Blog
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Why MakeWork Matters to Me—Christie Burns Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Christie Burns, a local musician founder of the Folk School of Chattanooga, tells us why MakeWork is important to her life as a Southside picker.
MakeWork Grantee Christie Burns from CreateHere on Vimeo.
“My money is just like me: small but mighty!”
Generally I hold my head very high, knowing that MOST of the pocket money I throw around gets thrown into the local economy—I mean HYPER local, like within a mile of my house. It takes nothing for me to drop $8 on delicious beers for myself and a friend at the Terminal, or $8 on tacos from the cart next to the old Discoteca. I know that a coffee (in a Folk School mason jar) and 3 four-seed brochens with butter and jam make the perfect Niedlov’s breakfast (under $3!) or if I wake up with an extra large appetite, a tenner will get me something amazing at the Bluegrass Grill. I spent $45 on a shiny red bicycle pump at the new bike store on Main Street, simply to have the chance to welcome the new guys to the neighborhood (and so I wouldn’t have to bug everyone else every time I needed air in my tires). I probably didn’t need to spend so much on a pump, but I know I’ll have that thing forever, and I’ll always remember buying it from the place three blocks up from my house when a little “welcome to Jefferson Heights” probably mattered to them. I’m one of Sandy’s loyal supporters, so it’s pretty normal for me to donate $10 for a flower to decorate my fiddle on Monday nights at the Market St. Tavern. Add all this up, and hypothetically we’re talking about $74 joyfully spent in a single day around the southside/downtown. Or take the bike pump out of the equation, and we’re at $29 in purchases and donations I would never second-guess. These are the businesses and individuals I love, that make every day in Chattanooga really great, that I’d miss terribly if they were to go away.
After four years of giving away free money to fund really creative ideas, the MakeWork program (constantly refining their systems and processes, an art in itself) has a chance to raise a big bundle of redistributable cash—but it’s not something that just gets handed to them. They have a few tasks to complete in order to show the Lyndhurst Foundation and other major donors that THEIR support is well-placed. One of these tasks is to get 100% support from their closest circle of friends: the MakeWork grant recipients. If it feels strange to switch from being the “supported” to being a “supporter”, I’m right there with you. It’s like, gee, why would I be applying for grants if I had enough money to donate to granting agencies? Shouldn’t I be spending any spare (hah!) money on the things I purportedly do as an artist, and aren’t there rich people and corporations around here that should do the donating? Yes, as an artist I know I should be careful with my funds. When I run out of money (which happens more than I’d like to admit) all of my ideas have to sit on the back burner while I figure out a way to get the bills paid…But in all my care to make sure everything’s covered, I feel like I’d better stay close to the people who’ve put the pieces together in such a way to allow a few of my ideas to come to life. Ok, so right now MakeWork is asking me and the other current/past grant recipients to get their names on the donor list.
Honestly, I made only a small donation, something that felt “safe” to my bank account today…the same kind of contribution that I’d easily make to a friend’s kickstarter project just to say, “yes, I care”... a donation that is well within the ballpark of my regular Southside walkin’ around cash. I’m grateful for the local brews, the local tacos, bicycle experts on every corner, and a small group of hardworking people who see to it that artists in Chattanooga get big opportunities at least once a year. I think Kate and Helen at MakeWork really mean it when they say they’re looking at their grantees simply for 100% participation, so you can give any amount and still get in the game. This 100% stat will help them leverage the big bucks and show the other players in the game that they have the support that really matters—that even us artist types with our fluctuating incomes give enough of a hoot to give a little bit back for the perpetuation of these grants. I was able to earmark my little donation for future music projects in our city. What a great feeling!
I’m raising a glass to MakeWork and all the hard work they’ve put in so far to make cool things happen around my town. A toast to your success as CreateHere becomes “CreateWuzHere”, to lots of future funding and a further refinement of the work you do. Cheers to the donors, big and small, who provide something of a “love fest” for the arts in Chattanooga. And, finally, a big high five to my fellow grantees who stay in the game beyond their own projects, shifting from recipient to donor and back again—making sure they’re right there playing whatever role is needed when a focused community effort is required to make the arts thrive!
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