Arts Move Chattanooga

Wow, this is awesome!

Any idea if it would be possible for someone to receive the grant if they chose to switch from a different field and become an artist?

have they considered a "keep artistic talent in chattanooga" program as well?

Finally my nude photos of myself can be appreciated and sold. Also now when I pose downtown as a statue (naked)I can be appreciated for an artist and not some crazy naked guy.

This just in:

"Individuals posing nude in downtown areas or anywhere else in public will still be considered to be crazy naked guys/gals. Once reclothed, they will be promptly arrested."

My first thought when I saw this was "That's cool." Then I thought, "Wait a minute!"

What do other communities, who might well like to retain their resident artists, think of this shameless artist-grab? And what self-respecting artist would uproot from the community in which he has bloomed for the sake of filthy lucre?

Chattanooga does indeed have a vibrant and thriving arts community (as the recruitment website says), so why do they need more? Shouldn't there be an ArtsMission Chattanooga organization to spread some of that vibrancy to other, less fortunate communities?

(I say all this partly tongue-in-cheek, because I love Chattanooga. My wife grew up there, and I spent half my childhood on Lookout Mountain, not to mention my college years. But really, shouldn't the focus be on home-grown talent rather than depriving other communities of their artistic talent?)

They say teaching is an art...would that get me (a teacher) the forgivable mortgage?

MB, a lot of cities are starting programs to attract artists, I forget the exact city, but Chattanooga's program was inspired by another (it may have been Cinci, I dunno).

NMIaI: I think more teachers would move to Chattanooga if the schools actually paid a decent wage. But that's a long discussion. Better pay for teachers and better funding for schools is one of the few things I'm willing to pay more in taxes for.

Meanwhile, back in the Real World...

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_92624.asp

The sycophantic posts about Widgets & Stone and Paul Rustand are averaging about once a week. Maybe they should have their own blog. Eh?

They do. Here.

Cincy has a very successful pprogram like this. The North Kentucky shore sports fairly cheap real estate to LOCAL artists. I'm sure they offer support to new residents as well, but to the best of my knowledge it's geared towards working members already apart of the community.

My previous comment was partly jest, but the fact that the program is directed towards people from other communities sends out a message that the city/Allied Arts is dissatisfied with the artists that already live here. I'm sure that's not the intent, but at the same time...(see Chattanoogan article) Littlefield wants to avoid "controversial art."

In a way the program could have a lot of positive effects. On the other hand, it's kinda bullshit. The city wants what others have and does not want to embrace its own. But then again, I could be getting a little sidetracked.

and then i read more of the info on the website and realized all the points i missed, so nevermind.
DufusM.

David I'm with you. I would say though that there is a good bit of local support for the arts (at least a burgeoning one), what with the recent Gallery Romp (I forget what it was called, it's late).

But I don't, in any way, trust WME Ron's take on "the arts".

Nor do I trust his take. After looking at the qualifying neighborhoods and a night's sleep, it's clear that real estate is a high priority. I fear that "the arts" are seen as a means to an end and not the end itself. That said. If something good can come from this, then that's awesome.
But I have no desire to move to any of these areas.

Yes, St. Elmo is cantankerous, but the fact that it's being ignored is a mistake. If you truly want to support the arts community in Chattanooga, that's the place to start. Especially now that the "North Shore" (ahem) sports million-dollar condos and a Walgreen's on its most important intersection.

Littlefield's comments that the city "Wants to avoid controversial art" is all I need to hear.

In other words, move to Chattanooga if you want to make nice pottery, or paint pretty landscapes, but not if you want to make art that provokes thought and that some might disagree with.

01: Art, while fine and dandy, ain't gonna fix our city's deeper underlying problems. No 'art' without 'eat.' Henry Miller said that. Mr. Miller knew his stuff.

02: Allied Arts has plenty of money of their own right now. They already largely control who gets the cash, so maybe they should pay the tab as well.

03: This is, in my belief, the advance P.R. for putting the financial obligation for improving the area around the old Wheland Foundry site on city taxpayers.
After all, "It's such a wonderful pallette to paint with."

Maybe we should start our own campaign:
Artists, Move to Chattanooga and Become As Cynical As the Rest of Us.

I didn't realize Allied Arts controlled that much cash. Honestly, I don't take them very seriously.

They don't exactly control that much cash; they've just been around forever and support a ton of programs and events. They do a lot of good things, so they should be taken seriously. They're not perfect, but they do a helluva lotta good.

It seems to me that someone who goes around using the word "jew" as an insult is asking for attention. If he fancies himself a journalist, the attention he gets may easily become nationwide and highly negative. This is 2008, we're done with this sort of crap.