The Old Fourth Ward Arts Festival returns to Historic Fourth Ward Park on June 20–21, 2026, offering free admission, curated artist booths, live DJs, and family-friendly activities. But the festival is more than a weekend of art—it is a celebration of a neighborhood that helped shape Atlanta's identity.
Often known as the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Old Fourth Ward holds lesser-known historical significance. Morris Brown College, founded in 1881 at the intersection of Boulevard and Houston Streets, was the only institution in Georgia founded by, funded by, and created exclusively for African Americans. Dr. Kevin E. James, president of Morris Brown College, noted that the college's roots in O4W run deep, and its graduates have gone on to lead in boardrooms, courtrooms, and communities worldwide. The neighborhood was also home to the Sweet Auburn Historic District, a hub of Black entrepreneurship and self-determination during segregation.
The neighborhood's name itself has a unique origin. After Atlanta's ward system was restructured in 1937, residents began calling their area the 'old' Fourth Ward—a name that stuck even after the ward system was abolished in 1954. O4W is one of the few Atlanta communities to outlast the governmental structure that created it. Additionally, the street name Ponce de Leon Avenue, one of Atlanta's most iconic, was inspired by natural springs discovered by a local physician in the late 1860s. The park's two-acre lake sits near those very springs today.
Public art has long been part of O4W's fabric, predating the Atlanta BeltLine. Artists like HENSE, whose large-scale works have attracted clients from Apple to the High Museum, began their careers painting O4W's walls. The neighborhood also boasts Sol LeWitt's permanent installation 54 Columns and murals from the Living Walls project. The festival continues this tradition, featuring paintings, photography, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and woodwork from curated artists.
For visitors, the festival offers a chance to explore O4W's layered history while enjoying contemporary art and community. The event takes place along the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail, a corridor that has spurred development but also threatened to erase the neighborhood's character. The festival aims to remind attendees that O4W was a creative and cultural hub long before the breweries and high-rises arrived.
For more information, visit www.oldfourthwardparkartsfestival.com.
