Monday, November 23, 2009

Presenting “We Stand: A Civic Engagement Laboratory”

CreateHere is pleased to present We Stand, a pop-up civic engagement laboratory designed in partnership with Chattanooga Stand, opening today. This event, which runs through January 29, addresses local and global challenges, finding tools and citizen-owned solutions to even the most overwhelming problems. We Stand is about the harnessing the power of place.

On September 31, 2009, the survey phase of Chattanooga Stand officially came to a close. Building off a 25-year legacy of visioning, Stand became the world’s largest survey-based community visioning effort, collecting over 26,000 responses to a four-question survey. It has been a monumental summer for Chattanooga. Now, however, is the time to make history with Stand.

In preparation for the release of Stand survey data in early 2010, We Stand aims to inspire citizens and provide them with ideas, outlets, and case studies in visionary work. Drawing off of the pre-existing fervor around Stand’s planning meetings, We Stand includes a speaker series geared at idea generation called City Share; locally-grown data visualizations on key issues facing our community; and collective action events across town.

City Share continues the dialogue that began with Stand’s four simple questions, expanding it into a much broader community conversation. In preparation for the release of survey data in early 2010, Stand is keeping residents engaged and informed through the City Share series. Each session will feature a guest speaker—someone who has been instrumental in enacting creative solutions to issues in their own community—who’ll be visiting via video chat.

In any laboratory setting, there is experimentation and learning. A civic engagement laboratory is no exception, and as part of We Stand, the CreateHere gallery space features data visualizations on a variety of issues, including the state of water quality in Hamilton County; the attendance rate in local schools; and voter turn-out in the most recent elections. What do they mean together? That’s what We Stand asks to Chattanoogans to discover.

By pairing insights and advice from nationally-recognized “community visioneers” with local issues, We Stand will ask residents to consider an important question: what can individuals do to make this place better?

Stop by our studio on 55 E Main to check out We Stand, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Story and Craft

Bill Mallonee, a folk artist from Athens GA, will be featured in the next installment of the Story and Craft series. Paste Music Magazine, in a poll conducted by both writers and artists, listed Bill Mallonee as 65 in their “100 Greatest Living Songwriters” poll.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the story living under your own skin,” says Mallonee. “In my work, I’ve just tried to chase that story down and put something of a frame around it for a spell.” The New York Press calls him the “best folk-rock act nobody’s heard of.”
Bill will come sing his songs and then talk about, faith, art, and cultural relevance.
The Story and Craft lecture series is devoted to bringing experienced artists into the Chattanooga community to share their experiences and knowledge with young artists, musicians, and especially filmmakers.

Mallonee’s experiences are relevant to filmmakers for a number of reasons, especially because of the interactive nature of filmmaking, and in order to fully understand the requirements of the profession you have to be in touch with the trends and parlance of related fields, music and art included.

Come check out Bill Mallonee at CreateHere Friday, November 20th from 7:30-10:30 PM!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Chattanooga Farmer’s Market: A Celebration of the Growing Season

The first annual Main Street Farmers Market Fall Harvest Festival is currently underway. The festival began on the 13th and will continue on to the 21st of November, and during these eight wonderful days there will be event upon event to raise awareness of the local food production of healthy fruits, vegetables, and meats. Below is a schedule of the week’s events, and tips on how to get involved!

Friday, November 20

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Chattanooga Local Food Summit, How to build a Local Food System

The Main Street Farmers Market will host a panel discussion at green|spaces, facilitated by Trae Moore.  The purpose of the event is to have a relevant discussion on each aspect of a local food system and how Chattanooga can continue to move toward its goal of building a stronger farming community while supplying healthy sustainable food to all segments of its community. 

The panel will be made up of Jess Wilson from Cumberland Online Market, Paul Smith from the Chattanooga Market, Kenny Pendergrass from Dixie Produce, Lori Bell from Greenlife Grocery, Padget Arnold from Sequatchie Cove Farm, and local chefs. The event is open to everyone. 

For more information, please contact Trae Moore at 423.322.5525. 

