Grant Henry aka Sister Louisa (born 1956) is an American former divinity student, artist and businessman based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, best known for his artwork and installations created under the auspice of his alter ego "Sister Louisa" and for being the proprietor of the popular Atlanta bar,

Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium, or simply Church, is a bar on Edgewood Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is owned by Grant Henry, an American former divinity student, art ...

. The work of Sister Louisa debuted in November 1996 in an art show at The Telephone Factory, an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

loft complex in downtown Atlanta. In 2001, Henry opened an Atlanta gallery on St. Charles Ave. in Atlanta called Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room; Come on in, Precious. At the time, Henry was bartending at a bar called The Local. He was voted "Best Bartender" in the city for 2006 and 2007 by the readership of Creative Loafing (Atlanta). Grant Henry at Pacific Grove, Hollywood

In 2010, Henry opened Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium in Atlanta's

Old Fourth Ward The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an intown neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site. Geography The Old Fourth Wa ...

district, the neighborhood of Martin Luther King Jr.'s boyhood home. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described the bar by writing, "Opened in December 2010 by Grant Henry, a former divinity school student, this bar plays with, and spoofs, church culture. Karaoke is performed in choir robes, and walls are decorated with faux-religious pop art."

Earlier life and career

Grant Henry was born in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, on July 1, 1956. He moved to Acworth, Georgia, in 1972 and graduated from

North Cobb High School North Cobb High School is a public high school located north of Atlanta in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States. It serves approximately 2900 students in the Cobb County School District, with classes from grades 9 to 12. The school mascot is the ...

in 1974. He attended

Berry College Berry College is a private liberal arts college in the Mount Berry community adjacent to Rome, Georgia. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Berry College was founded on values based on Christian pri ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Georgia, Florida State University,

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

, where he earned a BS degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel, Georgia State University, where he earned a M.Ed in Education, Columbia Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he pursued a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Pastoral Care.

Sister Louisa's Church in Edgewood Entertainment District

Sister Louisa's Church of The Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium ... Come On In, Precious! was opened in December 2010 on Edgewood Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward section of Atlanta, Georgia. It became an instant success due to the fact that Sister Louisa formerly had an Art Gallery by the same name, and "she" was named Best Bartender by local magazines for "her" work at The Local On Ponce de Leon Avenue. Since opening Church has been named The Best Theme Bar in the World by Buzzfeed and multiple accolades from People Magazine, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Atlanta Magazine, The Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and many many more.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Grant Artists from Atlanta Artists from Florida Living people 1956 births People from Panama City, Florida Florida International University alumni Berry College alumni Georgia State University alumni