Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) announces the selection of Lindsey O’Connor as its new executive director, effective July 10. O’Connor is a highly experienced arts administrator with expertise spanning all facets of exhibition management and program production. Celebrating its 25^th anniversary, ACP is dedicated to cultivating the photographic arts and enriching the cultural community in Atlanta and the Southeast through year-round programming and its annual ACP Festival.  

Prior to joining ACP, O’Connor served as the Biennial coordinator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, where she coordinated the 2017, 2019, and 2022 Biennial exhibitions and film programs, as well as many emerging artists’ shows. She has also held positions at the Guggenheim Museum, High Museum of Art, American Federation of Arts, and Biennial of the Americas. 

As executive director of ACP, O’Connor will lead the organization’s strategic initiative to present year-round programming, a robust schedule of exhibitions, and raise funds to continue to grow the organization and its impact. She will oversee the 25th annual ACP Festival, which kicks off with the ACP Auction Gala on September 23. This year’s Auction Gala will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of hip hop—specifically the genre’s immense impact on the visual arts—and honor Atlanta’s contribution to the global phenomenon. 

“Lindsey’s extensive exhibition planning and project management background makes her uniquely qualified to lead Atlanta Celebrates Photography into the next phase of our organizational development,” said Mary Stanley, ACP board president. “Her stellar track record working with artists across the globe to produce exhibitions, events, and catalogues ensures ACP’s leadership as a connecting agent for lens-based artists in Atlanta, the Southeast, and beyond.”

O’Connor’s curatorial experience includes exhibitions with Greatmore Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, and Smack Mellon and the NLE Curatorial Lab in New York City. Her writing has been featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial Catalogue, Hyperallergic, CAA Reviews, Art Papers, and Ada: Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology. Upon relocating to Atlanta from New York in 2022, she joined the board of directors for Full Radius Dance. 

“I moved back to Atlanta to create critical platforms that amplify the voices of artists living in the Southeast, and I look forward to realizing that commitment within the context of ACP's already robust program,” said O’Connor. “I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate the organization’s 25-year impact and help spur its continued growth.”