Saturday, November 21

9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Local Food Cooking Workshops at Crabtree Farms

Classes offered on preserving, canning, kimchie making, drying, soup making, pie making, and lard rendering and then donut and pie frying in the lard (bring something to fry in the lard, please no fish or meat). This will all be followed by a potluck lunch starting at 12:30; please bring a locally prepared dish and your own eating utensils and dishes. (This is also Crabtree last CSA pickup)

5:00pm
William’s Island Fall Tractor Dinner at the Pot Point House, Tennessee River Gorge  

All proceeds will go toward helping Williams Island Farm purchase a tractor for their organic vegetable farm on William’s Island.  Enjoy a wonderful meal from the farm, artisan silent auction, stories by Jim Pfitzer, music by Matt Evans and Gerle Haggard, and much more.  Tickets are $50.00 and you must RSVP; for tickets, information, and directions please contact Williams Island Farm at 423.802.0516 or at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

By Michael Kendall, Editorial Fellow

Monday, November 16, 2009

48Hour Launch Wrap-Up: Meet the Results

This weekend, CreateHere and SpringBoard had the great pleasure to host 48Hour Launch, an event aimed at sparking entrepreneurship regionally and launching at least one start-up over the course of two days. We’re pleased to announce that the weekend was a huge success, with over 100 participants building out seven unique projects. Here, we give you a brief write-up on each of those projects.

John Prevost started Sunday night’s presentations with a brief demonstration of Flobuckle, a task-management system designed to serve small to medium sized creative agencies. Their goal? Make sure basic tasks aren’t “adding density to your day.” Flobuckle was launched through the teamwork of Steven Hill, Michael Snyder, Angel Brown, and Kyle Posey.

Alex Lavidge of Knoxville Overground presented on behalf of his group, which worked in partnership with Knoxville-based jewelry designer Jennifer Ellison. Ellison’s handmade accessories evoke rock ‘n’ roll, and the team launched mStrandz, a visual identity and website for Ellison’s business. The site gives Ellison an opportunity to reach out to a broader audience, and within the next 5 years, she’d like to see her products compete in Atlanta’s difficult market. Additionally, mStrandz includes a community service component: a portion of all proceeds go to k-12 music appreciation programs in the Knoxville area.

Jason Luna presented on behalf of his group, which included Daniel Santa Cruz and Eric Polino. Working an abbreviated launch session of just under 15 hours, the team was able to start development on All My Stitches, a social network aggregator.

HyvMynd, an ambitious project with several components, was developed by a larger team, many of which collaborated with other fellow 48Hour Launchers. Building on their platform, Brix, the company provides custom solutions for small businesses to facilitate the growth of buying local. HyvMynd’s platform includes a free barcode generating website for people looking to sell their products on consignment, which allows for better inventory tracking. Throughout the weekend, they developed a backend database, a website, and an iPhone application, all intended to help manage supply chain and promote local sales. Hyvmynd was developed by Aaron Welch, Sydney Hale, Daniel Appleget, Benjamin Bane, Joshua Estes, Ed King, Bob Leffew, Travis Harvey, and James Long.

Lokewl was developed in collaboration with team members from HyvMynd, who used this project as an example of how they hope to operate. Lokewl, a website and iPhone application, collects deals, sales, and coupons from local businesses exclusively. During the demonstration, Shultz expressed that the original goal of the project was to highlight local restaurants, but quickly they realized that “mom and pop” shops could benefit from this type of technology.

James Long and his team used the weekend to continue development of an iPhone game called Farm Wars. This was one of Long’s first game development projects, and Farm Wars came away with a solid marketing and PR strategy to push the game into the market. He hopes to have it in the iPhone app store within the next couple of months.

The final group to present was Chattanooga 3D, a non-profit project headed up by Stephen Culp and Karen Liwanpo of SmartFurniture. The team used the weekend to develop 3D renderings of downtown and Main Street, to be used by Google Maps. This open-source platform can be used by anyone, and added to by all: at the end of a demonstration, Culp announced that this will be a community-owned project. For more information, visit http://chattanooga3d.com.

48HL was organized by SpringBoard, Knoxville Overground, Will This Float?, and Launch Memphis, four organizations specializing in entrepreneurship. The first 48HL coincides with the beginning of Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 16-20 and is made possible through generous support from local and national organizations. Sponsors include EPB, Mircrosoft’s BizSpark, the Chattanooga Technology Council, Angel Capital Group, Airnet, Slamdot, Spruz, Harwood, Launch Financial, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, SmartFurniture, Ackermann PR, Entrepreneurs of Knoxville, Technology 2020, and Estate of Confusion.

