Atlanta has a new reason to smile — and this time, it’s official. The Atlanta History Center has just opened Joy to the City: Atlanta Smiles at the Camera, a delightful new exhibition drawn from the Center’s vast historic photography collection that captures pure moments of joy and delight across the city.
On view from October 2026 through Summer 2027, the exhibition is part of the History Center’s Centennial year celebration — one hundred years of preserving the stories that make Atlanta special. Visitors will travel through decades of captured laughter, celebrations, and everyday happiness, all frozen in time by the camera.
Here’s the most heartwarming part: the exhibition isn’t just about looking at other people’s smiles. The Center is inviting the public to submit their own photos — candid snapshots or styled portraits of people and the metro Atlanta area in moments of joy — to be displayed digitally inside the exhibition. Your family’s laughter could become part of Atlanta’s history (submissions are open to ages 18+).
The exhibition awaits at the Atlanta History Center’s beautiful Buckhead campus, open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 4pm. Tickets are available online, and it’s the perfect family outing for anyone who loves Atlanta and believes, as we do, that the city always looks better with a smile.
Come see the joy. Then share yours.
Photo: Atlanta History Center
