The Print Shop by FreeMarket is set to open on the second floor of Ponce City Market’s (PCM) Central Food Hall later this month, according to a press release Wednesday. From the team behind Atlanta’s FreeMarket Gallery, the 400-square-foot shop will offer limited edition, exclusively-licensed art prints from contemporary-style artists, including Diego Peñuela, Jonny Warren, Phil Harris, Aesek, Sanithna, and more.
On display will be around 20 art prints from artists whose original works appear in galleries across the country — signed and numbered original prints will be available in three sizes: 11 x 14, 16 x 20, and 24 x 36. The shop’s limited edition print collections will rotate seasonally, and the company will host special-edition releases and regular drops featuring some of the country’s best artists and printmakers. The store will also sell collectible items, such as Medicom Toy figurines, as well as work from renowned contemporary and pop art artists Takashi Murakami and KAWS who release very rare, limited works in small quantities.
Atlanta native Parsa Behnamiri (pictured on the right above) is the founder of FreeMarket Gallery and The Print Shop. Behnamiri left a career in strategy consulting in 2018 to found ShowATL, an organization dedicated to showcasing Atlanta’s creative and artistic ecosystem. He is also the host of The ShowATL Podcast. In 2019, he opened FreeMarket Gallery with Hayedeh Badiei to “create space for art lovers of all walks of life to interact with and appreciate fine contemporary art.”
“We want to make fine art pieces more accessible,” Behnamiri said in the release. “So often, we see prints that don’t speak to the buyer. With original, exclusively licensed art prints, people will be able to find a variety of approachable pieces that they can connect with and feel special about since there are limited quantities.”
Located at 86 Pryor Street SW in Downtown Atlanta, FreeMarket Gallery has hosted five exhibitions to date, featuring over 40 artists from Atlanta and around the nation. Their sixth exhibition, “Force Des Femmes,” will open Friday, December 11 and feature works from eight prominent Atlanta women artists. Spanning three rooms, the exhibition will provide an “immersive, yet social-distant,” viewing experience. All donated ticket sales will benefit Wellspring Living and the Center for Black Women’s Wellness.
The Print Shop is one of several tenants added to the PCM roster in recent months. Collier Candy and Convenience, The Village at PCM, and Bombchel have already opened, and plans call for a Sweetgreen, Eleven TLC, and a new vegan bar; not to mention PCM is planning a massive expansion that will bring open spaces, commercial offices, retail, and a new “hospitality living” concept to the Old Fourth Ward development.
