The Association for Visual Arts (AVA) has been selected as new managers and curators of “AVA @ the INCubator” collection and program inside the Hamilton County Business Development Center (BDC). Under the new management, “AVA @ the INCubator” transitions into a professional development program for emerging artists.
Launched as “Art at the INCubator” by Gail Rich through Jumpstart Art, the collection began as an art loan program to display local artwork inside the BDC.
In 2023, AVA received an invitation to take over management of BDC art displays and is now shifting to a three-month rotation of small group exhibits in the BDC’s two main floor lobbies and main entrance corridor.
Located near AVA’s main gallery, the INCubator is a three-year, progressive development program of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce for nascent entrepreneurs that capitalizes on the synergy of the BDC’s unique entrepreneurial ecosystem – made up of about 50 startup businesses – providing clients with shared administrative services, manufacturing and office space, training workshops, use of a state-of-the-art Technology Conference Center and access to free on-site business counseling from the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.
This new partnership functions in alliance with AVA’s goal of supporting local emerging artists through professional development and exhibition opportunities. In January, AVA opened applications for the program’s inaugural cohort. Selected artists work with AVA’s curator and education director in two or three person cohorts to create a small group exhibit to display and sell local artwork.
“This is a great opportunity for new or emerging artists who need or want support with some of the nuts and bolts of managing an art practice with the goal of then applying or submitting work to galleries, exhibits and opportunities outside of the Chattanooga area. It is only open to artists who are not currently represented by any gallery. Keep an eye out for open calls throughout the year to submit work and apply,” Tim Goldsmith, Curator, Education Director, AVA said.
The first cohort includes three local artists, April Van Brunt, Katie Aronat and Meredith Olinger. Their work is on display at the BDC from March 31 to July 7.
To welcome the first cohort, AVA is holding an opening reception at the BDC on Friday, March 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Parking is available in the Renaissance Park Parking Lot. BDC’s entrance is wheelchair accessible with the exhibit taking place through the building’s three floors, accessible through elevator. Light refreshments will be available.
Here are the artist biographies and statements:
April Van Brunt is an artist living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was born in Atlanta, and grew up in a family that was always plucking guitar strings, painting murals, or weaving a story. However, she didn’t pick up a paintbrush until after her mother tragically passed in 2019. Soon after, she and her family moved to Chattanooga just before the pandemic. Ms Van Brunt, like so many, lost her day job and began homeschooling her children. Painting became a lifeline and a true example of beauty from ashes. She continues to work through her grief through painting, taking inspiration in the beauty that is in our everyday surroundings and the stories they tell.
She said, "My hope is that my art will usher in some form of peace for those who experience it. I paint from an intuitive and hope-filled place. Guided by my intuition and gut, I hope that the feelings it creates in people is the reason they’re drawn to my art. I’m influenced by classical artists like Monet and John Carlson to contemporary artists like Kevin Kearns and Lynne Millar, painting the beauty that is right in front of them. I pull inspiration from the world around me; my yard, the hiking trail down the street, the memories I have that hold more weight than they did before, the hydrangeas in my mom’s yard, they ivy geraniums from my Gran’s house, my great-grandma’s irises, the landscape that makes up my children’s formative years. My intention is to capture the dreamlike feeling of nostalgia that memories hold and tell their story."
Bon in Bakersfield, Ca., 1991, Katie Aronat is an abstract artist living in Chattanooga, and creates under the name Arrowknot Art. After many years working as a graphic designer turned motion designer turned art director, she ended up in the business management side of things and found herself needing a new creative outlet. She picked up a real paint brush for the first time in 2022, and let her years of playing with pixels and color digitally explode into abstract art.
She said, "Abstract art healed my perfectionism. The work I create is an expression of my freedom to color outside the lines, featuring chaotic scribbles, unconventional shapes, and layers (and layers) of color. I’m particularly inspired by Abstract Expressionism’s spontaneity and expression of the creative unconscious. When I pick up a paint brush, I enter a state of flow and escape from the stress and pressures of life. Each layer is a metaphor for my own growth – the bad layers can always be covered by the good layers."
Meredith Olinger is an artist living and working in Chattanooga. Ms. Olinger works primarily with wallpaper of her own design. Her work deals with the dependence of art and design on each other, handmade versus digital production, and blurs the line between painting and installation. Ms. Olinger has been included in many group shows, notably the Memphis 2021 exhibition at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Pantone Color of the Year Exhibition, and the Art of the South Exhibition, sponsored by Number: Inc. Olinger holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the Memphis College of Art.
She said, "I work with wallpaper that I design and produce myself, both digitally and by hand. Layers of wallpaper are affixed to a surface, ripped away, and then collaged back in. My process is one of digging and building, cutting and pasting. I continue until the piece feels right. Sometimes it’s when it looks like an actual artifact, a found wall. Or sometimes it’s the exact opposite, a completely new thing.
"I make patterns out of everything. I’ll scan to-do lists, repeat images of old paintings, or use graphic design work from past jobs. Nothing is off limits. I also photograph my work while it is in process, make a pattern out of it, and then place that back into the work. I am interested in the possibilities of digital representation, the dependence of art and design on each other, and the elements of chance and control. I walk the line between painting and installation, art and design, blurring and, ultimately, eradicating these distinctions."