About Atlanta Intown. (Sandy Springs, GA) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2025)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 20| SEPTEMBER 2025 ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS Timofey Abel lights the way for Atlanta’s next creative wave By Sherri Daye Scott On a warm August night in Atlanta’s Inman Park, more than 100 photographers and photography lovers filled Cam Kirk Studios for Timeless Light & Storytelling: An Hour with Timofey Abel, presented free of charge by the Atlanta School of Photography (ASOP) with support from Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and Sara Keith Studio. In the audience, SCAD students sat alongside seasoned professionals, hair and makeup artists, stylists, and other creatives from across the city’s artistic community. They came to hear Timofey Abel, an Atlanta-based fashion photographer whose cinematic, emotionally driven images have graced an international Glamour cover and fashion-photography fan feeds across the globe—all before he’s turned 21. For Abel, the night at Cam Kirk Studios was both a pinnacle and a launching pad, recognition from esteemed photography institutions like PPA while advancing his personal mission of strengthening Atlanta’s creative network. “We wanted to bring back a more centralized creative community Photo by Timofey Abel in Atlanta, especially for younger photographers,” he says of the night. “There was a moment where a photographer in the back asked my age, and everybody reacted MAY YOUR DREAM HOME BLOOM VISIT MY when I said I was 20. That was cool.” Born in Moscow, Abel moved to the United States at age seven after his family fled Russia to escape political persecution. Travels to more than 35 countries since childhood have shaped the global perspective behind his people-first approach to photography. His signature style combines natural or Hollywood-style continuous lighting with a deep appreciation for diversity, human connection, and “the story behind an image.” He cites the work of Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Jacques Olivar, and Wong Kar-wai as influences. Abel arrived in Atlanta in 2023 at 18, drawn to the city’s mix of accessibility and cultural richness. “I love the people in Atlanta,” he says. “The creative community here is passionate and collaborative. It is as culturally rich as London or New York. I don’t know any other place—besides those cities—that has the same level of cultural variety in the creative scene.” That diversity is reflected in Abel’s work. He credits a portrait series of Sudanese model Abiei for putting him on the global fashion map. “That just got so much traction,” he says. He counts SCAD Photography Chair Michael James O’Brien and SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film Executive Director Alex Davis among his trusted advisors, mentors who have shaped how he views the role and context of his work. Other guiding voices include celebrity photographer Hadar Pitchon, who has offered encouragement as Abel’s visibility grows, and fashion photographer Vincent Peters, with whom he occasionally exchanges ideas via social media. That openness to connection has carried Abel into high-profile opportunities. He recently shot Atlanta artist Andrew Blooms for British Vogue after the two met at an Atlanta Fashion Week event. Strategic networking, cold emailing, social posting, and speaking engagements have kept his name and portfolio circulating well beyond Atlanta’s creative circles. Abel sees community-building as inseparable from his own artistic practice. His goal is to “help as many people as I can... bringing people to New York City, introducing them to people that I know, helping them work with these big names and models and really kind of supporting them as they build their brand.” For Abel, those connections strengthen Atlanta’s creative ecosystem and reflect his belief that “it’s not just photography... it can be so much more—a real cultural movement.” His next step in that mission comes this fall, when he will lead another Atlanta School of Photography workshop designed to connect emerging talent with industry professionals. Which is why Abel is in no rush to leave Atlanta behind. “Let’s start doing things here... what’s the point of having this amazing creative community, but everybody’s trying to get out?” Find out more at timofeyabel.com. .* II III III Ili III III III III III HI III 111 III III III III III I# HI HI EH HI ■... GARDEN HILLS 525 BRENTWOOD DRIVE OFFERED FOR $1.3M ‘Art amusement park’ opens Sept. 24 at Pullman Yards 2843 N. BOGAN ROAD OFFERED FOR $2,250,000 CO-ACENT MICHELLE COLLINS 3202 N. EMBRY CIRCLE OFFERED FOR $450,000 OF YEARS WSTRONG HARRY NORMAN REALTORS’ CAROLYN CALLOWAY, REALTOR® C: 404.312.6700 | O: 404.233.4142 Carolyn.Calloway@HarryNorman.com The Buckhead Office | 2827 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, CA 30305 | 404-233-4142 The above information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. Offer subject to errors, changes, omissions, prior sales and withdrawals without notice. If your home is currently listed for sale, this is not intended as a solicitation. By Collin Kelley “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy,” the world’s first art amusement park, will have a limited run beginning Sept. 24 at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood. Already a sensation in Los Angeles and New York, the event actually began nearly 40 years ago in Hamburg, Germany, when a who’s who of modern artists — Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dali, Sonia Delaunay, Keith Haring, and Roy Lichtenstein, to name a few — created one-of-a-kind attractions for the event. Austrian curator and impresario Andre Heller had planned to make “Luna Luna” a worldwide touring event, but it was largely forgotten and the art pieces stored in shipping containers until they were eventually acquired by Canadian rapper/ actor Drake in 2022. When “Luna Luna” sets up at Pullman Yards, art lovers will once again be able to see Basquiat’s towering Ferris wheel, Dali’s mirrored infinity Dalidom, and wander through Lichtenstein’s labyrinthine Luna Luna Pavilion. There’s also Kenny Scharf’s technicolor swing ride, carousels created by Haring and Arik Brauer, watchful kaleidoscopic flags by Monika GilSing, Poncili Creacion’s PonciliLand, and Heller’s whimsical wedding chapel. The exhibition will include a soundtrack that blends music from the 1987 edition with new tracks created by Andre 3000, David Byrne, Jamie XX, Philip Glass, Saya Gray, and others. “Bringing ‘Luna Luna to Atlanta marks an exciting evolution in our journey to share this visionary project with new audiences across the country,” Michael Goldberg, Chief Creative Officer and Go-Founder of Luna Luna, said in a press release. “Atlanta has long been a nexus of cultural innovation — from music and film to contemporary art — making it the ideal next stop for Luna Luna.” Before you go, check out “Forgotten Fantasy: The Luna Luna Podcast,” a newly released podcast hosted by renowned art historian Helen Molesworth. Tickets are on sale now at lunaluna.com.
