PUBLIC ART CHATTANOOGAPublic art collection: About 100 items in the city’s permanent public art collectionArt in the Neighborhoods: Designed to assist community groups in generating public art projects in neighborhoods throughout Chattanooga. Each City Council member is eligible for a matching grant for public art to be placed within his or her district. Districts 3, 6, 7 and 8 have completed projects and community groups in District 2 have begun working on plans for projects in their neighborhood.Biennial Sculpture Exhibit: Every two years, works are installed in a rotating exhibition that is on view for two years along First Street, Renaissance Park, Coolidge Park and other public spaces.On the Fence: A temporary public art project designed to alter unsightly chain-link fence along the Main Street Corridor. Funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation, eight fences are currently on view for one year.Art on Main: A rotating juried outdoor exhibition that places sculptures on the sidewalks along Main Street. Works are on view for two years and are by local artists.Source: Public Art Chattanooga
Partnership ProgramsPublic Art Chattanooga forms partnerships with other organizations so that resources and expertise can be shared to place high-quality public art throughout the city.Hunter Museum Art in Public Places: A partnership between the Benwood Foundation, Hunter Museum of American Art and the city that placed new acquisitions in the museum’s sculpture collection in public places throughout Chattanooga.MidSouth Sculpture Exhibition at Tennessee Riverpark: MidSouth Sculpture Alliance and Hamilton County are partners for an outdoor juried exhibition which is on view for one year at the Tennessee Riverpark. This exhibit features 20 works from member artists of the MidSouth Sculpture Alliance and Chicago Sculpture International.RiverCity Co. Four Seasons Project: Partnering with the RiverCity Co., Public Art Chattanooga assisted with the placement of a major commission of four larger-than-life-sized bronze sculptures called “Four Seasons.” Created by local artist, Daud Akhriev, phase one is on the south end of the Market Street Bridge.Source: Public Art Chattanooga
You may not have known what to call it, but no doubt you’ve seen its iridescent sparkle on the corner of Miller Plaza.
So for future reference, the big, shiny curlicue is called, “Arriving Home,” and it’s one of the four pieces of outdoor art spearheaded by the Hunter Museum’s Art in Public Places Program.
The Hunter’s efforts, made possible by a grant from the Benwood Foundation, represent the first time the museum has helped place art in spaces other than its own property.
Because of the program’s success, Nandini Makrandi, curator of contemporary art, said she hopes the museum continues to beautify the city.
For several of the Hunter’s new pieces — a group of bronze chimpanzees at the Chattanooga Zoo and two pieces in Renaissance Park — the museum partnered with Public Art Chattanooga, the city’s program run by the Parks and Recreation Department.
They’ve been in the public art business since the revitalization of the riverfront in 2005.
Peggy Townsend, the program’s director, believes public art also played a significant role in the revitalization of Main Street.
“Public art really was the first catalyst that got people feeling comfortable walking around down (on Main Street),” she said. “It’s been a revitalization tool, clearly.”
Public art also helps to create a sense of place, Ms. Townsend added.
“The Passage, the light pieces on the pier (on the waterfront) — they’ve created a whole new place for people to gather and really increase the public realm and the public experience,” she said.
First Volunteer Bank employees Roxann Alder and Telena Hice often walk to Miller Plaza for lunch and say they usually notice when a new piece of art is installed.
“I like to look at it,” Ms. Alder said. “This is sort of an artsy area.”
The artwork serves an important purpose even beyond aesthetics, Ms. Hice said.
“It’s really important in this area because we have a lot of tourists, and it helps it look better,” she said.
Public Art Chattanooga’s yearly budget is $100,000, but the majority of its funding is from private donations, said Larry Zehnder, who runs the city’s parks and recreation department.
Public art, he said, gives Chattanooga an advantage on other cities.
“The placement of public art says that people care. The quality of life is not just the concrete curb or the street or the light poles, it’s the details that are provided by public art,” he said. “Art is what separates us from the average communities.”
Follow Kelli Gauthier on Twitter at twitter.com/gauthierkelli.