2020 4 Bridges Arts Festival will go virtual

Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / 
Siler Stockman, 2, Gwen Stockman, Genevieve Stockman, 5, and Mark Stockman look on as Heather Cap works on chalk art during the 4 Bridges Arts Festival Saturday, April 13, 2019 at the First Tennessee Pavilion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cap and another artist, Jessi Queen were commissioned by organizers of the festival to create the piece during the event.
Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Siler Stockman, 2, Gwen Stockman, Genevieve Stockman, 5, and Mark Stockman look on as Heather Cap works on chalk art during the 4 Bridges Arts Festival Saturday, April 13, 2019 at the First Tennessee Pavilion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cap and another artist, Jessi Queen were commissioned by organizers of the festival to create the piece during the event.

Add the annual 4 Bridges Arts Festival to the list of events that first postponed once the coronavirus hit, and now has opted to go virtual.

Producers of the festival, the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) announced on Wednesday that the 2020 event at First Horizon Pavilion, originally planned for April and then postponed to Sept. 3-5, 2020, will go completely virtual, due to city guidelines restricting large gatherings during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Starting Sept. 3, users will be able to download a free 4 Bridges Arts Festival smartphone app on both iOS and Android platforms. Through the app, visitors will have virtual booths for all 4BAF artists, where users can see examples of the artists' work, chat live with some of the artists, and be linked to the artists' online stores.

Throughout the weekend, the app will host video and streaming content including artist demonstrations, conversations with artists, and a video on the history of AVA and 4BAF. The app will also host information on the local sponsors of 4BAF, who have supported the festival even in a time of a global pandemic.

For more information about 4 Bridges Arts Festival, visit AVArts.org – or contact Sarah Moore, 4 Bridges Arts Festival Director, at sarah@avarts.org, or contact the AVA main office at 423-265-4282.

Upcoming Events