On Guilt, Responsibility, and the Power of Story: Notes from the Field

Josh McManus, CreateHere’s Co-founder and Creative Strategist, recently returned from a 25-day tour of seven European cities through the Marshall Memorial Fellowship. With two feet on American soil, Josh sends us this dispatch about the importance of responsibility.

Guilty, guilty… that’s all I could think about on while I shuttled across the world on a series of trains and planes. I was working my way across the Netherlands, Germany and almost half of the Northern Hemisphere on my long trip home, and the guilt wasn’t a sharp, cutting type (the kind just above your stomach… you know the type), but the slow-rising full body tension that finds its way to the back of your throat and sits for days on end. 

With a bit of distance between now, and some convergent reflections brought on by the twenty year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as Veteran’s Day, that wound of guilt is healing to a scar of responsibility, and I’m finding ways to express its source.

It started while riding in an overnight train from Amsterdam to Berlin, appropriately foreshadowed by the previous week’s activities. From Belgrade, Serbia, we flew to Munich and then Leipzig, Germany. Leipzig, a former East German city, offered our first real glimpse into what the life divided had been like. We toured the former Stassi (East German Special Police) headquarters and saw some of the tools of manipulation and fear mongering the Stassi implemented first-hand. Honestly, the relics of repression were somewhat surreal for someone that grew up in such a starkly contrasted free society.

After seeing the Stassi tools, we sat down with Reinhard Bohse, a leading figure in the peaceful revolution of 1989 and listened to his story of determination and commitment. As we left that discussion, the stairs we descended were the same that once sheltered thousands of candles during the revolution: the candles were a sign of peace from the people who were feeling unrest to those who were bound to perpetuate a failing system. Pictures of the burning candles are one of the most powerful metaphors for non-violent change that I’ve ever been witness to.

Leipzig led us to Berlin for the Marshall Forum on Transatlantic Affairs. Of course, the focus of the Forum was the Fall, twenty years later, and the ramifications thereof. The air in the conference rooms was rather heady and academic, though perhaps the lack of distance from the events makes formality a cloak of comfort for discussion.  

In spite of the formality, we heard from amazing change-agents who had led dissenting movements from various platforms. The stories ranged from pragmatic and logistical to heartfelt and cathartic. A former physician, biologist, and activist, Jen Reich gave an opening address that closed more powerfully than most addresses I’ve ever heard. The call for eternal vigilance towards the pursuit of liberty from a survivor of oppression will forever haunt me.

Still, I was not truly moved, not reflecting, and not feeling guilty. Shortly, Berlin was over, and it was time to visit the Netherlands for rest and recovery. Contrary to the popular conception of Amsterdam, I found it culturally enlightened, architecturally fascinating, and distinctive for reasons far superior than the city’s famed “coffee” shops. A city that has 1.5 bicycles per person and the largest bike parking garage in all of Europe is near to my heart for that reason, and the canal system (rivaling that of Venice) is an engineering feat that our own Gulf Coast could learn from. Thanks to good food and some much needed sleep, Amsterdam too was over in a moment.

We boarded a train for Berlin at 7 am, and made it almost five hours before we were awoken by a young couple in their late 20s. They were distinctively German in their features and obviously a bit timid sitting across from an imposing American and my friend Scott, who hails from Alaska. We were a foreign sight.

After some uncomfortable silence, the Beck’s beer the man across from me was drinking finally kicked in. “You are from the States?” he asked. From there, we were off to the races.

He was a bit older than me and she a bit younger, and they were heading back home to Leipzig from Cologne where his pictures had been featured in an exhibition. For all superficial purposes, we were much alike. He loved skating, I love biking. They were both creatives, which is where I focus my work. The latter half of our conversation traversed foreign territory for me: they shared stories of growing up in Communist-controlled East Germany. had never considered what life could be like without popular media, without culture that wasn’t infused with propaganda, without color in both the literal and metaphorical ways. Their stories were matter of fact and they both shined when they spoke of the fall of the wall. This told me all that I needed to know of what the transition meant to them: there lives had been half lost in to the repression of others and that’s an extremely foreign notion to Americans, and myself in particular. As our conversations wound down and we shook hands and parted, the first pang of guilt hit.

