Studio W.I.P.’s new location brings street art classes to Atlanta

Within the last decade, Atlanta has become one of the best cities to see street art in the United States. Whether you’re biking past the monumental murals on the BeltLine or watching graffiti artists in action at Krog Street Tunnel, local street art has kept our city quite colorful over the years. If you find yourself feeling just as inspired but aren’t ready to face a possible vandalism charge, look no further. Thanks to Studio W.I.P.’s latest Atlanta location, you can unleash your creativity with friends and family in a vibrant new way — complete with a 16-by-20-inch canvas, multiple cans of spray paint and a collection of over 300 graffiti stencils at your disposal.

Adam Dittman, Chicago-based artist and founder of Studio W.I.P., explains that the studio’s mission statement is found within its acronym. “The name ‘Studio W.I.P.’ is a wink and a nod to artists everywhere that have written ‘W.I.P.’ (or ‘work in progress’) on their artwork before, but it also goes much deeper than that,” he says. “Our mission statement is that we’re all works in progress, and together, we can strive to be good stewards of our space, our community and our art in both Chicago and Atlanta.”

Dittman unveiled Studio W.I.P.’s second location in Atlanta’s upper west side this past July. “Atlanta is just an awesome city,” he says. “I’ve always had an affinity for it, so after getting settled with Studio W.I.P. in Chicago, I really wanted to see if we could bring this down south.” 

But long before opening the studio’s first location in Chicago, Dittman fell in love with street art in his hometown of Detroit. “There’s a place called Eastern Market in Detroit, and I was there all the time as a kid,” he says. “They’ve always had these big, bright murals that I was in awe of.” Although Dittman eventually moved away from the area, “those murals were always the one thing [he] wanted to see” every time his family returned for a visit.

Once Dittman relocated to Chicago, his love for street art only grew larger. “In 2018, I began collaborating with local muralists and leading these one-off workshops — very similar to what our guests can experience at a Spray Paint and Sip class, but on a much larger scale.” 

Back then, Dittman and his team would come together and paint a wall in the Chicago community after teaching new street artists the basics of graffiti and spray painting. But about a year ago, Dittman evolved his workshops into the beloved Spray Paint and Sip classes that Chicago — and now Atlanta — can’t get enough of.

In February 2021, Dittman and his team at Studio W.I.P. decided to host a couple’s workshop for Valentine’s Day. But instead of taking cans of spray paint to the streets of Chicago, couples experimented with spray paint and graffiti stencils on a canvas that they could bring home. This unique take on street art quickly became a fun and creative weekend activity that continues to bring together couples, friends and families alike.

The Spray Paint and Sip class at Studio W.I.P. takes the concept of similar B.Y.O.B. art experiences in the area and flips it on its head. For guests that are over the age of 21, Studio W.I.P. recommends bringing a bottle of wine or a hard seltzer to sip on while spray painting. However, Dittman wants to emphasize that Spray Paint and Sip classes at Studio W.I.P. are an awesome family experience for curious muralists of all ages. 

“Some of those other B.Y.O.B. art experiences aren’t really designed to be family-friendly,” Dittman says. “Some of them require a little more skill and a little more patience than we do. But here, even if you’re eight years old, you’re bound to create something pretty cool.”

“And [Spray Paint and Sip] isn’t really a sit-down experience,” he adds. “You’re up on your feet, you’re moving around, and it’s kind of aerobic in a way.”

Dittman laughs. “We pretty much break every rule that those standard experiences have.” 

Studio W.I.P. welcomes artists of all skillsets, even beginners, and especially folks that are new to creating art with spray paint. As long as you’re open to trying something new, Dittman’s team in Atlanta will show you all the tools you’ll need to make your own graffiti masterpiece. 

“What we try and teach in a Spray Paint and Sip class is a technique that’s broken down into three fundamental parts of spray painting — distance, pressure and speed — which will help in learning how to properly use the can,” says Dittman. “Even if you never use spray paint for street art ever again, but you eventually find yourself spray painting a piece of furniture in the future… distance, pressure, speed. That’s all you need to remember, and that’s what we’ll teach you.”

Dittman encourages guests to come in with an open mind, because at Studio W.I.P., it’s more than okay to make a mistake. “We reward risks, so we want you to screw up,” he says. “Because with spray paint, it’s easier to fix than you might think.” 

In fact, Dittman says that his favorite part of the creative process at Studio W.I.P. is seeing the phenomenal growth that most guests achieve in just an hour and a half at Spray Paint and Sip. “The best part is at the end, where people who may have struggled at the beginning finally become so stoked to see their final product,” he says. “And even though some of it is — if I have a critical eye — not the best, it doesn’t matter. Because our goal at Studio W.I.P. is to facilitate a safe and creative experience for you and your loved ones.”

However, Dittman makes it clear that this is a space that supports all types of creative experiences, and that Studio W.I.P. isn’t just limited to graffiti. “If you want to express yourself with graffiti in our environment, by all means, we support that — but our experience is not geared towards that,” says Dittman. “Nor do I pretend to teach people how to be a professional street artist at a Spray Paint and Sip class. That’s a skillset that is learned with time and through different experiences. Here, we just want you to encourage you to get creative and have fun.”

Studio W.I.P. also wants to emphasize — especially to SCAD students — that they are always looking for new instructors to hire in the Atlanta area. “But you don’t necessarily have to be a spray paint artist to work with us,” Dittman says. “We’ve hired people who are good at writing, we’ve hired people that help us with marketing … but ultimately, we’re all about working with multifaceted artists that do more than just paint.” If you’re interested in working at Studio W.I.P., email your resume to info@studiowip.biz with “Atlanta Team” in the subject line. 

The best way to sign up for a Spray Paint and Sip class at Studio W.I.P. in Atlanta is through their website. Classes are offered Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, check out Studio W.I.P. on TikTok and on Instagram at @thestudiowip.