KEVIN BATE
Kevin Bate at work on a mural on McCallie Avenue, part of the McCallie Walls Mural Project he is curating.Kevin Bate swore to himself he would never do a craft market. But his desire to put the Highland Park neighborhood on the map as a destination eclipsed his oath – he’ll be selling mini versions of the large-scale murals he has painted on buildings around town (he’s behind the giant faces on the side of Woople on Frazier Avenue). Lately he’s been digging into the McCallie Walls Mural Project. Next on the horizon? The world’s first drive-through gallery.
Native or transplant:
Chattanooga transplant.
Why Chattanooga?
Why Chattanooga? Well at first the aquarium and then realizing it was my home.
(He used to work as an aquarist installing large-scale aquariums in businesses. After a trip to Chattanooga and the Tennessee Aquarium, he decided he wanted to make it home.)
What do you make?
I make art. Big art. Unless I’m making small art like I’m making for Highland Park’s Little Made Market.
What’s your medium, and why did you choose it?
My medium of choice is acrylic latex on tall buildings. Why? Because I never felt alive painting on a canvas in my living room, that’s why.
What do you do (other than your art)?
I’m currently restoring a turn of the (last) century brick American Foursquare home in Highland Park. I’m also the curator and an artist in the McCallie Walls Mural Project that got underway this year.
Why is making things important?
Making things is important to me because that’s what I do. I’ve had a lot of odd and awful jobs in my life as an artist trying to put mac and cheese on the table. None of them felt as good as what I do now.
What are some places in Chattanooga that inspire you?
Inspiring places in Chattanooga? The majority of my “HOLY CRAP!” moments have taken place while walking on the Walnut Street Bridge.
How do you hope to change Chattanooga?
I want to add to Chattanooga’s artist community by putting art on walls, free for all to see. I want to curate the World’s First Drive Through Gallery. I want to continue to employ Chattanooga artists by recruiting them for The McCallie Walls Mural Project. Through art, I want to make Highland Park a destination for Chattanooga, the Southeast and the world.
Why the Little Made Market?
I have sworn never to do any sort of art fair or market but have willingly come to Highland Park’s Little Made Market because I believe that my neighborhood and its residents are more important than me and what I may have sworn to in the past.