That sense of guilt grew as I bounced from place to place, slowly approaching home. The closer I got to home, the more I knew that I would never be the same again. As introspective as I’d tried to be in the past, as worldly as I’d been in my views, I realized: it had all been a failure. I had never truly understood how incredible my life circumstances have been. I’ve always known freedom, I’ve never seen war, and I’ve always been able to question, speak and move freely. As I said in opening, that guilt came from the shared stories of my new friends, a guilt now scarred into responsibility. I send this final Marshall Fellowships dispatch to anyone who’s out there reading as a call to action. Think now about what you take for granted, and make it so no longer. I know I will.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Chattanooga…A Tech Hub?

Sheldon Grizzle is the director of SpringBoard, CreateHere’s resource hub for local entrepreneurs. Before joining the team, he spent three years launching and running his own angel funded tech company. Today, he lays out some cool upcoming tech opportunities right here in Chattanooga.

Throughout the last three years, I have had the opportunity to travel across the country to look at what is going on in the world of entrepreneurship, with an obvious interest in the tech community. In those travels, I was always asked (and still am to this day) “Why are you in Chattanooga? You can’t build a tech company down there.” The common belief in other parts of the country is that Chattanooga does not have the talent needed to produce tech companies that can compete with others based on the coasts.

I am so sick of hearing this. Especially because I know of a lot of really talented developers, designers and serial entrepreneurs working on some pretty sweet projects that are flying under the national, and even local, radar. So, my answer is this: Chattanooga does not lack talent. The talent is here! What we lack are the entrepreneurial stories to bring some attention to the budding tech community that is growing very rapidly here.

I could spend hours citing statistics that show the many perks to being based in Chattanooga — from “extending the runway” for tech companies just by locating here, to the fact that investors get a better bang for their buck on companies down here than on either of the coasts. I won’t go that way right now. Instead, I’d like to write about a couple opportunities for techies and entrepreneurs to engage in projects that will tell the story of the Chattanooga tech scene.

The first is a video competition sponsored by the State of Tennessee’s Small Business Office (BERO) and the Tennessee Main Street Program. This video competition is centered around the topic of “What makes you an entrepreneur?” The winner of the competition will receive a $500 cash prize plus a $2,000 professional marketing package for their business. Finalists will be selected from five business categories: Main Street/downtown; home-based; agri-business; arts and entertainment; and innovation. Videos should be no longer than five minutes. The deadline is December 15th. Complete contest details can be found at the official website.

The second opportunity is one near and dear to my heart: 48Hour Launch (48HL), which is being held at CreateHere November 13-15th. This event is modeled after the big city model of Startup Weekend, with some modifications that make it easy for any community to host their own 48HL. 48HL is a high-octane event where we hope to launch as many [tech] companies as possible in a 48-hour period. Ambitious? Absolutely! Possible? Most definitely! As we speak, there are teams being put together across Chattanooga and East Tennessee to turn great ideas into the next mobile app or website. In addition to the teams being built, a host of entrepreneurs, writers, designers, and programmers will be coming to pitch their own ideas and/or join other teams.

Now, I know that this weekend’s 48Hour Launch isn’t going to solve Chattanooga’s reputation as a non-tech friendly place immediately, but it helps building momentum in the right direction. Personally, I can’t wait for Sunday night when we get to see what was created during the 48-hour period. I have a feeling that this 48Hour Launch is going to be a pretty cool event, and I’m excited to show the world what’s happening in Chattanooga’s tech community when it’s over.

If you’re interested in being a part of 48HL, please visit our site or call 423-648-2195 for more info.

Notes from the Field: Detroit then and now

Melinda Taylor is a Senior Design Fellow at CreateHere. This week, she’s visiting different organizations and innovators in Detroit, a city she’s met before. This brings us this dispatch.

Before this week, the last time I stepped on Michigan soil was over twelve years ago. But my lengthy absence was not for a lack of love for this city. Even after living in fourteen cities in seven states within ten years, I have always held my hometown closest to my heart. Sure, we all see the same images of a gloomy, dark ghost land in the media, but I see more than that.

