Friday, February 26, 2010

Stand & Deliver: Education // Final Voting Days

It’s the final countdown, friends. Voting for Stand & Deliver closes in a matter of days: today included, we’ve only got three more chances to support an educational initiatives with lots of promise.

Next Monday, March 1, winners in Pepsi’s Refresh Project will be announced and grants awarded. To make it on the elite list of innovative projects that get funded, Stand & Deliver needs to jump into the top 10. And we need to do it soon.

We’re asking anyone and everyone to get the vote out for this final stretch of the application process.

Got friends out of town that support educational initiatives? Call ‘em. Know a local who we haven’t reached out to yet? Extend a hand. We can make this project work, but we’ve got to do it together.

That said, we’ve got a lot to be proud of, Chattanooga. Stand & Deliver competed, and competed well, with some of the country’s leading advocacy groups and non-profits. We’ve done well amongst inspired ideas because of your support. Chattanooga, you did it. Thank you.

CreateHere wants to live up to our end of the bargain, too. We’re pleased to say that Stand & Deliver: Education will happen, whether or not we win Pepsi funds. Education is too important not to support.

Please remember to vote this weekend (it’s the last time we’ll ask… well, maybe). But more importantly, please remember to honor your city, your neighbors, and your values.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

VW Pallet Project: Free Lumber for Locals

As an act of neighborly goodwill, the Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga plant is offering our community access to large quantities of oversized pallets. All are made from good quality wood that have strong potential for reuse.

We’re very proud to announce the first distribution this wood will take place from 10-3 on Saturday, March 6 in the parking lot of Architectural Surfaces. And there is a lot of wood to hand out—roughly 50 pallets-worth of quality lumber.

Each pallet has a different shape and makeup, so we can’t provide any exact numbers, but we can tell you that there are a lot of the following:

2"x4"s at 7’ and 12’ lengths
4"x4"s at 4.5’, 12’, and 7’ lengths
2"x7"s at 7’ lengths
4"x5"s, 4"x6"s and 5"x6"s at 7’ lengths

There are also a small number of 5"x6"s at 25’ lengths and some possibly useful OSB plywood and lumbercore of varying thicknesses.

If you’d like to take some of the wood, please be prepared to spend a little time in helping to break down the pallets. They’re attached with bolts and nails, so please bring any wrenches, hammers, or pry-bars you may have access to. Everything is available on a first-come-first-serve basis, so if you want a lot of wood or have very specific needs, make sure to get there early.

Additionally, all of the partners involved will be very interested in the projects you’ll be creating, so also come prepared to tell us a little bit about your plans.

J+J/Invision Brings Industry and Art Together

J+J/Invision has unveiled Fusion, a new program that brings art and carpet together with featured creative work in the company’s product marketing. Fusion will feature local artists in an effort to support and acknowledge the continually growing art communities in Chattanooga and Dalton.

When marketing a product, J+J/Invision creates a room scene to give designers a perspective of the carpet installed, along with the scale of the actual pattern.  During such photography sessions, one artist will be featured per product with their artwork shown throughout the various installations. Photos will be placed on the product architect folders and distributed to design firms across the country and around the world.

The artists will be recognized in the architect folders, featured on J+J/Invision’s website and included in various Fusion marketing materials. The company will also coordinate “meet the artists” events, offering the artists a chance to mingle with designers, architects and industry professionals who specify corporate art for commercial spaces.

“We feel that it is important give this talented community an opportunity to showcase their work in a non-conventional way.  Our desire is to expose featured artists to designers across the country that could utilize their artwork when designing a space,” said Jenny Rogers, Director of Marketing for J+J/Invision.

The company recently selected a Fusion artist for its newest product, Rusted.  The featured hand blown glass, Lilt, was created by Kerrick Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.

Featured artists will be chosen by J+J/Invision. For more information about Fusion or to submit a piece contact Jenny Rogers at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Call to Artists: Jefferson Heights Public Art Project

Public Art Chattanooga brings us this Call to Artists, to design outdoor pieces for the Southside’s Jefferson Heights Park.

