Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Revive Event to Benefit Exploited Women in Chattanooga

The Sanctuary, a non-profit serving homeless women in Chattanooga with a history of substance abuse, prostitution, and incarceration, will be hosting a benefit on Saturday, September 27. The event, “Revive”, will be hosted at The Mill and will feature a silent art auction including the work of local artists.

All proceeds from the event will benefit The Sanctuary’s residential program, which finds safe housing for women who suffer from addiction, exploitation, homelessness and incarceration. The organization provides residents with a supportive community, job training, educational opportunities, and treatment to support recovery from addictive substances and behaviors.

To learn more about The Sanctuary’s programs, visit their website. To reserve tickets for the benefit, contact them directly at 423.629.3755, or again by visiting their website.

When: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 7pm to Midnight
Where: The Mill, 1601 Gulf Street
Cost: $30 prior to event $35 at door

By Veronique Bergeron

Main Art Show Sunday, October 5

Presented by Chuck’s
Held outdoors at Chuck’s II 27 W. Main St. (near Market St.)

Proudly Sponsored by Southern Country and Silver Petunia

The Main Art Show will take place Sunday, October 5, from 1 until 5 pm. Admission is $20, and includes food and drink. In addition to the mixed media art exhibit, there will be live music, a masseuse, and a photographer at the event. Proceeds from the Main Art Show benefit Chattanooga CARES (chattanoogacares.org).

Tickets are available at Main on Mocha, Gallery 2, Chuck’s, and at Chattanooga CARES. Please contact Sarah at 423-648-9912 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.

If you are an artist interested in participating, please contact Chuck at (423) 903-5030.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Film Screening a Vehicle For Change

Meet Darius Weems, a teenager from Athens, Georgia, who was born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the most common fatal genetic disorder to affect children worldwide. Darius watched his beloved older brother, Mario, pass away from the same disease in 1989. Soon after, Darius lost use of the muscles in his legs and began using a wheelchair.

A group of Darius’s college-age friends felt there was no need for his quality of life to disintegrate along with his muscles. In July of 2005, this group rolled across the country with one huge goal: to reach Los Angeles and convince MTV’s popular show, “Pimp My Ride,” to customize Darius’s wheelchair. Along the way, they evaluated wheelchair accessibility at many of America’s major tourist attractions and raised DMD awareness. They found joy, they found brotherhood, and they discovered that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.

Darius’ 7,000-plus mile adventure was filmed from start to finish, resulting in a documentary called “Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life.” CreateHere will sponsor a showing of this unique, poignant documentary on September 21 at Contrapasso Dance Studio.

Additionally, DVDs of the documentary will be available for sale at the screening for a $20 donation. All proceeds will be donated to DMD research in hopes of finding treatment or a cure for this disease.

Sunday, September 21st @ Contrapasso
1800 Rossville Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37408
Showtimes: 4 PM and 7 PM
This will be a FREE family event.

By Veronique Bergeron

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

“Everything Will Change”: A Chance to Shape the Library’s Future

It is easy to see a public library as a quaint vestige of a bygone era, as a reminder of the forms that community organizing and participation took in a pre-Google, pre-coffeeshop, pre-Amazon era.

It’s tough to tell when things changed, at what point libraries stopped shaping us as thinkers and learners and importantly, as artists. What is clear is that today we find public libraries around the country, Chattanooga included, lacking in up-to-date materials, underused by all levels of society. It can be purely romantic, if not unrealistic, to love a library these days, all things considered.

But shouldn’t the library have a chance to grow up, as we all have, shaped and nurtured by this community? Shouldn’t the library be able to benefit from our years, our travels, and our hopes for Chattanooga, and from the possibilities it has enabled in us?

This Thursday night, a public meeting will be held to discuss the future of libraries in Chattanooga. Organizers want to know what purposes libraries successfully serve today, and they are manifold, and in what ways they can become innovative tools in a community with increasingly sophisticated, unique needs. Everything can change, and everything will change.

Bring your ideas to the Read House, located at 827 Broad Street in Chattanooga, on September 18 at 7pm. For more information, visit everythingwillchange.org

By Veronique Bergeron

Monday, September 15, 2008

Park(ing) Day: Turning Metered Spots into Green Spots

Park(ing) Day, a global movement to promote the use of green space in urban centers, will be celebrated on September 19. The movement started in San Francisco as an opportunity for citizens, artists, and activists to collaborate and create temporary public parks out of curbside parking spaces. According to organizers, more than 70% of most cities’ outdoor space is dedicated to private vehicles. It is from this fact that the movement, now in its third year, draws its momentum.

