For ten days in December, all of America will be united through art, and Stone Mountain, Georgia helps to make it possible. The concept originated with two passionate artists and the efforts of one gallery, museum, or art center in each of the fifty states. In Georgia, ART Station was chosen to represent their entire state by displaying a South Carolina-inspired painting until the end of the year.

When visual artist, Kristin Abraham and musician, Alfonso Llamas saw the United States divided through war and politics, they realized that the only way to find unity would be to return to the source. So Abraham and Llamas set out to visit the big cities, small towns, and National Historic sites that make up this broken nation, and pull it together with art. They have recently visited their forty-ninth state, and met with ART Station’s Jon Goldstein in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

ART Station, located just outside of Atlanta, GA, is 18,500 square feet of pure inspiration. The building was once a trolley station and now consists of a theater, rehearsal room, dance studio, music room, ceramic studio, classrooms, a conference room and four visual art galleries. There is much more to the space, including a concessions bar and prop-building workshop, so Abraham and Llamas had no doubt that ART Station was a perfect representative for the state of Georgia.

As the artists travel, Abraham responds to her experiences by painting a 24 x 30" canvas inspired by a particular state. That painting is carried to the next state, where it is displayed in a participating gallery until the end of 2006. This process physically unites the country through art, by blurring state borders. ART Station is displaying a painting titled Sweet Boll, which was inspired by South Carolina, while the Georgia-inspired painting will be taken to the final state, Hawaii. On December 20th, the artists return from Hawaii, and from December 21st-31st all of America will be participating. This means that one gallery in each state will be displaying a painting that was inspired by a neighboring state.

Llamas uses the media arts to record this experience. Through original music and film, he is composing a documentary of this physical and emotional journey. This work will join the visual art in November of 2007. For the first time, all fifty paintings will be displayed together in a physical exhibit, which is scheduled to travel to each region of the country. The exhibit will begin in Florida and follow the original path taken by the artists. Any emails that Abraham and Llamas receive along the way will also become part of this exhibit to illustrate how the communities influenced them.

While The Nomadic Project prepares for its return to Florida (where it left one year ago) the artists continue to record their experiences. Abraham is scribbling through her fifth sketchbook, while Llamas journals online. These records indicate how the country has revealed itself to them, and changed the way they view life, as well as the country. All aspects of the project can be experienced at www.TheNomadicProject.com, where Abraham and Llamas hope that The Nomadic Project will bring excitement and inspiration to all those who call this land their home.

For more information, please contact Alfonso Llamas at TheNomadicProject@gmail.com. To learn more about ART Station, contact Jon 770.469.1105 or visit www.artstation.org.