Project Overview Public Art Chattanooga and the District 7 Public Art Committee are seeking proposals for Jefferson Heights Park Chattanooga, Tennessee, which will be exhibited June 2010 – December 2011. Works can be in any media, functional or non-functional, and must be suitable for outdoors. Two works will be selected for installation in the newly constructed neighborhood park, and will be on loan for a period of eighteen (18) months. Each artist or artist team may submit existing works or proposed works for consideration.

Jefferson Heights Park History and Project Details Jefferson Heights Park has strong historic ties to the past and bright plans for the future. The park is located in the Jefferson Heights neighborhood within the Southside district of downtown Chattanooga, a diverse and eclectic area experiencing a surge in urban revitalization. The site where the park sits once housed Jefferson Street Elementary School (later named the William J. Davenport School), which was built in 1911 and closed in the early 1970s. The three-story brick schoolhouse was eventually demolished, and a park was created in its place.  The school still holds fond memories for its former students, and around 1,000 of them return to the park each July for a reunion. Jefferson Heights Park is being redesigned to better accommodate the burgeoning Southside community as well as the annual school reunion group. Plans for the new park, which is being built with environmentally sustainable elements, include a pavilion, community garden beds, walking paths and a picnic and playground area. The park is currently under construction and will be completed in March 2010. Several potential sites (shown on attached map) have been identified within the park grounds for sculpture.

Deadline Applications can be mailed or hand delivered and must be received by 4:00 p.m. EST, March 31, 2010 (no exceptions)

For details on eligibility, artist stipends, and exhibition dates, download the RFP here.

Water on the Rocks: March 18

Artist Zach McDonald brings us this update on an exhibition planned for March.

Water On The Rocks, a one-night-only art show featuring the artwork of local artist Zach McDonald, comes to Chattanooga Thursday, March 18 from 6 pm to 10 pm. The Factory—a new creative service firm in Chattanooga—is putting on this exhibition. The event takes place in Chattanooga’s oldest building, located at 12 W 13th St. Chattanooga, 37402.

Water On The Rocks features waterscape photography done by McDonald. His unique angles and colors make the water look like abstract paintings. McDonald is an abstract painter, as his main medium of choice, so the abstract forms and shapes he found through the camera lens became a strong interest.

This waterscape photography was taken locally in the streams and rivers around different parts of Tennessee. The images capture the shapes and patterns that the naked eye cannot see. Every piece is unique and cannot be reproduced; the shot can never be taken again. As a fine artist, McDonald strives to produce true artwork with his photography by capturing a moment in time and stopping it to observe the forms, colors and composition. This show, Water On The Rocks, portrays the beauty of a moment.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Stand & Deliver: Education // Tell Your Friends Again, Via Email

To help you all spread the word about this final week of voting for Stand & Deliver, we’ve crafted a customizable email. Tell your friends, far and wide, about this unprecedented opportunity to support education locally. Your vote—and that of your networks—could bring $100,000 to Chattanooga.

Neighbors, Family, Friends, and Colleagues,

I’m writing to you today to remind you to vote for Stand & Deliver everyday through February 28th. This initiative, currently up for funding through a public vote in Pepsi’s Refresh Project, will bring $50,000 to Chattanooga in support of education. It starts with a six-month community-wide conversation, and ends with two summits where locals can pitch and launch grassroots projects. The results could be anything, from an experimental college to an after school program.

CreateHere, the organization spearheading this application, has recently announced matching funds for the project. As a result, your daily vote could bring $100,000 to Chattanooga-area schools. Now, more than ever, is the time to participate in this simple process. View the full application and cast a vote at http://www.refresheverything.com/createhere.

Only ten projects will bring home funds in the $50,000 category. Stand & Deliver has bounced around in the top 25 since the competition’s launch on February 1st. In this final week of voting, it will take an extra push from a team of local supporters to make it in the top ten. Please help us revolutionize civic engagement and education. Please help us Stand & Deliver.

Thank you.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Stand & Deliver: Education // Matching Funds Announced

Happy weekend, friends.

You’ve been very patient with us during the month of February, what with our daily promotions of Stand & Deliver. We know you’ve been voting: how else could we have stayed in the top 25 these past three weeks? Thank you, folks. Seriously.

