Art 120 Year-End Wrap Up
By Laila Smith
Art120 had a very busy year. We worked with many vendors, artists, schools, and most importantly: students! Check out some of our clickable stats below:
110 Students received a 4 day cultural music immersion through the Student Ticket Subsidy
45 Artists were paid to share their talents and skills with the community
4 free public arts and cultural activities provided with community partners
2 art bikes created during our summer Urban Art Bike program with youth
3 up and coming arts/cultural organizations mentored
We take pride in all the help we are able to give those who need or want it, and can only do so thanks to our amazing sponsors. A special thank you to the Tennessee Arts Commission, Outdoor Chattanooga, and Arts Build!
For a in-depth look at some of the things we did this year, check out the content below:
Our 2023 Cultural Events
Ensemble de Mexico
This year Art 120 organized three market events, each taking place across the Downtown area of Chattanooga. These events started mid-August, and ended just as the city entered winter on December 2nd. On October 28th, the market series was kicked off with a special Día de los Santos celebration in Patten Parkway. There was music preformed by Jay Shemaz, and La Rumba Latin Club. There was an amazing dance performance from Ensemble de Mexico. Playfully Evolving Monsters interacted with market-goers in their walking puppet Flora, and were also kind enough to help Art 120 with set-up and tear down. There were also great food trucks and booths to choose from, like Beni’s Cubano, Guatemala Crafts (who did food and clothes), and a booth that sold tamales, atole, soft drinks and more. There were also plenty of other types of vendors, like Ayelet’s Style, Maria Gomez and Lighthouse Boutique. WTCI Chattanooga It was an amazing event series kick-off!
Weather the Weather during an interview with local media
The second event took place at the Chattanooga Choo Choo’s renovated garden lawn on Artists’ Sunday, November 26th. Though this event was cold and rainy, there was still plenty of food, entertainment, and fun. Joel Karabo Elliott, Jay Shemaz, Crazy Flute, Lon Eldredge, and Rick Rushing III were this market’s musical performances. Though not everyone could play due to the rain, our performers all banded together to help run and sound to keep the music going. One of our special acts, Weather the Weather, were able to hold a fun interactive performance for children and adults alike. Our vendors for this event were many, and varied in theme and content.
There was food from vendors like Odz Delight, Beni’s Cubano, and Sudanese Food by Randa. Jewelry from vendors like Hello Disco, Lighthouse Boutique, and more. There were clothes from Stylesay, Ayelet’s Style, and art from One Bridges, and The Art of Keith Landrum. That’s not even the full list!
We were grateful for all of our vendors who came out for Artist’s Sunday, and to those who came by to watch the performances and pick up a gift or two along the way.
Dj Shamaz and Israel “Izzy” James mixin’ it up at Art 120’s International Market & More for Mainx24.
Joel Elliot Karabo getting soulful at Art 120’s International Market & More for Mainx24.
The third and final market of the year took place at Mainx24, in the Climbing Ninja parking lot December 2nd. The rainy weather never let up, but even that was not enough to dampen the good music, good food, and overall amazing turnout. The music line-up included returning musical guests La Ruma Latin Club, Jay Shemaz, and Joel Karabo Elliot. Many of our vendors were also returners from previous Markets. Those amazing vendors were Hello Disco, Odz Delight, Lighthouse Boutique, Taqueria el Jaguar, and The Art of Keith Landrum to name a few. We also had some vendors who hadn’t made it to other Markets, like El Taco Boss, Saphan Food Project, and HF-Arts, a vendor who is selling her wares at the age of fourteen. Though not everyone could make it due to time restraints, and weather restrictions, it was a great event series send off.
Thank you to all vendors, supporters, and those who helped make the year’s International Market Series a success. See you all next Market season!
We Make Community Events
We Make is Art 120’s annual series of art car based events focused around art education, and the beauty of art. We Make first started in 2012 with the goal to bring art to schools without art classes, and grew to also celebrate students’ art achievements across the several counties Art 120 works with. This series was broken up into a few different events: the ArtCaraVan, an art car building workshop, an art car painting workshop, and a We Make Feast that took place in Miller Park.
Briah Gober and her first art car
Artists Briah Gober and Sadaf Khan did live art demonstrations over the course of three days alongside our friends at River City Company during their Rock the Riverfront series in April. They did so on vehicles, utilizing their unique art styles to demonstrate how art cars are made. Sadaf shared the Pakistani painting process known as Phool Patti (pool pah-ti) while Briah demonstrated her signature abstract style with paint, stencil and vinyl.