I see the memories of my childhood: the Franklin Cider Mill in fall, the Grand Prix in summer, trips to the state fair, the aquarium, the Dream Cruise… so many jewels the city had to offer. And I’d love to say that it’s all still here upon my return. The Michigan State Fair, held at Woodward and 8 Mile Road, is no longer as of this year. Known as the oldest state fair in the United States, it was cut from the budget after 160 years for lack of attendance. This comes quickly after the closing of the oldest aquarium on Belle Isle in 2005. Even the Grand Prix was closed this year because of budgetary constraints.

And while I learn that these places that I held in my memories are no longer, I am not struggling to find beauty here. Elana said it best while walking around Hamtramck on Monday: “You have to find the little pockets of love.” And it’s true. This industrial city in a post-industrial world still has much to offer anyone who is willing to look. There are people here who have such love and pride for their city and spend their resources and time, no matter how limited, to making Detroit an engaging community.

When we spoke with Nina Bianchi of Design 99, she admitted that she often sounds negative when discussing the battles she faces in her community. But she’s still undoubtedly filled with hope and determination. Detroit’s own Henry Ford once stated, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Detroit definitely has the opportunity to begin again. And the power of design can help rebuild the city’s ailing economy. And so Bianchi and many others around her are working to make this happen.

Detroit, and all of Michigan, has always held a special place in my heart. And I have always felt proud to say that I am from here. But I am also proud of Chattanooga, and even more proud to be a part of a team that is doing what it can to make it a more dynamic city, much like the people we’re meeting here this week. I’m excited to continue the conversations we’ve had with the artists here after my return to Chattanooga. I hope to work in tandem to create more dialogue of ideas for creating more and bigger pockets of love in both cities. I feel a part of and a responsibility to these two very special cities. Detroit is my hometown. Chattanooga is my home.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Notes from the Field | Detroit’s Secret Weapon: Its People

Today’s been a full day, and there’s plenty to report on. We spent the morning at Detroit’s Russell Industrial Center, a 2 million square foot business incubation space with an “anything goes” mentality. Industrial warehouse spaces with plenty of natural light play host to writers, photographers, painters, illustrators, rock gurus, recording studios, architects, galleries, and countless other creatives.

Formerly a factory, distribution center, and finally a junk mail print house, the “campus” consists of four gently renovated buildings, and operations manger Eric Novack describes the spaces as “horse stalls.” The minimal builds leave a lot of room for embellishment, and one group in particular has taken advantage of this to build out a gallery, workshop and seven private studios. The collective of artists, all local, call themselves Cave, and their multi-use gallery space provides room for the artists to connect, experiment, and collaborate.

In the afternoon, we drove to the Heildelberg Project, a two-square block experiment in repurposed residential space. Started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton, the Heidelberg Project takes its name from the street from which it started, in a neighborhood deeply impacted by the Detroit race riots. Guyton began transforming vacant lots in the neighborhood into “lots of art,” and abandoned houses became “gigantic art sculptures.” One building may be brightly painted in polka dots, another covered in plush stuffed animals. In the lots, installation pieces including a sculpture made from old doors, an outdoor doctor’s office and waiting room, and piles of reclaimed appliances, brightly decorated. In this huge project, Guyton has been joined by his neighbors and friends, and the project has been as much a display as it has been a tool for community development.

We finished the afternoon at Design 99 in Hamtramck, a diverse, independent municipality within Detroit. Design 99 does many things, including $0.99 a minute design consultations and $99 an hour architectural planning and design. Recognizing that design has the power to unite, founder Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope opened an idea storefront to make design more accessible. We spoke with Nina Bianchi, a consistent collaborator who recently finished curating Design 99’s exhibition, “Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator.” The invitational show asked contributing artists to create works using a photocopier, a ubiquitous media tool, and originals have been reprinted (on a photocopier, of course) and made available for $0.99 a piece. You can take the whole show home for $40, too.

There is an underlying thread in all of these organizations, and it’s the thing that makes their work so very impressive. These are resourceful people, y’all. Using available tools because they have to (30% unemployment in Detroit proper means most are strapped for cash), but also because their neighbors and friends have to. Communication, production, creativity: they haven’t been stifled by the single worst economic downturn this city has experienced. In fact, folks have recognized: you can’t depend on industry, you can’t depend on jobs, but you can depend on people. The result is an organic community of creatives, not forced into silos by commercial markets, but happy to wear many hats, to build and to mend. Together.