Today, there’s another reason to celebrate our community’s support of this project. The Lyndhurst Foundation has committed to match all Stand & Deliver funds. Innovative, community-owned projects just got a big boost.

Bringing $50,000 to Chattanooga, plus matching funds, takes your continued support, though. There are only a few more days left in this round of Pepsi’s Refresh Project (today included, in fact, we each only have eight votes left). We urge you: vote daily. And for this last week, we’re asking that you make sure everyone you know does the same.

Over the course of the day, we’ll continue to post sample e-mail blasts, tweets and Facebook updates here so that you can spread the word to the people you know. We’ll also give you details on why the people WE know are voting, from fellows to friends.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

City Share Mini-Conference: Eighteen People, Six Cities, Two Days, Big Work

Chattanooga Stand and CreateHere are pleased to announce a City Share Mini-Conference, to be held February 18-19. Featuring innovators from six cities across three different countries, this event will draw on the energy around current City Share conversations, with techniques and methodologies focused on how informed citizen engagement can make cities—ours and others—stronger and more prosperous.

City Share is rooted in the concept of citizens being able to come together, share ideas, and make real change. Today, that includes a bi-monthly discussion series hosted the first and third Wednesday of every month, open to the public with lunch provided. Thus far, this series has been a small, citywide endeavor, with speakers from around the country offering insights in community development. Now is the time to engage an even larger audience, locally and abroad.

CreateHere has a growing reputation as a catalyst for community development through initiatives based in arts, economy, and culture. Most recently, we’ve had the honor to work closely with Stand, the world’s largest community visioning survey. CreateHere works to find meaningful solutions to local issues through collaboration and idea-generation, and the City Share Mini-Conference allows us to work with diverse groups, including participants from Charlottesville, Chicago, Knoxville, Memphis, Wichita, Windsor, and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), based in London. Together, we’d like to create a fertile ground for seeding new ideas around the world.

“Bringing together all of these participants is going to be incredibly exciting and it’s going to help facilitate an increasingly vital conversation on place-based change,” says Justin Langlois, research director of Broken City Lab, “thereby strengthening this already active and engaged network of like-minded cohorts across the continent and now the world.”

“With the Mini-Conference, we hope that the participants will develop a model for their community, and bring it back home,” says Helen Davis Johnson, CreateHere’s co-founder and Creative Strategist. “We believe in the pact between neighbors and friends who can make communities better places to live through hard work and dedication, and look forward to seeing participants take the ideas from this conference and turn them into action back home. We hope to learn from participants, learn from each other, and give back to other cities.”

For more information on the Mini-Conference, visit http://cityshareconference.org.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

City Love + The Arts: A Happy Pair at Any Age

WhatsUpChattanooga.com is featuring its first “Aspiring Artists Contest” open to all Hamilton County for all K-3 students. Students are invited to submit their original art focused on the theme, “What I love about Chattanooga.”

A panel of volunteer judges from Chattanooga’s arts community will choose the top 50 entries and one grand-prize winner based on composition, aesthetics, and theme. The pieces should reflect something about Chattanooga that represents the artist’s love of one or more of the Scenic City’s beautiful features or history.

“The theme of the contest is a great way to open doors to further discussion with children about civics and the arts,” said Libby Raiford of the Creative Discovery Museum, one of the co-sponsors of the contest. “It’s also a great way for teachers and parents to engage children in thinking about what they value in their community and how to creatively express their opinions.”

The Hunter Museum of American Art, also a contest co-sponsor, will exhibit the top 50 entries submitted in the “Aspiring Artist Contest” in April, 2010. “The Hunter is always happy to find new ways to encourage children to participate in the visual arts,” said Katrina Craven, Director of PR and Marketing. “We look forward to seeing their ideas of what makes Chattanooga great and to displaying their work in our student gallery.”
The grand prize winner and ten runners-up will be announced on Sunday, April 4th, 2010, on the WhatsUpChattanooga.com website where their artwork will be displayed. However, the top 50 entries will be displayed at the Hunter Museum of American Art sometime in April.

Deadline for submission is March 21, 2010. Entries can be dropped off at the Hunter Museum of American Art or Creative Discovery Museum gift shops, or at Pump It Up of Chattanooga.

