Blog
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MAINx24: A Dispatch from Allie O’Connell Wednesday, December 07, 2011
My friend Michelle turned to me and said, “Why can’t this happen every weekend!?” We were sitting on the floor at Green Spaces listening to local bluegrass musicians pickin’ and grinnin’ Saturday night during MAINx24. Main Street had turned into a huge party for the whole family all day and night. Musicians were out busking on the sidewalks on anything from a guitar to an electric organ. Arial performers hung from silks, and paintings were sold out of truck beds. Kids were drawing on sidewalks and chalkboards, and people and their pets pranced along with the parade.
The streets were lined with people. On Monday, all the CreateHere Fellows gushed about all the different things they did and saw Saturday on Main Street. Matt Adams discovered a grilled mac and cheese sandwich at the Famous Nater’s cart. Austin Reed was in awe of Mark “Pork Chop” Holder shredding guitar in front of the fire station. Dave Walker started the day off with a pancake breakfast at the fire hall, and was entertained by MakeWork Grantee Christie Burns and friends from the Folk School of Chattanooga performing there. Teal Thibaud was amazed by the tons of things to do at any moment, and the biggest crowed she’s seen at MAINx24 yet!
Prophets & Kings performed on top of the Discoteca building, and gave CreateHere a shout out for supporting their work. Kids were crawling all over rainbow hammocks by Color Cloud Hammocks. Allison Reedy spectated a bit of mechanical bull riding, and teams of corn hole players competed in a tournament as offices and businesses all along Main Street held events and gallery openings all day long. And then as night came, hundreds gathered around to watch Andrew Nigh’s huge sculpture burn with fireworks flying out of the blaze, and then move indoors for The Wailers at Track29.
The week leading up was full of painting, building, and planning for CreateHere’s last MAINx24. Inspired by Candy Chang, we installed three chalkboards along Main Street headed with prompts about community and creativity. Buddy Shirk coordinated students to play on Summitt Pianos’ Steinway D, the same grand piano the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera uses, and featured students of the Chattanooga Music Teachers Association, UTC-Cadek Conservatory and Lee University. The block was adorned with inspiring words and framed quotes, the office was transformed into a a gallery space for the MakeWork Showcase where artists performed and displayed their work, the sculptural Supernova Pavilion was completed and lit on the corner of Main and Market, and MakeWork Grantee Philip Andrew Lewis illuminated the Levin Building in a stunning feat of brick mapping. Seeing all the projects come together and live out in the bustle of MAINx24, where people could interact with them while enjoying the scores of community events, was a wonderful moment. Kate Creason said that seeing kids come up to the huge white Supernova Pavilion sculpture and wonder if it was a snowflake or an igloo, and just being amazed by the beautiful structure made the mad dash to construct it last week all worth while.
CreateHere was surrounded by friends and family as they joined together all throughout the day and night to celebrate five years on Main Street, and the emergence of Co.Lab as the designated economic incubator for Southeast Tennessee.
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Building the Supernova Pavilion Friday, December 02, 2011
Afternoon of November 30, 2011
Afternoon of December 1, 2011
Morning of December 2, 2011Posted by in Arts
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City Share: Public Workshop featuring Public Workshop founder: Alex Gilliam
On December 7th, City Share will host Alex Gilliam, founder of Public Workshop, an organization that redefines the way youth and communities participate as citizens and leaders in the design of their neighborhoods and cities. Alex fundamentally believes that great design, empowerment, innovation, and having fun are not mutually exclusive. He creates inspiring curricula, trans-formative youth design leadership programs, innovative participatory community design tools, engaging events and thoughtful strategies that help people rethink possibility. He considers himself a cheerleader for possibility.
Alex’s recent work includes creating a green design leadership program in Chicago that trains young people to gather the environmental data and collect the stories that substantiate design changes in their neighborhoods; developing unique design-build place-making events to better engage youth and community in a master planning process in Austin, TX; designing a NEA funded youth community design leadership program for middle schools in the Bronx; leading a #teen- designheroes camp in rural Wisconsin for Chicago Public School students; and creating a full scale building system that allows young people to prototype their own playgrounds in under-used public spaces.
Chattanooga Stand is excited to host Alex virtually as he shares with us how his unique design methods can change communities and built environments.