The ArtCaraVan sent artists in teams of two, to spend the day at local schools on Thursday, May 11 and Friday May 12th. The artists reached ten schools in two days, presenting their work/process to 4,671 students. At these schools, both the Art Car Drivers and students shared important moments. Artist and veteran Joshua Kappellusch's art car honors fallen soldiers, serving as a moving memorial and tribute. On his car, students were welcomed to add their own tributes through drawings they added directly to the sides of his vehicle. When students ran out of markers, Joshua handed out bandaids so they could draw in pen. When the kids began covering the bullet holes with bandaids, he realized that their kind actions were actually helping him heal his trauma. Joshua said those kids helped him more that day than any support the Veteran Affairs Offices ever could.
Robin Jagliski and the “Bead Beats” sculpture
The We Make Festival was a celebration of Art Cars, student work, and local art. It showcased the Upcycle Fashion Show, and an awards show that gifted student winners with $100 Arts Creation gift cards. Teacher Robin Jaglinski represented Woodmore Elementary School as her class received the prestigious Golden Gnome award and $500 for her school’s art program courtesy of Rock City.
Art120 was also able to create an art car building workshop for Loftis Middle School. Artist, musician, and Art120 supporter Joel Karrabo Elliott was able to lead the workshop, and coordinate with art educator Pam Hopkins to prepare our donated car for its workshop transformation. The students created a nature themed vehicle using recycled coffee bean bags, paper flowers and musical instruments. According to Pam, the students had been waiting two years to make an art car
Overall, the We Make 2023 series of events was a success! Art120 was able to support students, the community, and artists alike.
Thank you to the Tennessee Arts Commission, Arts Build, River City Company, WTCI, Rock City, and Regan Outdoor for making We Make possible this year. A special thank you to all students, teachers, and artists who worked together to make art, and share it with each other, and the public!
The Upcycle Fashion Show
For more information about the We Make Festival, check out the article on our News front page.
Celebrating Diversity with Our Partners in Art
Art 120, Outdoor Chattanooga and Playful Evolving Monsters did a Hummingbird Lantern workshop this summer. This joint venture was an event dedicated to the welcoming of Little Amal, a 12 foot walking puppet who stopped through Chattanooga on her tour of the United States. Many Coolidge Park goers stopped by to make their own lanterns, and join in on the workshop fun!
Two weeks after the workshop, attendees met on the Northshore to join Amal on a special parade across the Walnut Street Bridge. Amal represents a young Syrian refugee girl who is traveling the world in search of her mother. In additiona to all the lanterns, Amal was accompanied by fellow refugees and the CSO chidren’s orchestra who played as we joined this special event. Thank you to Outdoor Chattanooga and Playful Evolving Monsters for the help and support!
John P. Franklin Funeral Home Fall Festival
Art120 was invited to help John P. Franklin’s Funeral Home by making Guatemalan Kites with the event-goers! Guatemalan Paper Kites are very special because they symbolize the spirits or souls of the deceased flying to heaven. This is great way to honor those lost, and to create something beautiful!
Thank you to John P. Franklin Funeral Home for having us!
Hispanic Heritage Month Festival
On October 15th, Art 120 partnered with Culture Chatt and the City of Chattanooga to organize a Hispanic Heritage Month festival in Miller Park. Art 120 helped provide art activities, and coordinated performances from local acts. Our friends at Playfully Evolving Monsters helped with set up, and brought their walking puppet Flora to interact with the festival-goers.
The performer line up included Ensemble de Mexico, Marilyn Perez (who did two Cuban dances), Danza Guatemalteca, Gisela (who did two Interactive Latin dances with the audience), Ensemble Ballet Folklorico (who did Traditional folk dances from Mexico), and Capoeira Chattanooga, which featured a traditional form of dance from Brazil.
Thank you to all event-goers, Culture Chatt, City of Chattanooga, and the lovely performers who gave us all entertainment on that drizzly Sunday afternoon!
Ensemble de Mexico preforming
Education
Joel Karabo Elliott teaches Ivy Academy
Joel with Ivy Academy Student Canaan
Ivy Academy, a school just at the edge of the Hamilton County school district, welcomed Joel Karabo Elliot of Roots Grown Deep to teach them music. As Art120’s music educator, Joel shared the music of Appalachian culture, walking the students through its history, its correlation to the world, and the profound connection music shares with nature. As a school surrounded by nature, Ivy Academy’s students heavily connected with Joel’s teachings. English and theatre teacher Jemmie Godwin-Smith had nothing but praise to give the experience, saying, “I loved having Joel and the gift of music in my class. The lessons were palpable and the exposure to his music and lessons were engaging and enjoyable.”
Joel teaching students
Joel himself enjoyed his teaching, citing the experience of having the children so earnestly participate in the lesson as spiritual. He told the story of the way one student in particular found the experience so moving, she felt a connection to the memory of a relative who’d passed as she listened to the music of the Mbira, the African instrument Joel played throughout the lesson.
Thank you to the Student Ticket Subsidy, which made this lesson possible, Joel Karabo Elliot for his earnest teaching, and Ivy academy for its earnest acceptance of Joel’s teachings.
