Rena Malone and her husband, Don Malone, browse at the Regional Art Alliance's juried show being displayed through August 10 in the street-level windows of the Miller Building.IF YOU GOWhat: Regional Art Alliance art show.When: Daily through Aug. 10Where: Miller Building, corner of Seventh and Market streets.Admission: Free to view; prices for displayed works range from $100 to $700.Phone: 825-0592 or 987-7277.ABOUT THE CLUBThe Regional Art Alliance is a nonprofit organization open to artists of all skill levels over age 18. Members meet at 7 p.m. every third Tuesday (next on Aug. 21) at the East Ridge Community Center, 1517 Tombras Ave. A rotating display of member works has been on display there since March 2007. For more information about the club, call 825-0592 or 987-7277.
With three upper floors of red brick dotted with arched windows, the Miller Building has plenty of visual interest for those willing to crane their necks a bit.
Thanks to an ongoing juried art exhibit viewable through the first-floor windows of works by regional artists, however, there's just as much to draw the eye at ground level.
"To me, that is the best venue, when the hours are unrestricted," said Judye Carlisle, 70, an Ooltewah-based member of the Regional Art Alliance, the group responsible for the Miller Building display.
About eight of the 90 pieces in the show are Carlisle's works, and she said she's pleased to show in such an accessible venue.
"They can go at night because it's lit up," she said. "Many people come down at the lunch hour and look at it. That's its greatest asset."
The Miller Building is situated between Market and Broad streets, hemmed in on the south by Seventh Street. About two-thirds of the show consists of paintings in various media, with the remainder a mixture of three-dimensional media such as sculptures, dried flower arrangements, pottery and jewelry.
The Regional Art Alliance is a nonprofit organization that was chartered in 1980 with a current membership of about 40 artists in the Chattanooga area. About half the membership has works in the current display.
Alliance publicist Wilma Laney said the group installed the display in the building's first-floor windows on July 12. Local painter Terry West judged the pieces, and his selections for finalists and best of show are designated by ribbons.
The Miller Building has hosted the Alliance's annual show since it relocated several years ago from the lobby of BlueCross BlueShield's old headquarters on Pine Street.
Showing art in a venue where it is visible even after work hours benefits both downtown aesthetics and pedestrian art lovers alike, Laney said.
"This art is accessible any time of day to anybody who walks on Market, Seventh or Broad," she said, adding that several artists with contact numbers have sold pieces since the display was set up. Prices for the works range from $100 to $700.
By filling about 20 first-floor display windows with art, the Regional Art Alliance is offering pedestrians something more visually appealing than advertisements, Carlisle said.
"It looks better than just a sign in the window," she said, laughing. "I think it looks beautiful."