We had the good fortune of connecting with Birney Robert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Birney, what makes you happy? Why?
What makes me happy is being immersed in creative spaces with friends and family – whether it’s in a classroom, an art exhibit, a play, a concert, a movie or a vacation. The most exciting adventures are those with a loose itinerary and little to no expectations.

Extension of Nature Exhibit featuring artwork by Chanell Angeli. Photo credit Enrique Samson
Extension of Nature Exhibit featuring artwork by Chanell Angeli. Photo credit Enrique Samson

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After working in an Atlanta commercial art gallery, Sandler Hudson Gallery, I came to Georgia Tech as an event coordinator with a passion for adding artistic components to each event in the College of Computing. For the past several years, I have been working at the intersection of art, science and technology, curating events and exhibits at this nexus. My work with Georgia Tech’s College of Computing and my recent graduate degree at Georgia State’s Museum Anthropology department have led to rewarding endeavors such as my curations of Sensory Landscape in a neighborhood park, the Extension Exhibits at Georgia Tech, Extension of Nature for Arts & Entertainment Atlanta, becoming a board member for the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair and securing a contract position in Georgia Tech’s Office of the Associate Vice Provost for the Arts – engaging external stakeholders interested in arts innovations at Georgia Tech and in Atlanta.

The two exhibits I curated at Georgia Tech were titled Extension of Self: what it means to be human in a digital world and Extension of Community: what it means to be sustainable in a digital world. These exhibits explored the complexities of navigating our identity and sustainability in a digital world with the hopes of cultivating a more inclusive community surrounding art, science and technology. The inspiration behind these exhibits comes from my thesis research on a feasibility study for a museum and residency program for art, science, and technology at Georgia Tech for the City of Atlanta.

These exhibits were made possible by an accessibility grant from the Center for 21st Century Universities and Microsoft and the close collaboration of the Price Gilbert Library, the College of Computing, the Office of the Arts and the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. Extension of Self: what it means to be human in a digital world won Georgia Tech a Georgia Association of Museums award for special projects. My dreams of curating art experiences and connecting people and research has truly come alive during my time at Georgia Tech.

Over the years, I have been strongly influenced through my background in visual art, museum anthropology, and current employment in the College of Computing. Being immersed in an academic environment, exposed to cutting-edge research encompassing artificial intelligence, bioengineering, renewable energy, robotics and automation, quantum computing, and so much more has been incredibly fulfilling! A future project encompasses the intersection of art and AI, involving leading Georgia Tech researchers – stay tuned!

As a native Atlantan born and raised in Midtown, I have great pride and joy for our city and its creative and innovative culture. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Atlanta, Georgia Tech and myself!

Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Jeremy Bolen. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Jeremy Bolen. Photo credit Terence Rushin

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I have a friend coming into town for a week, I would first take them to The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and show them all of the innovative art created at the intersection of science and technology, including the Price Gilbert Library’s artist-in-residence program, currently featuring artist Bojana Ginn, the Library’s gallery, currently featuring Jessica Roberts’s Dataseum, the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, currently featuring Bark Rhythms: contemporary innovations and ancestral traditions, the Ferst Center for the Arts for a cool performance, and the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, which is one of the world’s most sustainable buildings – it is truly a sight to behold!

Wow! That’s a lot just at Georgia Tech alone.

It’s amazing how many ways one can engage in the arts at Georgia Tech, and that’s part of why I love this institution so much. Still, that’s just the beginning of what Atlanta’s art scene has to offer. If my friend has a few days to spare, I would then take them over to the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Echo Contemporary, the Goat Farm, Sandler Hudson Gallery, Wolfgang Gallery, The High Museum, Public Arts Future Lab, UTA’s Gallery, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Whitespace Gallery, Black Art in America, Avondale Arts Alliance, Cat Eye Creative, the Bakery, The End Project Space, Hawkins HQ, South River Art Studios, and the Temporary, just to name a few of the countless incredible arts organizations here in Atlanta.

Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Pam Longobardi. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Pam Longobardi. Photo credit Terence Rushin

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I must give a shout out to all the creatives in this city, as well as the burgeoning art scene here in Atlanta. If it weren’t for the artists and innovators in this city, I would not be where I am today, so many thanks to all of them!

My parents fit the category of creatives and innovators and have been my role models; my mom (Susan Robert) went to the Atlanta College of Art, alongside Kara Walker and Radcliffe Bailey (to name two revered artists of our time), and has been an abstract painter contemplating life’s deepest questions through her art practice. My dad (Lawrence “Chip” Robert, IV) is an engineer who earned his degree from Georgia Tech in Industrial Systems and Engineering (ISyE). After coming to Atlanta for his education he later took over his grandfather’s engineering and architecture firm building infrastructure in cities all around the world to solve complex problems. Their guidance led me to study art in college, specifically focusing on painting.

It sounds like you’ve been lucky to have some truly great mentors. Who or what else inspires you?

A big source of inspiration to me and my work is Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. This book illustrates how one must never give up on their dreams and always be in pursuit of what makes you fulfilled in life. I am also always left nourished after listening to Krista Tippett’s carefully curated conversations on her podcast, On Being (which features Paulo Coelho).

Website: https://www.birneyrobert.work/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birney_lawrence?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/birney-robert

Youtube: https://youtu.be/YmKhDPtcw-c?si=rGfWhPZUB0nA2_Re

Other: https://youtu.be/aFnUxed93m4 

Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Bojana Ginn. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Bojana Ginn. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Ashutosh Dhekne. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Ashutosh Dhekne. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Noura Howell. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit featuring artwork by Noura Howell. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit Installation Photo. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Self Exhibit Installation Photo. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Adira Griffin. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Adira Griffin. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Inspired Action Design. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Inspired Action Design. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Sylvia Janicki. Photo credit Terence Rushin
Extension of Community Exhibit featuring artwork by Sylvia Janicki. Photo credit Terence Rushin

Image Credits
(photo of digital billboard on Reverb building by Enrique Samson) ALL OTHER PHOTO by Terence Rushin

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