WhatsUpChattanooga.com is a new interactive city guide website designed to provide a multitude of information on where to eat, shop, play and stay in the Chattanooga area. “We are making it easier to find things to do and places to go in Chattanooga. We are thrilled to be supporting the renaissance of our Scenic City, and helping people find valuable, timely information on events, activities, and all the wonderful businesses and organizations that contribute to our quality of life,” said Jason Perry, owner and president of Engagency, the web development company behind the site.

The “Aspiring Artists Contest” is sponsored by WhatsUpChattanooga.com. Co-sponsors include Pump It Up of Chattanooga, Hunter Museum of American Art, Creative Discovery Museum, and Tennessee Aquarium.

More information and contest rules available here.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

PechaKucha Night #5: February 18 @ CreateHere

Described as “part happy hour, part show-n-tell”, PechaKucha Night, or PKN is about coming out from behind the computer screen, shaking hands with real people and getting a live glimpse into what our community has to offer. With a simple format—20 images projected for 20 seconds each—the presentations are kept concise to avoid the dreaded “death by Powerpoint.” For the audience it’s a chance to enjoy some free refreshments, chat with friends, and enjoy an hour or so of quick but diverse presentations. For the presenters it’s an opportunity to gain some experience in public speaking and a chance to share a passion or an idea with a great group of peers. In person. Some history about PKN can be found on the program’s site.

Chattanooga’s Fifth PKN Event!

PKN 5 is on February 18, 2010 at CreateHere, starting at 6:20 pm. When we set out to plan our fifth event, we could not have guessed the circumstances that would unfold to bring an additional sense of importance to PKN.

First: Cityshare. On February 18, 2010, we will hold our event in tandem with the CreateHere-sponsored City Share. This two day mini-conference is expected to draw community organizers from at least five different cities and three countries to exchange energy, ideas and plans for making cities better through place-based action. PKN will give Chattanooga an opportunity to showcase its diverse talent, creativity and energy to an international crowd.

Second: PKN for Haiti. Just a few short weeks ago, in response to the catastrophic earthquake that devastated Haiti, Architecture for Humanity founder Cameron Sinclair contacted PKN Headquarters in Tokyo with a simple question: is there a way PKN can help with the rebuilding efforts in Haiti? In the days that followed, PKN HQ devised a plan to hold a global 24 hour PKN “wavecast” on 2/20, to raise money for the reconstruction efforts. Each participating city (out of 280!) will be given the global spotlight for approximately 10 minutes to showcase one presentation. The entire event will be recorded, made available for viewing, voting and donating. We will be recording our event on the 18th in order to submit at least one presentation for the global wavecast.

As the organizers of PKN, we are humbled by the interest and support that our community has expressed. PKN would not be happening here at all if it weren’t for the support and help of a small army of dedicated individuals plugging in their time and energy to ensure the sustainability of a not-for-profit recurring event. In addition to all the behind-the-scenes effort, there is the courage and passion of the 28 presenters who have made the first four events a success. Several sponsors have also come through to ensure our events have something for everyone: AIA Chattanooga, Easy Bistro, Mellow Mushroom, Greenlife, and Big River. The next event will even include the delicious and nutritious handy work of PKN4 presenter Chef Rick Wright.

Moving forward…

We will continue to need food-n-drink sponsors, bartenders, daring presenters, someone to film and photograph the event, and someone to help spread the good word (aka PR). Fortunately, Cole Sweeton has agreed to continue to work his artistic alchemy on our event graphics. With very few resources, we’ve worked hard to make sure PechaKucha Night has something for everyone. It continues to be held free of charge, with refreshments provided, a great energetic crowd, and diverse presentations. There’s really nothing quite like it. As long as there is support and interest, we’ll keep it going.

So the question is this: With only 6 minutes to present, what would your 20 images be?

Cheers!
Matt Brown and Jessica Morrow

Monday, February 08, 2010

Future of Film in Chattanooga: AFFT Meeting Tomorrow

Drew Belz is one of CreateHere’s videographers, and a local mover-and-shaker in the film industry. He brings us this update on tomorrow’s AFFT meeting.

TOMORROW NIGHT, February 9, at 6 pm, the Association for the Future of Film and Television (AFFT) will meet at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Centennial Theater. The event is open to the public. I’ll represent CreateHere on a panel including members of the Arts and Education Council; the Association for Visual Arts (AVA); Allied Arts; the City’s Department of Education, Arts, and Culture; and the Chattanooga Writer’s Guild. Together, we want to propose plans for a sustainable film culture in Chattanooga. The AFFT has already completed a visioning process among local filmmakers and film lovers, the results of which will be announced at the meeting. It promises to be an exciting time for everyone who loves film and loves our city.

CreateHere’s involvement in film, like most of its work in the arts, is primarily platforming—creating space for local artists to grow into and giving legs to local efforts. Most recently, we’ve worked to promote the Chattanooga-based web-series The Steps, a product of CreateHere’s MakeWork grant. On February 19, we’ll host the series premiere at our space on Main Street.

CreateHere remains a catalyst for the development of film across our city through the MakeWork grant for artists and through ongoing promotion. We’re also excited to be promoting this year’s Broad Street Film Festival, which is currently Chattanooga’s only annual film festival.

We hope to see a big turnout tomorrow night—veterans and fresh faces alike—as our film community starts taking shape around real, measurable initiatives. Come out come out!

Stand & Deliver: Education // WUTC Interview

Listen to Around & About today at 2 pm on WUTC (88.1 FM) for more information on Stand & Deliver. Not near a radio? Listen to the mp3 and read more about the program here.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Breast as Brush Opens Thursday @ Asher Love Studio

The Asher Love Studio + Gallery will be showing nearly 100 individual works on paper during the BREAST AS BRUSH special exhibit event this month. All works will be sold during a silent auction and can be previewed beginning this Thursday, February 4th. The auction preview will continue during regular gallery hours through February 14th and culminate in a silent auction and reception on Monday, February 15th from 6pm-8pm. 

In order to bring about a more holistic view of self, breast cancer survivors were invited to participate in a painting experience.  The Body as Brush group held painting sessions at the Rivoli Art Mill in November, December and January to provide an aesthetic challenge towards seeing form connected to beauty through color. The resulting paintings are the work of these survivors and their friends. The Breast as Brush exhibition is the collection of these works of art on paper and canvas to be sold at a silent auction in support of the local team participating in the Susan G. Komen Foundation 3 Day-For A Cure event taking place in Atlanta on October 22-24th.  This exhibit event is the group’s first fundraiser of the year and they will receive 100% of the proceeds.

The Asher Love Gallery is open Thursday thru Saturday 11am-5pm and Sunday 12noon - 4pm and is located at 3914 St. Elmo Avenue in the heart of the revitalized St. Elmo business district directly behind Pasha’s Coffee House and Blacksmiths Bistro. Special gallery hours will be extended on the night of the Auction. The event is free and open to the public. In the name of love this Valentine’s weekend, come to the Breast as Brush exhibit auction and reception on Monday, February 15th from 6pm-8pm at Asher Love Gallery to support a positive self-image and the fight against breast cancer. For more information please visit http://asherlovegallery.blogspot.com or call 423-822-0289.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

The Steps + CARTA Join Forces for Premiere

Do you ride CARTA? If not, now might be the time to start. Tim Cofield and Dylan Kussman, producers of The Steps, bring us this reason to rethink our transport choices. The 10-episode online series was funded in part by a MakeWork grant.

We’re pleased to announced an advertising partnership with CARTA. This campaign features bus ads for the February 19 release of The Steps, launched in conjunction with a CARTA bus rider initiative that promotes free WiFi on all city buses. We’re hoping the bus advertisements will not only encourage the public to “Watch The Steps,” but also convey an important message that both of us hope will increase bus ridership citywide: unlike automobile drivers, bus riders are free to check their email or watch video content while they are driven to their destination in comfort.

CreateHere will be hosting a release party for the series at its Main Street headquarters, 55 E. Main Street, Suite 105, on February 19 at 8 p.m. A first of its kind, this device party will feature live streaming of the first four episodes of The Steps via Ustream. Guests will bring laptops and streaming video-capable phones so they can have the episodes literally broadcast live into the palms of their hands. Outside, a CARTA bus will give partygoers the option to hop on-board and view the world premiere from a passenger seat.

As part of this campaign, the Steps have a bus ad contest that is slated to start this week. To enter, snap a picture of a CARTA bus ad for The Steps premiere, post it on The Steps facebook page. The winner will receive an autographed copy of the script (episodes 1-4), signed by Dylan Kussman.

For more information on The Steps, visit the series online. Poster for The Steps (above) created by Young Monster in Chattanooga.

Mixed Media: Cross-Discipline Perfromances in February & April

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, Chattanooga’s cutting edge theatre specialists, have devised a production that they hope will bridge the gap between theatre artists and visual artists in a city that is nationally recognized for its support of the visual arts. “Art is Art, whether it is on stage or whether it is on a canvas. There exists a divide, generally speaking of course, between the disciplines of art.  One of our goals this year with our season to really start to break down those barriers,” Producing Artistic Director Posey mentions. 

MIXED MEDIA is a presentation of four short plays and five pieces of visual art. Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, along with an anonymous donor, contacted local glass artist Thomas Spake to create a glass and metal sculpture. “Basically, I asked him to create something that was theatrical, that perhaps could be seen as different things or used in different ways,” says Posey. The sculpture, standing taller than 8’ when complete, is called the Juggler. Its composition consists of a sculpted metal base resembling a hand supporting a series of stacked metal rings filled with one of four different colors of glass. More metal rings hover above the sculpture as well, frozen in mid air. “The moment I saw the sketch, I knew it would be the perfect starting point for the project I wanted to create,” beams Posey.

Posey asked Spake to provide him with four components of information concerning the sculpture: a sketch and then statements concerning his inspiration, his nuts and bolts process of creating it and then his artistic vision of the piece. Each of those four components were sent to four different playwrights, one in New York, one in North Carolina and two in Chicago. Each of these playwrights has a personal relationship with ETC, allowing the theatre company to present their new works as readings or full productions.

Rob Smith of Chicago received the process statement and from that created a play called “Strands,” which focuses on the creation of man with regards to his DNA makeup. Spake’s artistic vision of The Juggler made its way to Derek Barham, also of Chicago, and he wrote a play called “Dollhouse,” which focuses on an artist’s incessant desire to use his art to control his life. Peter Macklin, of New York City, penned “Pop” based solely on Spake’s sketch and his play finds a girl too scared to accept a marriage proposal because she thinks that she is cursed. Finally Anthony Garcai-Copian of Raleigh, NC created his play “Teena and the Alien” based on Spake’s statement of his inspiration for The Juggler. Garcia-Copian’s play deals with an artist who finds so much security in her creations, that she remains hidden from society.

“Once I received the plays, I saw this project going one step further,” offers Posey. “I figured why can’t we make this cyclical and have each play, in return, inspire more art.” With drafts of the original plays in hand, Posey hit the streets trying to find visual artists that were interested in the project. Four local artists expressed sincere interest: Matthew Dutton, Chandra Morgan, Shaun LaRose and Cathy Collier. Each artist was then assigned a play and from that play created another piece of visual art.  All five pieces figure prominently in the staging of the plays. “Visual art, in essence, has become a character within each play,” notes Posey. Part of the project was to allow the whims of creativity to create continuity amongst what was being created. To that end, none of the playwrights or visual artists has had any contact with each other. “I wanted to keep it secretive, to allow the element of surprise to carry us forward. And it certainly has,” finishes Posey.

Mixed Media will play three performances in February at various venues across Chattanooga.  Seven additional performances are planned for April.

February 13, Mixed Media performs at the Mountain Music Folk School on Forrest Avenue.  On February 20, Mixed Media heads to the Red Bank Gallery on Dayton Blvd. Show times are at 7:30; in lieu of tickets, donations will be accepted. The February 27 performance location was not available at time of printing.  “We are hoping these remote shows will introduce the kind of work we are doing with ETC to a broader audience, as well as providing more exposure for our artists,” adds Posey.

For more information about the show, please call 423-987-5141 or visit us on the web at http://www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com.