O4W’s Atlanta Worldwide Gallery is a shrine to Old Atlanta – and vintage cameras

Step inside Atlanta Worldwide Gallery just off the Atlanta Beltline s Eastside Trail and you re stepping into a love poem to Atlanta written in mm film strips Olympic pins vintage Hawks warmup jackets Peter Max Super Bowl XXVIII prints and Old Atlanta nostalgia The camera shop-slash-art gallery-slash-vintage Atlanta emporium is owned operated and curated by Dave KA a third-generation Atlantan best known for helping to shape the visuals of Southern hip hop music as a co-founder of Motion Family the Atlanta-based production collective At Atlanta Worldwide KA trades fast edits for slower moments of discovery sourcing analog cameras ephemera and art pieces that reflect his personal passions and city pride It s a collection of things I like KA says And somehow it turned into a camera store A camera store moonlighting as a living museum Mixed among the vintage Bolexes and Polaroids for sale are Neon Deion era posters a Braves match crowd shot by Panorama Ray Herbert Works by local street art legends like Vayne Dr Dax Chilly-O and Sever hang on the walls And in the back there s a CD demo station salvaged from the Tower Records on Peachtree Credit Sherri Daye Scott Everybody Eats Media Credit Sherri Daye Scott Credit Sherri Daye Scott Scenes from Atlanta Worldwide Gallery where history hip-hop and hometown pride converge Photos by Sherri Daye Scott Sourcing such treasures brings KA a sense of connection Cameras and collectibles find their way to Atlanta Worldwide through estate sales Scott Antique Markets Facebook Marketplace postings and the occasional drop-in with a box of collector s items and stories to go with them I think something is healing about touching the past KA says That human interaction is what I missed in the creative industry This space brought that back Customers are a mix of true camera enthusiasts plus cool hunters old enough to appreciate the Freaknik glass on display but too young to have shot with the nearby Cabbage Patch Kids camera unironically Both groups tend to find the store through social media Selling cameras and camcorders various restored by KA himself pay the greater part of the bills though Atlanta Worldwide does brisk business in memorabilia too So far this year KA has sold of those Olympics pins He tracks it on an app Vinyl records sell fast especially anything Atlanta hip-hop or rap Related The Games in Black White and the partnership at the center of the Olympics Newly reopened Delta Flight Museum brims with history and artRunning Atlanta Worldwide has been a creative exercise in itself for KA He constantly moves merchandise around experimenting with display and layout in response to how people interact with the space Sometimes you move something to a new shelf and boom it sells the next day he laughs Consistent staffing remains a puzzle to solve And the need to keep things fresh means KA is constantly hunting for the next great find But he loves it You can see it as he talks about the pieces he s determined and the people he s met This is all for fun KA says If I didn t enjoy it I wouldn t do it The challenge is figuring out how to make something look cool but still retail friendly It s a lot of trial and error Learning from other people Inside and out Atlanta Worldwide Gallery curates cameras collectibles and lifestyle with vintage Atlanta pride Photos by Sherri Daye Scott That desire to refine the Atlanta Worldwide retail experience is one of the reasons KA paused the underground events and pop-ups the store was known for when it first opened in The decision freed up time and attention KA is now able to spend showcasing his version of Atlanta street art hip hop and sports to weekend Beltline wanderers and fill a need for serious shutterbugs like him looking for cameras film and public in the city The interest and the need for a camera store in town allows me to buy cool things I like play with them test them fix them and then let them go KA says Through this I ve learned part of the process is letting go Speaking of letting go Got an old Canon or a bin of s Atlanta music Bring it by Atlanta Worldwide KA would love to talk your ear off about point-and-shoots or that Kilo Ali CD Atlanta s given me so much KA says I just wished to give something back The post O W s Atlanta Worldwide Gallery is a shrine to Old Atlanta and vintage cameras appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta