An interactive-light project called The Pool, created by sculpture artist Jen Lewin, will be in Highland Park, East Chattanooga, and East Lake April 21-30
green|spaces and Glass House Collective are bringing an interactive-light project called The Pool, created by sculpture artist Jen Lewin, to neighborhoods Highland Park, East Chattanooga, and East Lake April 21-30. The installation here will be featured by the world-renowned artist as a global showcase project.
The Pool will be on display in the following neighborhoods on the following days:
April 21-23 - East Chattanooga near Glass House
April 25-26 - Highland Park Commons
April 28-30 - East Lake Park
EPB will be in each neighborhood sponsoring a light bulb exchange. Residents may bring an old incandescent light bulb and exchange it for a free LED bulb while supplies last.
"It costs over $70 more annually per bulb to power an incandescent light bulb than to power an LED light bulb,” says Sam Fulbright, Empower coordinator. “With an easy swap residents can save on their electric bills.”
Each neighborhood has created their own multi-day festivals to celebrate The Pool. Music and dance performances, physical activities, and sideline activities (such as art projects for kids), and more are all possibilities for the types of experiences that each neighborhood has worked to create. Activities throughout The Pool’s entire stay in Chattanooga include:
April 21 – 23 - East Chatt Highlight Festival
1901 Roanoke Ave. near Glass Street
Presented by green|spaces, Empower and Glass House Collective
April 21, 7:30-10:30 p.m.: Lyrical Lights: Hip-Hop and Spoken Word
April 22, 3-10:30 p.m.: 3rd Annual Gospel on Glass Featuring Marcellus Barns with Unity Performing Arts Foundation. DJ LV starting at 7:30 p.m.
April 23, 3-10:30 p.m. Family Friendly Picnic with bounce houses, food trucks and DJ LV
April 25 and 26 - Highland Park Festival of Lights
Highland Park Commons
Presented by green|spaces and Empower
April 25, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Local Showcase with Music and Activities featuring Young, Black and Gifted
April 26, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Music By DJ Flux308
April 28-30 Book Fiesta Weekend
East Lake Park
Presented by green|spaces, Empower, ELLA and Expression Engine
April 28, 7:30-10:30 p.m. – Performances by Expression Engine and Seaux Chill
April 29, 2-10:30 p.m. – Book Fiesta – Music, games and family activities presented by ELLA
Live DJ starting at 7:30 p.m.
April 30, 7:30-10:30 p.m. – El Fin – Closing night with open play and music
“We are very excited to be a part of the Chattanooga community and especially these neighborhoods,” said artist Jen Lewin. “In the 10 years we have been traveling the world with this installation, we’ve never had the opportunity to work with organizations like green|spaces and Glass House Collective and get deep into the communities and really interact with neighborhoods.”
Ms. Lewin is also collaborating with CGLA, Hardy Elementary School, and Expression Engine and working with students there to add a new layer of engagement with the community. This will allow for the students to put their hands on the technology.
“Students have had the opportunity to critically think through design and ideas and come to a majority vote and actually see their vote matter and come to life,” said Niki Lewis of Glass House Collective who has been working with students from Hardy Elementary on designing a color show for their neighborhood’s installation. “This is empowerment through art!”
Made up of 40,000 LEDs on 106 computer-powered 3-foot discs arranged in concentric circles, the piece activates when someone steps on the pads, setting in motion colored light effects. Dance on a pad, and it will create hula-hoop swirls around you. Sprint from pad to pad and ribbons of light will trail you. Step on certain discs and the entire piece will change color. It’s meant for people of all ages to play and allows multiple users to collaboratively create patterns of shifting colors and light.
“People think about energy through light and since we are now in our second year of the Empower program, we wanted to have a fun, interactive, educational experience in the neighborhoods where we are helping residents save money on their energy bills,” said Dawn Hjelseth, development director for green|spaces. “We feel The Pool represents bringing a community together - pooling people together to create a really amazing experience. We can’t wait to see what ideas each neighborhood has to make The Pool experience unique to their own community.”
The Pool in Chattanooga is made possible by green|spaces and Glass House Collective along with other generous sponsors and supporters including Lyndhurst Foundation, Public Art Chattanooga, EPB, ArtsBuild, Subaru, and S&H Trucking.
An interactive-light project called The Pool, created by sculpture artist Jen Lewin, will be in Highland Park, East Chattanooga, and East Lake April 21-30