Woodruff Arts Center, Performing arts complex in Midtown Atlanta, United States.
The Woodruff Arts Center is an integrated arts complex in Midtown bringing together a visual art museum, a symphony orchestra, and a theater company. The interconnected buildings provide spaces for exhibitions, concerts, and dramatic productions alongside educational and community programs.
The center traces its origin to 1962, when an airplane carrying leaders of Atlanta's arts and civic community crashed at Orly Airport in Paris; the city responded by creating the Atlanta Arts Alliance. The Memorial Arts Center, designed by Atlanta architect Joe Amisano, opened on October 5, 1968. It was renamed the Woodruff Arts Center in 1982 to honor its greatest benefactor, Robert W. Woodruff.
This is where Atlanta's artistic life unfolds, with performances and exhibitions that reflect both local voices and global perspectives. The different venues here shape how the city expresses itself through art, theater, and music.
The center sits in an accessible location with multiple entry points and various performance spaces suited to different event types. Plan ahead for what you want to experience since the complex is substantial and houses multiple institutions with separate schedules.
The center was renamed in 1982 for Robert W. Woodruff, its greatest benefactor, not an anonymous donor. The Alliance Theatre joined in 1970 as a fourth division, and Young Audiences followed in 2005, bringing PreK-12 programs to more than one million children a year.
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