Tomorrow we’re headed to Windsor, Ontario to visit Broken City Labs for a micro-residency. Again, it’s going to be a huge day, and we’re looking forward to some important lessons, and many new friends.

Notes from the Field: Fellows in Detroit, Morning 1

“Take the leap. Go as far as you can. Try staying out of touch. Become a stranger in a strange land. Acquire humility. Learn the language. Listen to what people are saying.”

Wise words from Paul Theroux, and not totally off the point during this trip to Detroit, a city both familiar and foreign, a place we’re very interested in learning from and about. I’m joined here by four other LeadHere fellows: Elana Gulas, Trey Meyer, Melinda Taylor, and Bijan Dhanani, and over the next two days, we’re visiting a host of inspiring, cutting-edge programs that aim to celebrate Detroit for what it is: a major epicenter for the arts, creativity, and innovation.

Today is Day 1.5, and we’re spending it at the Russell Industrial Center, one of the Midwest’s largest arts community, an “Art Mecca/Small Business Haven.” The RIC hosts over 125 tenants, including architects, painters, clothing designers, glass blowers, wood craftsman, metal sculptors, graphic designers.

After, we’ll be visiting with Design 99, a retail space for experimental design and contemporary architecture. The space is a “storefront for new ideas, products, projects, and untapped talent.”

Regardless to say, we’re pumped.

Day .5 (yesterday for me, last night for my fashionably late colleagues) was spent downtown, one of the strangest, most beautiful, haunting cityscapes we’ve encountered. Maybe it was the lull of Sunday Quiet, or maybe the 15-story skeleton skyscrapers, evidence to a very recent history of wealth, and another more recent story of decline. Something was spooky, but something was surprising, too.

Detroit isn’t dead, as some news agencies may lead us to believe: there’s animation, for sure, in small corners everywhere. Unusual window displays in otherwise empty buildings, breakfast joints overflowing on a quiet street, and the faint cry of Greek music everywhere, echoes of Detroit’s flourescent, effervescent Greektown.

We’ll have more this afternoon. Until then, love a city, for us.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

The People who Populate our Travels: Notes from the Field

Josh McManus, CreateHere’s Co-founder and Creative Strategist, recently returned from a 25-day tour of seven European cities through the Marshall Memorial Fellowship. With two feet on American soil, Josh sends us this dispatch about a far away place from recent memory: Belgrade, Serbia.

The first chill of fall was in the air as I awoke in Serbia. Having arrived late the previous afternoon, my colleagues and I were still travel-warn and bleary-eyed. Filip, our host, had made the most of our time so far, proving he was more organized and efficient than the previous two coordinators. As a result, I was feeling more and more comfortable with Eastern Europe, a place I came to rife with preconceived notions and anxieties. On this day, Filip would be joined by a support staff of three, including a tour guide, driver and host. Their stories warrant retelling here.

Chirra was our tour guide.

By all descriptions, he was a normal, middle aged guy, with dark hair and round features. His English was fantastic, and to say his knowledge of the nuances and layers of Serbian history was impressive would be a vast understatement.

Chirra made his living as a tour guide, saying his lifestyle offered him the opportunity to save money and travel in the off-season. That alone would have been enough to place Chirra high on my list of “mad props.” But he was very modest: the entire trip might have passed without me know more of him had it not been for a conversation we had over lunch, conveniently held in a fortress some 2,000 years old. In that discussion, Chirra told me how he had been part of student demonstrations during the Milosevic regime. He would regularly leave school with a group of classmates in the months leading to the overthrow, and during these organized demonstrations, he would take commands from a powerful dissenting structure. Chirra was on the ground for 89 days in Belgrade, during which NATO bombing came in regular intervals for the purpose of infrastructure lockdown and psychological combat, often during periods of calm, in the middle of the night. In fact, he was part of the group that stormed the federal government building just as the regime fell.

Images of this same dissenting group were seen around the world, and I distinctly remember being in my living room for that epic moment in Chirra’s life, watching, not knowing I would eventually meet this man and that history would become real, visceral in fact, in that conversation.

But he never mentioned it until I asked.  I’m sure that he could have made bigger tips from foreign tourists wanting to vicariously experience the horror and strife of violent transitions.  He spoke of this time in his life as a part of him that had come and gone, and I was honored that he shared.  What’s more, I was humbled to stare a man in the face and realize how privileged my life had been and how but for a place of birth, his story could have been my own.