Hamilton County Art Teachers Learn CNC Fabrication
As a way to increase learning opportunities for youth and access to the Hamilton County VWeLabs, Art 120 partnered with ChattLab and the Global Center for Digital Innovation (GCDI) to provide a digital fabrication workshop just for art teachers. At the completion of this program, art teachers would know how to use computer layout software to create a digital lasercut mobile project that teachers could implement as part of their curriculum.
The day began at ChattLab Makerspace with artist, Eddie Bridges. Eddie instructed twelve arts educators on how to use Inkscape, a free computer drawing program, to design their mobile sculptures in the style of Alexander Calder. After lunch and with their computer files in hand, we headed over to meet with program manager, Kristin Burrus, at the GCDI for a hands-on production and assembly of their projects. Kristin walked each teacher through how to bring their 2D design to life using a CNC (computer numerical controlled) machine. Basically, a CNC machine is a manufacturing device that uses software to precisely cut, tool, and/or produce a part or product. In this case, art is the end result.
By the end of the day, all twelve art teachers were able to effectively produce their design on the laser cutter and assemble their mobiles. Special thanks to: The Tennessee Arts Commission, Public Education Foundation, Hamilton County Department of Education, ChattLab, and especially, Volkswagen Group of America in Chattanooga for funding the 36 VWeLabs a growing for Hamilton County schools.
“Hamilton County School District is a national leader when it comes to providing the tools of innovation for our youth. With 36 fabrication labs in our school system and growing, our kids have the best opportunity in the country to learn 21st century skills. We need more opportunities to engage youth at every level and embolden them to use their creativity to develop these important skills to help them thrive in our future global economy.”
2023 Urban Art Bike
Art120 partnered with Chattanooga 2.0 this past summer to hold this year's summer Urban Art Bike Program. Chattanooga 2.0 is an coalition that strives to provide all students K- 12 an equal opportunity for learning, growing, and a thriving wage. With that in mind, Chattanooga 2.0 sent six kids from the Avondale and Bushtown areas of Chattanooga to spend time building valuable teamwork, and trade skills. Following the week of memorial day, the kids would start their forty hour journey.
Before the students started, the summer program's two teachers Jacobo Salazaar Jr. of KickStand Bicycles, and April Dennison of with Denizen Design, were taught the exact things they would be teaching by Art120 founder Kate Warren.
Though both had extensive history with welding and bike work (April has worked with the animatronics at Harry Potter World and Super Mario World, and Jacobo has been taking apart bikes and fixing them up for years) it was important to teach them how to approach guiding children through the process. After the teachers were done with their mini-class, they were introduced to the children who then split up into two groups. From there, each group went through a five-step process starting with the design of the bike, and ending with a working bike based off of the team's vision. During this process, Art120 was able to teach all six kids the basics of welding, a variety of fabrication techniques, and bike mechanics.
Starting from May 30th, and ending June 15, each student worked through the hottest summer to date. They would weld within Art120's base Chattlab for four hours a day, Monday through Friday. With their respective teachers and groups, the students would start the Art Bike process with a brainstorming session. The goal of this session was to come out with a drawing the would detail the design of each bike. Team one, led by Jacobo wanted to make a "Chopper" bike, and the one led by April wanted to make a "Firefighter" bike. Each team drew what the bike would look like from different angles, taking the time to create a design that could feasibly be made in the forty allotted hours.
The two teams and teachers working on their bikes.
After a class focused on welding safety, students started learning how to use the tools needed to cut up donated bikes, and weld their bikes back together to match the drawn designs. Teachers would lead them on their journey, supervising but not controlling their progress. Each student had a chance to do welding through each step of the process, grinding, cutting, and welding their creations to life. Students learned to put their tools together, how to put them away after use, and how to dress for protection. Each worker in the shop wore flannel, thick gloves, a mask or glasses, shoe-coverings, and ear protection. At the end of it, students then decorated or painted their bikes as they saw fit before giving the bikes a test drive in the parking lot just in front of Chattlab.
With their respective bikes, the “Chopper” Bike, and the “Firefighting” Bike finished, the kids and teachers were able to celebrate their finished work!
Thank you to all participants, Jacobo Salazer Jr, April Denison, Chattanooga 2.0, and the Tennessee Arts Comission for making the 2023 Urban Art Bike program possible!
Spotlight
PEF and the Step-Up Program once again sent wonderful intern DeAsia Powell to help provide support to Art120’s summer operations. She helped with logistics for the fall program season, wrote articles for Art120’s website, and more! Though she had to leave for her freshman year at MTSU, DeAsia still helps us out and provides much needed support to our team. Thanks DeAsia!
Thank you to all of our partners, collaborators, and superstar teachers. We wouldn’t be able to do our work without you—we love you superstars! We’ll see you next year!
