If you go
What: AVA Gallery Grand Reopening, All-Member Salon Show (Main Gallery) and Examinations: AVA Artists Reflecting on the Hunter Museum Collection (Landis Education Gallery)Where: AVA, 30 Frazier Ave.When: Grand opening is Friday, July 1 from 5:30-10 p.m. Exhibits run July 1-29.More information: Call 423-265-4282 or visit avarts.org.
As the Association for Visual Arts’ All-Member Salon Show opens this month, visitors will notice major upgrades to the 30-year-old organization’s space on Frazier Avenue.
While some are more cosmetic, such as the new window installed where the building faces Frazier Avenue, the changes will help carry the nonprofit organization into the next era, says outgoing Executive Director Anne Willson. “It gives us new opportunities to expand on the educational and community components of our mission to be a place where the arts intersect,” she says.
The stage has been expanded, allowing the venue to host musicians, writers, poets and panels of artists. Electric wiring has been updated throughout, and a new sound system was installed that can handle multiple sources. The space also boasts an updated kitchen, allowing for more opportunities to rent out the venue, which holds 150 people. The flooring has been redone, the lighting and fans have been replaced and the walls repainted, giving the space a more polished look overall.
Founded in 1986, AVA’s goal is to connect art and the people who make it with the greater community. While that remains unchanged, AVA has constantly evolved over the years, and is now poised to continue that trend from its current location, which it has occupied since 2000.
“It’s an anchor for the arts on the North Shore,” says Willson, who just stepped down after being at the organization’s helm since 2011. “Frazier is an integral part of Chattanooga and its identity, and AVA is a big part of Chattanooga’s identity.”
AVA is responsible for several of the Scenic City’s signature events, including the 4 Bridges Arts Festival, recently named one of the top 50 art fairs in the U.S., as well as the Gallery Hop held each September.
Willson says the renovation feels like the physical representation of all the organization has accomplished in the past five years. The $65,000 in capital improvements was made possible through a grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation, which she says approached AVA to see how it could best assist the organization.
Zach Cooper, AVA’s director of media and design, also believes the upgrades to the building will allow AVA to expand on the resources it offers to both artists and the community, making it a place where people can not only view art on the walls, but form collaborations with other artists. AVA’s high visibility on Frazier Avenue was not fully realized prior to the renovation due to poor lighting, which AVA acquired from the Hunter Museum more than 15 years ago, he says.
“If you look at the revitalization of Frazier Avenue, this gets us up to speed in matching the neighborhood and leading the way for further positive development,” says Cooper.