Dragon was our driver.

Dragon didn’t speak much English, though I could tell from his eyes that he understood much more than he let on. Flat-footed, he stared me in the eye: making him about 6’4”. He had the square jaw and menacing stature of the communist soldiers in movies from my childhood. And yet all this was in opposition with a gentle spirit that brought me pause at the instant my mind raced to prejudge.

I would learn that Dragon had once been a prize-winning boxer, a fact that his broad shoulders and long arms confirmed. He was a fan of Serbian brass music, which fascinated me on my visit, especially in the blue grass tones I heard, or wanted to hear, underneath. The music is a blend of raw metal sounds and rhythms, sounds that have drifted across generations.

What I’ll always remember was how Dragon watched over us. It was as if he felt the burden of all future Trans-Atlantic relations on his shoulders, and accordingly, he watched us as a shepherd does his flock. He knew we were in a place that was strange and he had lived to see the cruelties that we had only heard of, and that position left him with a great deal of responsibility. He lectured cab drivers that took us to individual appointments with a giant, shaking fist. I can only imagine what he told them, but I know a few things: we were cordially delivered, our drivers had turned ashen-faced, and we didn’t have to pay for our lifts.

On the final night of our visit, we convinced Dragon to join us at our going away dinner.  He sat at the head of the table and watched us in fellowship and revelry as if we were his own.

Chirra and the Dragon led us to Jeremiah.  

Jeremiah was of average build, in above-average health for a man in his sixties. The shock of white hair around his head gave way to a neatly coiffed beard, à la Abraham Lincoln. We first met him on a tour of his labor of love, the Museum of Bread. Jeremiah’s talents were many, but it seemed that his paintings of traditional Serbian landscapes and scenes had gained him international notoriety and resources to preserve traditions and artifacts through his museum.

The wonderfully hand-crafted structure was all built by Jeremiah, and served as a display place for hundreds of artifacts used in the collection and processing of wheat and the baking of bread. The entire collection was amazing, but I was most drawn to and original McCormick and Co. reaper that worked with mule assistance. Jeremiah had also gone to great lengths to preserve the tradition of bread-making, beyond just the tools that make production possible. His artwork and pottery showed various examples of how bread was used for the celebrations and sorrows of all major life events, as well as explored the spiritual contexts for bread, and Jeremiah was especially interested in how bread related to the body of Christ.

What was more striking, however, was Jeremiah’s character, which drove his admirable vision. He brimmed with energy and ended our tour telling us stories about everything from plane crashes to beautiful women. We laughed ourselves to tears, and washed down his tales with homemade liquor. It was an experience in grace, and an unforgettable one.

As I think about these three characters, and the many more that I met and traveled with across Europe, I realize that the landscapes and cathedrals of my journey are blending together in my mind. Now, I’m left with people, and happily so: a journey of mere images and artifacts would have been worthless. What left a mark on my soul? The small moments of connection with other individuals. These moments serve as subtle reminders that our paths are all different, and that we all have a story (or two) to share.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

George T. Hunter Lecture Series presents David Brooks

Join the Benwood Foundation, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Ochs Center for 
Metropolitan Studies, and CreateHere for a lecture 
by David Brooks, news analyst, 
commentator, and author.

Brooks is a clear-headed observer of the American way of life, and a keen analyst of political and foreign affairs. As a commentator, he has had an enormous influence through his writing, most notably as an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, where he started in 2003.

Brooks comes to Chattanooga on Tuesday, November 17, and will speak to the state of the nation at a 7 pm address, hosted at UTC’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall.

This is a prime opportunity for Chattanoogans: Brooks’ careful, astute observations have made him a player in the theater of world politics, and his visit brings the most pressing issues facing the nation to our own doorstep.

In addition to writing for The New York Times, Brooks has also contributed to The Weekly Standard, where he served as Senior Editor; the Atlantic Monthly; “The Newshour with Jim Lerer”; the “Diane Rehm Show”; The New Yorker; Forbes; The Washington Post; Commentary; The Public Interest; and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He is also the author of Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, and On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have).

