Ignite ATL Inc. Announces the Launch of Its Creative Hub in Historic Blandtown & Opens Call for Art for the Blandtown Youth Art Exhibit: "REBIRTH"

ATLANTA, GA (December 17, 2025) - Ignite ATL Inc. proudly announces the grand launch of the Ignite ATL Inc.'s NextGen Lab, a groundbreaking youth innovation and arts facility located at the intersection of Ellsworth Industrial and the Westside BeltLine Trail. This milestone coincides with the official Call for Art for the Blandtown Youth Art Exhibit: "REBIRTH," a community-rooted showcase celebrating artistic expression, cultural identity, and the future of Atlanta's Westside.

With this launch, Ignite ATL Inc. embraces its role as a catalyst for youth empowerment, creative workforce development, cultural preservation, and neighborhood revitalization throughout the Westside BeltLine Creative Corridor.

A Historic Location with Deep Roots in Blandtown

Ignite ATL Inc. NextGen Lab is located in the heart of Blandtown, one of Atlanta's earliest Black-founded working-class communities. Once home to factories, small Black-owned businesses, and industrial work sites, Blandtown suffered decades of rezoning, displacement, and erasure that threatened its cultural identity.

Today, the area is undergoing rapid redevelopment but Ignite ATL is intentionally stepping in to preserve the community's creative soul. By situating youth programming at this historically significant address, Ignite ATL ensures that young people remain visible, valued, and integral to the neighborhood's future.

The intersection of Ellsworth Industrial and the Westside BeltLine Trail has emerged as a cultural gateway, an ideal location for a creative hub focused on innovation, technology, music, arts education, and youth-driven placemaking.

Ignite ATL's NextGen Lab is a multidisciplinary center of excellence where young creatives can access real training, internships, mentorship, and professional opportunities like creative residencies. The hub uses a modular use of the space providing for:

-Recording Studios (production, engineering, songwriting, sync, publishing)
-Photography & Film Lab
-Edit Bays & Digital Content Pods
-A STEAM Lab
-AI, Tech & Entrepreneurship Classes
-Gaming & E-Sports Training Room
-Culinary Innovation Kitchen
-Meeting Rooms & Executive Intern Academy Training Suites
-Art Exhibition + Community Event Spaces
-Outdoor Courtyard & Event Space
-BeltLine-facing creative zones

This is Atlanta's newest youth ecosystem model, connecting teens and young adults to pathways in music, entertainment, tech, art, robotics, gaming, culinary arts, and media.

"Ignite ATL Inc. meets youth at the intersection of creativity, workforce development, and cultural identity," says Founder and CEO Kandis Knight.

"Opening Ignite's NextGen Lab in Blandtown ensures that the youth of Atlanta, especially Westside youth, have direct access to the industries shaping our city's future. We are right at the gateway to help and support our amazing young creatives."

The Blandtown Youth Art Exhibit: "REBIRTH" | Call for Art
Ignite ATL's launch is accompanied by the Blandtown Youth Art Exhibit, a powerful creative showcase of uplifting stories of transformation, heritage, and renewal. The exhibit will be held inside Ignite's NextGen Lab.

SUBMISSIONS:
January 5 - February 5
Ages: 10-25
Theme: REBIRTH

The exhibit invites young artists to explore the theme "REBIRTH" as it relates to:

-Personal transformation
-Cultural identity
-Life & love
-The power of youth-led innovation

This exhibit is a platform for young creators to share their voice, uplift the community, and participate in the artistic revival of the Westside.

Creative Placemaking in the Heart of Blandtown
Ignite ATL's presence in Blandtown is transformative:

Preserving the cultural memory of one of Atlanta's historic Black communities
Creating safe creative space for young people amidst rapid development
Anchoring the neighborhood in arts, tech, and culture
Integrating youth into the Westside BeltLine Creative Corridor
Setting new standards for equitable community-centered development

The Ignite ATL's NextGen Lab is a modern-day community arts anchor that is firmly rooted in history, built to ignite the future.

For Submissions, Media, or Vendor Inquiries:
Email screenshots of your submission and register on our website: www.igniteatlanta.org
Email: blandtownart@gmail.com
Also please follow Instagram: @igniteatl

Ignite ATL Inc.
1401 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30318
Kandis Knight
612-217-0812

About Ignite ATL Inc.
Ignite ATL Inc. is a youth-centered creative, cultural, and workforce development organization serving Atlanta's next generation of visionaries. Through programs in music, film, STEAM culinary arts and entrepreneurship. Ignite ATL equips young people with industry skills, professional opportunities, and transformative internships, mentorship and creative residencies.

This release was published on openPR.