one’s like, ‘Hey, let’s work with you; let’s speak to you.’”
That intentional strategy is grounded within the gallery’s values: Each Slick and Locklar really feel that being femme-operated permits them to carry a greater and intrinsic understanding of bodily autonomy and its significance to tattooing.
“Typically we’ll have purchasers who possibly aren’t as talkative, and we’ll verify in with them and ask: ‘What do you want if you’re getting a tattoo? Would you like me to speak to you?’ We attempt to make them really feel comfy and never like they need to carry out or something like that,” Locklar mentioned.
The emphasis on fostering an intimate atmosphere additionally extends to the gallery, the place they hope individuals can strategy the artwork with out feeling intimidated.
“We get the chance to work with the identical sort of artists that might be in bigger, extra distinguished galleries, however in addition they take pleasure in that includes work right here as a result of most of our items are in a worth vary that accommodates extra individuals. Right here, we welcome a real informal collector,” Slick mentioned.
This 12 months, Empire Arts plans to host extra occasions along with gallery exhibits, which is able to rotate each different month as a substitute of month-to-month. They’re continually experimenting — one instance being their pivot away from pop-up markets — a choice knowledgeable by suggestions from distributors and recognizing the oversaturation of such markets in Atlanta.
Whereas Locklar completed the coverup, a collective ready the gallery for its upcoming present, We Are Nonetheless Right here, set to open the following day with an artwork showcase, market and open-mic occasion. Slick explains that We Are Nonetheless Right here serves as a bridge between CHROMA, the gallery’s current group present spotlighting AANHPI artists in Atlanta and Satisfaction Month. AAWPI Fellow Liz Lee hung up a collection of self-portraits, and she or he paused to ask me to the occasion, affirming the gallery’s heat and assist.
Locklar describes Empire Arts’ exhibits as persistently femme-forward and edgy and mentioned they’re fascinated by highlighting underrepresented voices.
“We are going to sort of play with that simply to see what suits within the area the most effective. That’s the enjoyable a part of curating. After which, me and Jessica simply sound like maniacal, insane individuals within the gallery. Simply cackling collectively,” Slick mentioned.
She recollects two main previous exhibits. NEXT!, a gaggle present that ran December 7, 2024, via January 4, 2025, was one of many first exhibits curated by the budding artistic partnership. The idea, primarily based on the theme of transitions, was impressed by January as a month of spring cleansing.
“We inspired artists to place in work that they’ve had simply mendacity round their home for a very long time,” mentioned Slick. “We figured it was a very good alternative for our artist pals to point out that stuff once more and provides it some new life.”
In February 2025, the gallery hosted AntEros: An Erotic Group Present, which was a juried exhibition celebrating intimacy, need and human connection. Slick famous that it introduced in a variety of latest artists and voices. Lately, the gallery has steered its focus towards group exhibits slightly than solo exhibits so as to attain out to new artists locally who might not have had alternatives to exhibit their works beforehand.
Empire Artwork Gallery’s upcoming present, Homosexual Ass Group Present, or GAGS, is a small works exhibition that may characteristic over 50 submissions by LGBTQIA+ artists.
Slick says that the title, GAGS, was born out of a playful riff brainstorm between her and Locklar — within the spirit of the present itself — which Slick says was handled in a extra hands-off method than different exhibits in order to encourage individuals to precise themselves. The present can also be the gallery’s first open-call to artists. Slick and Locklar emphasised that in its celebration of pleasure and queer pleasure, the present goals to transcend merely symbolic illustration.
“We’re not doing a gentle pleasure present; it’s not like rainbow flag pleasure. It’s a bit extra loud, in a constructive method. And I really feel just like the sort of artists that now we have concerned and the sort of perspective behind it has a refined protest vibe behind it, the place we’re all like, sure: We’re loud, we’re right here, we exist and there shouldn’t be any disgrace round it,” Slick mentioned.
GAGS will open at Empire Arts Gallery on June 21, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a drag efficiency at 8 p.m. The present runs via July 12.
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Mitali Singh is an Atlanta-based author who’s enthusiastic about exploring the intersections between the humanities and tradition. She is at the moment a pupil at Emory College, learning English and inventive writing. Her poems have been revealed in Eunoia Assessment and FEED.