MakeWork

News

December 15, 2011:

MakeWork is proud to announce that it has met the fundraising challenge offered by the Lyndhurst Foundation. The Lyndhurst Foundation offered a challenge of a 2:1 match for all funds raised between May and mid December up to $100,000 to promote the continuation and growth of the MakeWork arts grants program. This generous grant is vital to the longevity of the MakeWork program after its start as a CreateHere initiative. The $100,000 fundraising challenge was reached through over 100 individual gifts, and a total of $300,000 has been generated to support local artists in Chattanooga through the 2:1 match.

Any donations made to the MakeWork program will be matched 1:1 through the end of the year.

“The time has come to insist on an obvious but overlooked fact: artists are workers. They make things and perform services just like other workers, and these goods and services have value—not merely in lofty spiritual terms but also in dollars and cents.” —Artists in the Workforce, NEA (2005)

About

MakeWork has awarded $655,000 to 85 artists, an investment in Chattanooga that has catalyzed cultural and economic development for our entire city.

MakeWork stimulates the creative economy by empowering artists with the financial support and tools they need to succeed and grow.

MakeWork Artist Grants program is open to emerging and established creatives living within a fifty-mile radius of Chattanooga. Featuring a rigorous application process and a professional jury, MakeWork enriches our creative community by encouraging artists to challenge themselves. MakeWork artists produce bold projects, attend career advancement workshops, and maintain working studios during their grant cycle.

Previous MakeWork recipients include chocolate makers, portrait artists, musicians, cutting-edge graphic designers, sculptors, and performing artists. During their grant cycle, MakeWork artists attend monthly sustainability roundtables which provide marketing, budgeting, and networking resources. They also produce monthly blog postings and exhibit their creative work in self-initiated showcases.

Since the 1990s, Chattanooga’s renaissance has focused on the infrastructure of the city revitalizing downtown and the riverfront, and these efforts have brought Chattanooga national recognition. However, a city’s identity extends beyond its buildings and landscapes, to the people that fill these spaces. MakeWork recognizes the creative power behind their voices and their visions.

MakeWork artists are important economic and social catalysts for Chattanooga’s creative culture. MakeWork invests in our artistic and cultural community to expand the entrepreneurial ranks for local creatives. Artists contribute to Chattanooga’s economy in two ways: the production of cultural objects, experiences, and services, and the generation of innovative thought. The cultural objects are physical markers of the creative economy, while innovation helps retain talent as well as attract emerging leaders and industries to the community.