Participants in Chattanooga can pick a parking spot in town, accepting the lawful terms of using it, namely, feeding the meter, and create a mini-park for the day. If inexpensive curbside parking promotes increased traffic and wasteful fuel use in the downtown area, curbside parks promote revitalized, green street-scapes. Fountains, pools, public beds, and hanging gardens have found ways into Park(ing) spots in the past, as well as park-benches and full-sized trees.

CreateHere will host a Park(ing) spot outside our Main Street location from 10 am to 2 pm. Local companies have also committed to create metered green spaces downtown and on the North shore.

For information and ideas for your Park(ing) spot, visit parkingday.org or check out the Trust for Public Land’s website.

By Veronique Bergeron

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Writers’ Workshop

Are you interested in creative self-promotion?
Did you miss out on July’s Writers’ Workshop at CreateHere?
Well, here’s another opportunity to jump on board.
Artists, entrepreneurs, and freelance writers are invited to a workshop to learn about crafting press releases and query letters. It takes place on Tuesday, September 16th from 6:30-8:30 PM at 55 E Main Street. This event is free and open to the public! Space is limited, so please RSVP to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Led by local writer/editor Janis Hashe, the program’s two-fold purpose is to assist those in creative fields who do their own publicity, and to review the essentials of freelance querying for writers, particularly those who would like to be published. Please pass the word along to others who may be interested!

What : Writers’ Workshop with Janis Hashe 

When: Tuesday, September 16th, from 6:30 to 8:30 
PM
Where: The CreateHere studio, 55 E Main Street, Suite 105
Cost: Free! 
(Space is limited.)
Contact: 423.648.2195 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

“Feast” Opening to Coincide with Gallery Hop

CreateHere will be celebrating the opening of “Feast: An Artistic Indulgence” in conjunction with AVA’s Gallery Hop on September 13. “Feast” features works of painting, sculpture, and photography by local artists and focuses on the indulgent, exuberant connection between food and the arts.

The exhibit is also an opportunity to celebrate the triumphs of Chattanooga’s top culinary talents. Light hors d’oeuvres will be provided by Caffeine and Alchemy Spice to start the event, and by the Bluff View Art District later in the afternoon. A Bluff View Chocolatier will be on-sight for a demonstration and tasting in the evening, serving chocolate-dipped strawberries and truffles. The night wraps up with treats from a new addition to St. Elmo’s culinary quarter, Blacksmith’s Bistro and Bar, as well as live music from Chattanooga’s Land Camera, who will play an acoustic set to celebrate the Hop.

Loose Cannon Gallery will be hosting an after party immediately following, featuring the live sounds of Chattanooga’s classic reggae band, Milele Roots, and the work of local artist Dylan Krussman.

What? “Feast: An Artistic Indulgence”
Opening Reception and AVA Gallery Hop Stop
Where? CreateHere
When? 2-4 pm: Bites by Caffeine and Alchemy Spice
4-6 pm: Snacks provided by Bluff View Art District
6-7 pm: Bluff View Chocolatier Demonstration and Tasting
7-9 pm: Treats from Blacksmith’s Bistro and Bar and Live Music from Land Camera

What? Gallery Hop After Party
Where? Loose Cannon Gallery
When? 9 pm to Midnight
This event is 21+

By Veronique Bergeron

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Workshop to Teach Production of Jewelry Objects

Thomas Mann will be hosting a two-day jewelry-making workshop September 20 and 21 at Two Oaks Studio in Chattanooga. The workshop will focus on production of photo-collage brooches and participants of all skill levels are welcome.

Mann, a 30-year veteran of the American Craft movement, produces jewelry pieces that feature found objects and rely on unconventional, intricate metal work.

The deadline to register for this workshop is September 12. The cost is $275, which includes materials.

Visit tmworkshops.com  or call Angele at (504) 581-2111 to learn more.

By Veronique Bergeron

“PictureTomorrow” Photo Competition Focuses on Sustainability

A local photography contest sponsored by the Two North Shore shopping center and the Chattanooga Photographic Society aims to promote sustainability in Chattanooga, a mission close to its sponsors’ hearts.

“We want to show the Chattanooga community a composite image of itself that can inspire all of us to grow the things we value and work for a future we can all enjoy,” said Steve Arnsdorff, principal with CS & Associates, the Two North Shore developer.

Photography can be submitted in one of thirteen categories, all chosen by merchants in Two North Shore, which was designed with an eye towards LEED certification, the hallmark of green development internationally.

Categories range from “The Sky Above” to “Strong Women” and “Love of Food”. For more information on categories and rules, visit the Photographic Society of Chattanooga’s website.

Photographs for “PictureTomorrow: Using Photography to Embody the Future We Value” must be submitted by October 1, and contest winners will be showcased in the Two North Shore space October 25 and 26.

By Veronique Bergeron