All lectures in George T. Hunter Lecture Series are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Directions and more information on the George T. Hunter Lecture Series are available at http://www.benwood.org.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Chattanooga: Recycle Your Phone Books Creatively

Hello, friends. We’ve had a request to collect as many phone books as possible for an upcoming installation piece. Some of us hold on to these tomes out of nostalgia, others, because we simply keep putting off that trip to the recycling center. And since new phone books only recently went out, we suspect, for whatever reason it may be, that a few unused books are circulating. If you’d like to donate a book or two, drop ‘em by CreateHere—55 E Main Street—anytime this week, or give us a ring at 423.648.2195 to schedule a pick-up.

Thank you in advance!

Mainx24: CreateHere Hosts “1st Down and 24”

There are many who treasure the holidays as a chance to connect with loved ones, to tap into the spirit of giving, and to wait in epic, awesome airport lines. There are others, however, who take Hallmarked holidays with a grain of salt. For these renegades, the holidays are a time to celebrate the thrill of the game.

CreateHere is pleased to host “1st Down and 24: A Mainx24 Football-Watching Party” to honor these iconoclasts.

Held on December 5 at 4 pm, in conjunction with Mainx24, “1st Down and 24” celebrates the over-looked pleasures of the holiday season. We’re partnering with EPB to present a high definition SEC Football Championship Game screening party, and Big River Grille will be providing wings, nachos, pizza, and beer to usher in the holiday spirit.

No game would be complete without VIP seating, and OCI will provide deluxe comfortable chairs for game day. What’s more, we’ll be renting out this prime seating to benefit the Southside’s Battle Academy.

To level out the playing field for fans and friends alike, we’re encouraging visitors to wear their most absurd game gear. Body-paint enthusiast? Got a collection of foam fingers? We’ll have a prize for the most outstanding, decked-out fan.

In recent years, the Southside has been an enclave of artists and creative individuals, but there’s so much more to our neighborhoods. The Southside is home to families, business owners, activists, and artisans, all of them flourishing. Mainx24 is a chance to celebrate all the people who love to live, work, and play here.

“1st Down and 24” starts at 4 pm, at CreateHere’s 55 E Main Street studio. Join us for beer, big screens, and brute strength.

Monday, November 02, 2009

55Here: More than a name

Recent visitors to CreateHere’s gallery space may have noticed some changes—namely, to the name on the door, the printed copy, and to the sandwich board outside. No, CreateHere hasn’t changed its name. Rather, we folks at CreateHere have renamed the gallery space, christening it with its very own visual identity to accompany that shift. We want to give 55here its own character and milieu, as well as its own set of goals, initiatives, and programming so that it may operate as an independent project under the broader CreateHere umbrella, much like ArtsMove, Stand, or Springboard; and a name helps, if only practically, to do that.

The name “55here” was first held by our wireless network, and, no cutesy puns intended, we felt it was an appropriate name for a space that is to have a “wireless” operating structure. In other words, we wanted the gallery’s identity to hinge on the notions of adaptability and community ownership. Ideally, like a laptop computer, 55here will be able to “go” anywhere—as in, it would have the same mission and identity were the physical space on Main Street, Frazier Avenue, or Brainerd Road.

Also, like the internet, 55here will ideally become a space that is about, by, and for the community—a space for local talent, experimentation, and vision. And the fixed point around which all this local creative energy and dynamism will revolve is CreateHere’s ongoing mission, which is to “build Chattanooga’s cultural economy,” and 55here’s new-found mission, which is, “to exhibit a range of Visual Art and to host performances and events that are distinctly contemporary, conceptually original, socially relevant, challenging, meaningful, and beneficial to the Chattanooga community.”

Operationally speaking, we want to make 55here an open platform for Chattanooga’s creative community. The term “open platform” refers to two things we’re striving toward with the gallery space. First, we want to make 55here a venue for workshops, performances, events, and happenings initiated and facilitated by local artists, performers, and other creative professionals. Secondly, we want to incorporate the community into the exhibitions themselves. Our next exhibition, for example, will be a joint curatorial effort between all of the CreateHere fellows and will turn the gallery into a creative laboratory wherein we invite the members of the community to share their vision for Chattanooga’s future.

But what’s really exciting is that we have already seen the open platform spirit manifest itself in 55here through our most recent exhibition and events, where Chattanooga arts leaders held their own workshops and performances in the space, and gallery and event attendees brought their own creativity to the table through interactive activities and events.

By Katie Waddell, Arts Fellow