Public Art Chattanooga, a division of the city of Chattanooga, announces Chattanooga has been selected to host the first Southeast Creative Placemaking Conference. Public Art Chattanooga, Thrive Regional Partnership, and the Chattanooga Convention and Visitor’s Bureau teamed up to submit a proposal to host the conference.
“This is an exciting honor for Chattanooga as we continue to enhance quality of life and attract people to our community," said Mayor Andy Berke. "Arts and culture transform lives by improving our surroundings and creating a sense of place. By increasing citizen involvement in the arts, we are empowering more Chattanoogans to pursue creative opportunities in our community."
The conference “Beyond Big Cities: Creative Placemaking in Southern Small Towns and Rural Communities” is presented by The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking in partnership with South Arts and ArtPlace America, and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. It will be held March 15-16, 2018 in Chattanooga.
"This is an amazing opportunity to showcase our city and the region’s wealth of experience and knowledge in creative placemaking as well as highlight Chattanooga as an arts and cultural destination -- allowing visitors exclusive access to the unique places that have turned into our region’s hidden and not so hidden cultural jewels,” said Katelyn Kirnie, director of Public Art Chattanooga.
The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking describes creative placemaking as “a new way to make communities more livable, equitable, and resilient through arts and culture.” Kirnie believes Chattanooga has a lot of examples of successful placemaking to showcase, such as Glass House Collective’s renewal of Glass Street through resident-driven creative improvements and River City Company’s transformation of urban alleyways with the Passageways project.
Chattanooga’s Main Terrain Park is also recognized by the NEA as a model of how to do creative placemaking. The park is praised for its collaborative partnerships and interactive design as well as its practical use for stormwater and exercise.
Public Art Chattanooga is encouraging individuals and organizations to submit proposals now for conference presentations and session topics. The deadline to submit ideas is Nov. 17.
Interested participants should submit proposals at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPLS2018b.
For more information, visit https://www.southarts.org/convenings-and-conferences/beyond-big-cities-southern-creative-placemaking-conference/.