A conversation with Michael Atkins, Executive Director of the Atlantic City Arts Foundation
Coastal Conversations By Alanna Stoloff
Atlantic City is famous for its beaches, boardwalk and entertainment, but a growing arts community is bringing new color and creativity to its neighborhoods. Through public murals, exhibitions and cultural events, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation is transforming everyday spaces while celebrating the city’s unique character.
Executive Director Michael Atkins shares how the foundation is supporting local artists, strengthening community connections and helping shape Atlantic City’s creative future.
AS: What inspired you to become involved with the Atlantic City Arts Foundation?
MA: I’m a proud New Jersey native and Atlantic City resident. My background spans multimedia production, communications, and nonprofit leadership, all rooted in a deep passion for storytelling and community engagement. I moved back to NJ during the pandemic, and became a resident of Atlantic City, where I was naturally drawn to the Atlantic City Arts Foundation’s events, programs, and efforts to advance arts. What inspired me to join ACAF was the opportunity to help empower local artists, convert everyday public spaces into creative canvases, and ensure that art remains accessible and meaningful to every resident and visitor in our city.
AS: What is the foundation’s mission, and how are its public murals making a difference?
MA: Our mission is to foster community and cultural development in Atlantic City through inclusive, impactful public art and events. Our public murals never charge an admission fee to experience and appreciate. Public art has served as a powerful catalyst for community revitalization, economic development, and civic pride across Atlantic City. Reaching more than 100 public murals, with 107 commissioned to date, places our city on par in murals per capita with major cultural centers like Philadelphia, widely recognized as the mural capital of North America. These murals celebrate our rich, multicultural identity and honor the unique stories of our residents.
AS: Can you share some examples of murals that celebrate Atlantic City’s history and community?
MA: For example, our 106th mural, “Taking Up Space” by artists Germán Acosta and Amanda Auble in the Chelsea neighborhood, celebrates local immigrant women, belonging, and community resilience, while “The Door That Opened” by Chanelle René at historic Fire Station 2 honors the legacy of Black representation and public service in the Northside as our 107th mural commission.
AS: Tell us about two of the foundation’s signature programs, 48 Blocks Festival and ARTeriors.
MA: Both of these initiatives play a distinct role in connecting our community with the arts. 48 Blocks Festival is our signature annual festival — a full-blown celebration of Atlantic City’s creative spirit in Uptown and Fisherman’s Parks with public art demonstrations, workshops, musical performances, and collaborative projects. The 2026 festival, themed “Right on Time,” drew 1,100 attendees, featured 37 artists, 23 vendors, 15 community partners, and 48 volunteers across two stages and the Melrose Avenue Market, which we opened up to pedestrians during the festival.
ARTeriors takes vacant or underutilized commercial spaces and temporarily transforms them into immersive pop-up art exhibitions, giving artists a unique canvas while activating quiet buildings. In 2025, ten artists transformed a former storefront ministry at 2601 Pacific Avenue into the Ministry of ARTeriors, an exhibition that attracted over 500 visitors across a six-week run.
AS: How does the foundation create opportunities for local artists?
MA: We support local artists by creating accessible, paid opportunities to showcase their work. Whether in visual or performing arts, creators need platforms to express their imagination, and the public deeply benefits from a direct connection to local art. ACAF maintains an Artist Insider mailing list and newsletter that provides local artists with early access to open calls, grants, funding alerts, and curated professional opportunities, whether they are with our organization (like calls for artists to 48 Blocks Festival and ARTeriors) or general funding opportunities in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and beyond. Creativity is also contagious. We also offer quarterly Outside Lines meetups (formerly Arts Mixers), providing free platforms for creatives to link up with each other as well as other members of our local community who may be interested in commissioning artists for their private business.
AS: What are the biggest challenges facing Atlantic City’s arts community?
MA: One of the biggest challenges facing our arts community is sustainable funding and space — ensuring local artists have affordable, dedicated spaces to create, exhibit, live, and thrive year-round, along with the financial resources needed to sustain their work.
Overcoming long-held perceptions of Atlantic City also requires constant work to highlight the rich, authentic cultural identity that exists here in our neighborhoods. Public art directly addresses these challenges by transforming forgotten spaces into vibrant assets that boost foot traffic for local businesses, create jobs, and stimulate economic activity.
AS: Is there a particular project that has been especially meaningful to you?
MA: Beyond my passion for the arts, I am an unrepentant bird nerd and nature lover. One project that is incredibly meaningful to me is the reinstallation of the NJ Osprey Project. We invited Philadelphia artist and bird lover Evan Lovett to return to Atlantic City and reinstall a beloved mural that was lost due to a building being torn down.
Evan wasn’t satisfied with just re-doing the original. He toured local marshlands by boat to collect new reference photographs of ospreys in their nests to inform his artwork. His resulting mural bridges the gap between our rich local ecosystem and produces a reminder within our urban core that we share this island with the natural world.
AS: Looking ahead, what’s your vision for the foundation, and how can the community help?
MA: My vision for ACAF is to establish Atlantic City as a premier cultural hub where public art is deeply embedded in every neighborhood, fueling economic growth, civic pride, and community connection. Residents, local businesses, and visitors can support this mission by attending our events, commissioning local artists or purchasing their artwork, advocating for public arts funding, and by donating to the Atlantic City Arts Foundation in their year-end giving. Together, we can ensure Atlantic City’s creative momentum continues to thrive.
AS: Thank you, Michael, for sharing your passion for the arts and your vision for Atlantic City’s creative future.
Coastal Conversations highlights people in our community who are making a significant impact. If you know someone who would be a great fit for a future column, please contact me at ShoreCoastalConversations@gmail.com. From the shore to your door, let’s keep the conversation going!
