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M ay 7 , 2 0 2 6 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 3 0 , N o . 1 9
‘Upcycled’ exhibit draws inspiration from old discards By JON WILCOX | jon@appenmedia.com
JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA
Artist Tracy Douchy discusses the inspirations that went into her work, Watchdog, May 1 at The Arts Center at Johns Creek.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A French Bulldog wearing a sweater of old wrist watches, a grizzly bear’s eye wreathed in park brochures and small-town Main Street paved with scraps of baseball cards are on display at The Arts Center at Johns Creek. The artworks are part of the center’s latest exhibit, “Upcycled: Reclaimed and Reimagined,” which asked artists to breathe new creative life into everyday junk. Althea Foster, center curator and program director, said “Upcycled,” which coincided with Earth Day, is a reminder of the importance of conservation and exploration into the power of items people often ignore. “It's garbage, but now it is not garbage because it's been taken out of its original context, and that is the kind of thing that we art historians live for,” Foster said. The exhibit, which runs through May 16, also has captured the minds of Johns Creek residents, drawing about double the foot traffic of previous displays.
See EXHIBIT, Page 19
Chamber AI summit explores technology’s potential By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Artificial intelligence can give the Johns Creek businesses a competitive edge, panelists at a Chamber of Commerce summit said. The chamber explored the latest in the technology during its AI Summit at
its Johns Creek Parkway headquarters April 23. It featured a panel of AI experts with an array of backgrounds from university research to the private sector. Richard Brooks, chamber management consultant, said the panelists commented on the blazing speed at which the technology is developing. Stanford University’s Human Cen-
tered Artificial Intelligence Institute says the technology is poised to become the most transformative of the 21st century and is already embedded in daily life. In 2023, the FDA approved 223 AIdriven medical devices, up from six in 2015, the institute said. Self-driving cars developed by Tesla and Waymo are no longer science fiction,
taking to the roads in some U.S. cities. In 2024, U.S. private investment in AI grew to $109.1 billion. “AI is exponentially changing the workplace,” Brooks said. “By the end of the year, we will see huge changes we can’t even foresee.”
See SUMMIT, Page 18