We hope to see you on Wednesday, Dec. 7th at Greenspaces, 65 E. Main St.Please RSVP to this event on Facebook or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
City Share is free and open to the public.
Lunch will be provided.Posted by in Culture in Environment
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MAINX24 & CreateHere Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Join CreateHere at MAINX24 on December 3, 2011. This year, we plan to mark the distance CreateHere has come through a capstone public art experience, involving five very different major works:
CreateHere welcomes students to play on Summitt Pianos’ Steinway D, the same grand piano the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera uses, and will feature students of the Chattanooga Music Teachers Association, UTC-Cadek Conservatory and Lee University from 11-1 pm.
The MakeWork Creative Showcase performance will highlight 2011’s grant recipients. These 15 artists underwent a highly competitive selection process of 125 applicants. These grantees are excited to share their talent with you during MAINX24, including performance art, a bicycle wheel installation, sculpture and many other exhibits. This showcase will be held at CreateHere from 2-4 pm.
MakeWork artist, Philip Andrew Lewis, will project a 3-D light installation on the historic and skeletal Levin Building (across the street from CreateHere) at nightfall.
Thought-provoking questions on large chalkboards placed throughout Main Street will engage MAINX24 attendees in a participatory public art project throughout the day.
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The CreateHere Supernova Pavilion will be placed at the southeast corner of Main Street and Market Street. This pavilion portrays the future of design, technology, and sustainable architecture. Gernot Riether created this structure of 620 tee-pee shaped modules made of recycled plastic that were precisely programmed to create tension with each other, thereby holding the pavilion up. This installation will be open all day.
Over the last five years, MAINX24 has become a tradition. The 24-hour event was one of CreateHere’s first projects, and is now owned and organized completely by neighbors and friends. CreateHere was originally developed with a multi-faceted focus on arts, culture and economy as well as a specific 5-year timeline to incubate these initiatives. As we reach this milestone, many of the arts and culture projects have matured and are ‘graduating’ from their home on Main Street.
We’ve planned for this day since the beginning. Conceptualized as a social-innovation laboratory, this MAINX24 marks the end of the first chapter for CreateHere since its inception in 2006. ‘Supernova’ means that many inspiring projects from this five-year initiative are exploding into the community while some will ‘stay put’ at their current address. Our Main Street studio will continue to be fully animated by The Company Lab, which is the sparkling new brand for all of the CreateHere entrepreneurial programs as well as much, much more. As the newly designated start-up generator for the Southeast Tennessee region, The Company Lab will expand its offerings for Main Street and beyond as it becomes the new ‘front door’ for sparking creative enterprise in the greater Chattanooga area. MAINX24 is the perfect time to celebrate Supernova and all of the successful programs that have sprung to life.
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MakeWork Showcase Schedule, Saturday December 3rd Tuesday, November 29, 2011
This year’s MakeWork grant recipients will be exhibiting their work in the CreateHere space at 55 East Main Street on Saturday from 2-4 pm. Come experience their work through installation, performances, sculpture, and much more at the MakeWork Showcase.
These 15 artists and their projects underwent a highly competitive selection process to be awarded MakeWork grants from a pool of 125 applicants this year. Their work is outstanding, and we are excited to share their talent with you during MAINx24.
Artisan wheels by Merlyn TownleyPerformance art, a wheel installation, sculpture and many other exhibits will be on display. A light installation by grantee Phillip Andrew Lewis will show outdoors as night falls around 7pm.
Sculpture by MakeWork Grantee Rondell CrierCome by as you make your way through Main Street celebrating MAINX24!
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
2:05-2:15: Andrew Gage- Demonstrates Coffee Cupping
2:20-2:40: Clark Williams- Performs Live with Big Kitty
2:45- 3:00: Kate Forbes- Reads from Handed Down
3:05-3:25: Stephen Humphries- Plays Hammer Duclimer
3:25-3:40: Stevie Ray Dallimore- Acts the Muse of Fire Project
3:45-4:05: Christie Burns- Teaches a Mark O’Connell Violin Lesson
4:05-4:15: Drew Belz- Previews Howard High The Documentary
4:15-4:35: Margaret Mickles- Plays music from TennesthesiaVisual Works from Kerrick Johnson, Shadow May, Rondell Crier, Phillip Andrew Lewis, ArtPart, and Merlyn Townley... not to be missed!
