At Haugabrooks, a new curator-in-residence exhibition centers Black women’s perspectives while activating Auburn Avenue as a cultural hub.
On April 16, inside a historic building on Auburn Avenue, visitors won’t just view art—they’ll be asked to see themselves.
At Haugabrooks, the former funeral home turned gallery and gathering space, curator Taylor Tousana will debut Femme Gaze, an exhibition that explores womanhood through the lived experiences of Atlanta-based women artists. Fittingly, the exhibition takes place in a space created by Geneva Haugabrooks, a pioneering Black woman whose legacy reflects the very themes of womanhood, leadership, and community the show seeks to uplift.
For Tousana, the show is not just about what hangs on the wall—it’s about what happens in the room.
“I don’t make art,” she says. “I bring people together in spaces. That’s what I’ve been known for for the past 10 years in Atlanta.”
Her instinct to convene and activate sits at the heart of both her work and the Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-In-Residence program led by the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC). Through this work, the program is helping to reestablish Sweet Auburn as a center of culture, creativity, art, and community.
From Art to Impact
Tousana doesn’t separate art from impact. Her path into curating grew out of organizing—creating spaces for women and femmes to gather, be seen, and advocate for change.
“I describe myself as a curator and an activist,” she says.
Over the years, she has produced events that blend art, music, and advocacy. She has led benefit concerts funding untested rape kits and campaigns that mobilized thousands of signatures to influence legislation. Tousana’s work has consistently centered women, queer artists, and issues often pushed to the margins.
“I’ve just been radicalized by life,” she explains. “I don’t like injustice… and I’ve always felt like I can do something about the problems that exist.”
That same ethos carries into Femme Gaze, which she describes as a continuation of years of community-rooted work.
“Femme Gaze”
The concept behind the exhibition is both simple and expansive: to experience the world through the eyes of women—on their own terms.
“I want people to experience the world through the eyes of women in Atlanta,” Tousana says. “I want everyone to feel like they looked into the world of womanhood and left feeling affirmed in their [own] womanhood and their experience.”
The artists featured in the show resist traditional or “textbook” ideas of femininity. Their work draws from deeply personal experiences—family, identity, health, and emotional realities often left unspoken.
For Tousana, that honesty is the point.
“A lot of the work comes from intimate moments—self-portraits, family, real life,” she says.
Seeing Yourself: An Exhibition That Reflects Back
In a literal and conceptual sense, Femme Gaze is designed to be reflective.
Throughout the gallery, Tousana plans to incorporate mirrored spaces—inviting visitors to see themselves alongside the work.
“I want them to see themselves,” she says. “Literally.”
It’s a deliberate shift away from traditional gallery experiences, where viewers search for meaning in the art. Here, the goal is different: recognition.
“I hope people leave saying to themselves, ‘Okay, I can do it,’” she adds.
Why Sweet Auburn—and Why Now
For HDDC, programs like the curator-in-residence initiative are part of a broader strategy: investing in arts and culture as a driver of community revitalization while preserving the identity of Sweet Auburn.
Once a thriving center of Black business, culture, and civil rights leadership, the neighborhood continues to face pressures of disinvestment and displacement.
Tousana sees her role as helping to shift that narrative—not by creating something new, but by amplifying what already exists.
“Atlanta culture already exists,” she says. “It doesn’t need to be recreated—it needs love and support.”
Her vision is ambitious but grounded: to make Auburn Avenue a destination for creativity, connection, and cultural exchange.
“I want Auburn to feel like a hub,” she says. “Like a place where you can walk through and experience art, community, and everything Atlanta needs.”
Building Community Beyond the Walls
The exhibition will extend beyond the gallery itself.
Through programming like curated dinner experiences, listening sessions, and artist-led conversations—including an April 25 event featuring artist Yaya Bey—Tousana is creating layered, immersive ways for people to engage.
Her approach blends art with lived experience, from sober-curious gatherings to music-centered dinners designed to foster deeper, more intentional connection.
“It’s about creating spaces where people can have real, raw conversations,” she says.
What HDDC Support Makes Possible
For Tousana, the residency represents more than visibility—it represents expansion.
“When I’m supported, my community is supported,” she says.
With funding and backing from HDDC, she’s been able to provide resources for artists who may not have previously had access to gallery opportunities, whether that means better materials, larger-scale work, or simply the validation to continue.
“It gives people that extra energy to feel like they should keep going,” she says.
A New Chapter for Auburn Avenue
Ultimately, Femme Gaze is about more than representation—it’s about re-centering who gets to shape culture.
Through Tousana’s work and HDDC’s continued investment in arts and community, Sweet Auburn is not just being preserved—it’s being reactivated.
That work is deeply personal for Tousana. “I really love Atlanta,” she says. “And I’ll always make sure the people who are already here—the ones who deserve it—are part of the story.”
Event Details
Exhibition: Femme Gaze
Location: Haugabrooks, Sweet Auburn
Opening: April 16
Click here to RSVP for The Femme Gaze Exhibit and Opening Reception.
Upcoming Artist Event Highlight: Insatiable Table Dinner Experience – April 25
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About Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-in-Residence Program
Named in honor of Mtamanika Youngblood, a trailblazer in Sweet Auburn community development, advocate for the arts, and former President and CEO of Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), this program offers a dedicated platform to emerging curators. It provides them with the opportunity to curate exhibitions that shed light on the rich tapestry of local, national, and international narratives surrounding Black history and culture. Selected Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-in-Residence receive a spacious office and gallery space at Haugabrooks on Auburn, and a $15,000 budget to curate three exhibitions.
About Historic District Development Corporation
HDDC is one of Atlanta’s oldest surviving community development corporations and the only non-profit organization specifically dedicated to preserving the availability of affordable housing in the Old Fourth Ward district. For nearly four decades, HDDC has been a catalyst for equitable urban revitalization in Atlanta. Learn more at https://www.hddc.org/.