Filling the blank canvas that Chattanooga's public art provides
It’s become almost second nature now. To walk through the city and look at the rhinoceros north of the river (he always seems eager to have the base of his horn scratched, though I’m not sure I should confess to climbing up on his wagon to touch him).
To visit the four ladies of the seasons, maybe wrap a hand around a solid arch or rounded heel. To flip a salute to the jaunty metal folks in silhouette—grandfather and granddaughter out for a walk, old man resting on a bench.
To amble as far as the Southside and greet the pensive girl, to pass by the brilliant, stories-tall murals and see the giant children playing way up high in an endless afternoon.
Like most of us, I don’t know most of the projects’ names unless I look them up. I don’t know which ones are public or private. It’s easy to take it for granted how much beauty—both natural and human-made—we have all around us in Chattanooga.
Taking a walk, as some Pulse writers have noted, is more than a synonym for exercise in Chattanooga. It’s like a free visit to a living, changing gallery that’s always open, even (especially) when it’s 2 a.m. and you’re depressed.
But it’s worth remembering that collection got there somehow. Some are private works, but many belong to the city—to all of us.
“Collection.” That’s the very word Katelyn Kirnie, Chattanooga’s Director of Public Art, uses to describe the works scattered across the city’s some 144 square miles. And just like any other gallery or museum curators, Kirnie and her staff pay ongoing attention to the collection, from helping communities conceive of a new work of art, to commission or acquisition, to ongoing maintenance and historical record keeping.
“We have 104 public art works as part of the city’s public collection that we own and maintain,” Kirnie says. “The oldest are the brick sculptures on the sidewalks. Before that, there was the Fireman’s Fountain and the bust in front of the courthouse, which is controversial these days.
“Jim Collins [a prolific contributor to the arts revitalization of the 1990s] will say, ‘That Fireman on top of the fountain was the only other public art in the city.’”
Collins and other individual artists became the heart of a new movement, with Collins himself creating multiple works for the city, including “Volumes”, the fountain sculpture in front of the public library on Broad Street and many other pieces, especially the distinctive two-dimensional people and animals.
One percent of the funds for the original riverfront revitalization went toward art, Kirnie says. Then and now, the city purchased standalone public sculptures, often via temporary exhibitions. Works by Isaac Duncan, John Petrie, and Cessna Decosimo, among others, were purchased this way.
“Public Art Chattanooga used to operate more as a nonprofit and in partnership with organizations,” she adds. “But now, we are pretty bound to hold an open-call request for proposals.”
The system has both pros and cons. Public requests for proposals (RFP) are more transparent than earlier systems relying on networks of philanthropy and personal connections. However, Kirnie says, “It works against emerging artists as well as established artists who are not used to this format.”
A beginner artist may not have the knowledge of the RFP process, while an extremely famous artist may expect a direct invitation.
“Nationally renowned artists who are working to get major commissions will not submit an application among hundreds of [applicants],” Kirnie says. “The RFP process selects for bread-and-butter artists with interns who are churning out proposals.”
There’s always a balancing act involved. Using local artists often means selecting from a cadre of the same people; the policies that initiated open-to-all RFPs came out of a desire to get away from “going with who you know” and broaden the reach of artists included in the city’s collection.
“In our early years, we had lots of Jim Collins work—15 to 20 pieces—and it’s great [work], but if we are aiming toward diversity, we can’t give prominent public spaces to one person over and over,” Kirnie says.
This does not mean Chattanooga’s art process is divorced from local communities and artists—just the opposite, in fact. There are lots of ways to get involved, whether you are an artist, a person looking for volunteer or business opportunities, or simply a community member who wants to see art in your neighborhood.
Art Is for Everyone
Today, art integrated with larger city projects, Kirnie says, is part of neighborhood work across town—not just the touristy bits downtown or on the North Shore or Southside.
“By and large, we have art and neighborhood projects and capital projects integrated with city construction,” she says. “And every time, we put together a specific selection panel that represents the community and stakeholders plus local artists to evaluate the scope and requirements of the project and the artist’s qualifications. My staff doesn’t have a say in what is chosen. The team looks at the [potential] artists’ past work and resume.”
The process, she says, is designed to be as transparent as possible. All meetings except selection committee meetings are public, and Public Art Commission meeting notes are posted on the website for the public to review. (They take a minute to find, but you can locate them on publicartchattanooga.com/about, toward the bottom of the page.)
In addition to public meetings, there are neighborhood-level programs with committees drawn from citizens and artists from those communities. That means that Chattanooga’s public art voice or style is becoming eclectic—no longer merely civic art memorializing the famous (or infamous) dead, or imposing works meant to highlight the city’s renaissance. Instead, different areas are seeing their own styles embraced by the city and given funds for public expression.
“We want our city’s public arts program to be as diverse as our city is,” Kirnie says.
For fifteen years or more, the city’s Art in Neighborhoods program has been doing neighborhood-level projects. At first it was simply local projects supported by matching grants from nonprofit organizations, leading to unequal results. Then the process became more nuanced. Artists were selected by panels of committee members to work closely with the neighborhood on projects that would both represent them artistically and, often, meet practical needs.
“Since 2016, Public Art Chattanooga partnered with neighborhood services, neighborhood leaders,” Kirnie says. “You need somebody who is well connected with the community and who can be a liaison with the artist and with our office to help engage the residents.”
Since 2016, neighborhood projects have included:
- Oak Hills: Mural at Milliken Park and two bus shelter wraps.
- Eastdale: Wilcox Tunnel mural.
- Shepherd Hills: School bus shelters and wraps.
- Highland Park: Tatum Park sculpture.
- Woodmore Manor: Brainard Youth and Family Development Center project in design conversations now.
“In the next few months, expect a call for the MLK railroad trellis to amplify and enliven the underpass,” Kirnie says. “We’ll have a creative strategist working closely to ensure a cultural tie with the community…to work with the artist and make sure they are engaging and listening to the community. This gives local artists the opportunity to learn about the public art process by working with the artist who comes to do the project, whether they are local or national.”
In fact, many public art projects employ apprentices or local artists in non-lead roles, meaning there are numerous ways to interface with the process. The artisan trades, from masonry to landscaping, frequently participate when public art is created; for instance, the Wreath of Honor memorial to the Fallen Five at the Riverfront Park involved masons and many other skilled artisans in the project.
Help Build Our Collection
If you want to volunteer on a public art project, Kirnie suggests the best way is to reach out directly to the website, publicartchattanooga.com. You can also find them on the Facebook page at facebook.com/PublicArtChattanooga.
“If you want to be on a selection panel, submit your name,” Kirnie says. “We want people who live in the communities and have expertise in arts, design [or] landscaping who can contribute to those panels.”
Local artists must compete for commissions; however, Public Art Chattanooga is willing to give them feedback on portfolios, images, writing and photography throughout the process.
“Even if you haven’t done a project of that scale, if you have amazing photography of your work and can explain in a narrative how you will tackle the project [based on your] past experience, then you should be able to convince a panel you can do it,” Kirnie says. “Our selection panelists always want to consider local artists, but they have to choose what’s going to be the best fit for the project…the community has to come first.”