20/20 ACTION AREASEconomic development: Find ways to harness and grow the arts’ economic impact on the city. Grow arts-related tourism and advertise cultural events through a single, consolidated online calendar.Leaders:• Jim Kennedy III, Allied Arts Board of Directors• Ron Harr, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce• Bob Doak, Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau• Linda Bennett, Choose ChattanoogaDiversity: Make sure every neighborhood, every age group, every race and ethnicity can participate in the arts. Improve transportation systems to arts hubs, and give grants to communities and non-profits to bring visual and performance arts to neighborhoods.Leaders:• James McKissic, Allied Arts Board of Directors• Lillie Wills, community leader• Jim Hill, former president of the Tennessee AquariumEducation: Make arts education and experiences a more integral part of school. By the time a student graduates the fifth grade, have them exposed to the symphony, art museums, the ballet and the theater.Leaders:• Mary Tanner, Allied Arts Board of Directors• Henry Schulson, Creative Discovery Museum• Jill Levine, Normal Park Museum Magnet SchoolDowntown: Develop a space in Chattanooga’s urban core for artists from different genres to collaborate, practice and perform.Leaders:• Maury Nicely, Allied Arts Board of Directors• Kim White, River City Co.• Peggy Townsend, Public Art ChattanoogaSource: Arts and Economic Prosperity IV study
The arts need to be in Chattanooga’s bloodstream, and if Chattanooga wants to thrive, the arts are a necessity, not a luxury.
That’s the message from backers of the Imagine Chattanooga 20/20 cultural plan, a long-term blueprint for integrating the arts into the city which was released earlier this year.
The arc of the plan calls for a fundamental shift in the city’s approach to arts: Ask not what the community can do for the arts — but what arts can do for the community.
“The arts are not a drag on the community, but they are an economic driver. They have a huge economic impact, and it is only growing stronger in Chattanooga,” said Dan Bowers, president of Allied Arts, which is facilitating the plan.