Orene A. Driggers, 97, was a quilt tuner back in the day. She'd wear a wooden contraption on her waist that helped her to work cotton with her fingers, and twist it into yarn. Working both the first and second shifts was hard, but she had seven children to take care of, so she started working at the Coosa Mill at age 32 and worked there until her retirement at 62. Today, she can't believe she's alive to tell her story through the help of Chattanooga's The Pop-Up Project.
The Pop-Up Project is a nonprofit with a dream to create a sustainable arts economy in Chattanooga. Created in 2017, it works to support artists by connecting them to projects and other companies, which ultimately provides more opportunities for artists to showcase their work. Additionally, the nonprofit facilitates immersive "pop-up" events, such as dance performances, throughout the city. In 2020, it created its first feature-length film, "The Light We Share," about creating connections amid the pandemic. Its production helped generate over $130,000 in revenue for local artists, and the film is currently being pitched to Netflix and other media companies.
"They never stop," Footprint Foundation Executive Director Lisa Pinckney says of the project's founders, Jules Downum and Mattie Waters. Footprint Foundation, along with Lyndhurst, Benwood, ArtsBuild and others, is a longtime sponsor of The Pop-Up Project.
And with their support, the nonprofit is setting its sights on another ambitious project.
Contributed photo / Dancer Matty Parker poses for photographs at Coosa Mill.In partnership with Collier Construction, The Pop-Up Project is planning to revitalize the now-vacant Coosa Mill, built more than a century ago in the Oak Grove neighborhood. The performance series, "If These Walls Could Talk," is scheduled for September, and will take place within the 300,000-square-foot mill.
Through immersive art involving dancers, projection mapping and thematic art installations, the goal is to tell the story of the neighborhood, the old textile mill, its workers and the changing economy of the area. Attendees can expect to interact with the dancers and move about the space freely as performances and art are displayed around them.
Ethan Collier, CEO of Collier Construction, says he sees the Coosa Mill as a town center for the former Mill Town area, comprising almost 50 acres. He hopes that the series will increase public interest in revitalizing the area. Mill Town is now being developed as a new urban neighborhood, complete with homes, apartments, restaurants and offices.
"Mill Town was a huge community," says Downum, who has been working to connect with those who have stories to share about the old Mill Town. "People moved to this town; they lived around this building; there was a daycare there. The yarn that was spun here bound together generations of families. Those threads can connect the past to the present and the future, and that's what our performances will be all about."