A converted church in East Atlanta Village has turned some of the internet's most recognizable memes into things you can actually walk into. At ABV Gallery, a new exhibition called “REPOST” invites visitors to put on Charlie Kelly's shirt and tie, pose in front of a Homer Simpson hedge, and generally become part of the joke rather than just scroll past it.
“REPOST” features more than 20 local and international artists inspired by meme and internet culture, and it runs from August 15 through September 6, according to Secret Atlanta. The show, per the same outlet, brings together artists who reinterpret and transform memes into physical work, exploring the shared experiences, identity, and social commentary embedded in viral images and jokes. Admission is free.
The exhibition sits inside ABV Gallery's East Atlanta Village home at 1206 Metropolitan Ave SE, a building that spent decades as Holy Temple Deliverance Church before a three-year renovation by Atlanta firm Kronberg Urbanists + Architects and Bayard Builders turned it into a white-cube gallery space, according to The Spaces. Founder and muralist Greg Mike started ABV Gallery in 2009, and the operation relocated to the 8,500-square-foot church space in autumn 2024, expanding to roughly six times the footprint of its original Old Fourth Ward storefront, per Rough Draft Atlanta.
Stepping Inside the Jokes
Among the show's centerpieces is “This Is Fine,” created in collaboration with webcomic artist KC Green, the exhibit offers an interactive photo opportunity built around a chair, referencing the dog-in-a-burning-room panel Green originally drew in 2013 as part of his “Gunshow” series before it became a globally recognized symbol of composure amid chaos, according to background reporting cited in the research on the meme's history. Artist Gwak contributed “Awkward Homer,” a larger-than-life photo opportunity translating the meme of Homer Simpson slipping backward into a hedge into a real backdrop visitors can pose against.
Then there is the “It's Always Sunny Conspiracy Wall,” inspired by the show-within-a-show conspiracy board from “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Visitors are handed a shirt and tie and invited to become part of the meme themselves, posing in front of a string-connected board that displays photos and artist statements from the REPOST artists, according to ABV Gallery.
A Gallery Built for Immersive Shows
“REPOST” is not the gallery's first attempt at pulling visitors physically into an exhibition's premise. Immediately before this show, ABV Gallery hosted two concurrent summer exhibitions, “Locals Only,” featuring more than 40 Atlanta artists, and “Six by Six,” a small-format showcase, running from July 11 through August 9, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That “Locals Only” run included a collaboration with the Fernbank Museum of Natural History that placed large dinosaur sculptures inside the gallery, the paper reported, a precedent for the kind of unconventional, immersive setups now on display in “REPOST.”
ABV Gallery describes itself as both a contemporary exhibition space and a creative agency that represents and collaborates with a global roster of more than 500 artists, a scope that extends well beyond its East Atlanta Village storefront. Beyond its indoor galleries, the site also includes “The Art Yard,” an open-air back lot with more than 15 rotating mural walls painted by emerging and established street artists, giving visitors a reason to linger outside even after they've finished posing for photos indoors.
Planning a Visit
ABV Gallery is open seven days a week for “REPOST,” with admission free through the show's closing date of September 6. The gallery notes that on-site parking near Metropolitan Avenue is limited and recommends visitors use ride-sharing services rather than count on finding a spot nearby.
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