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Art & STEM: Two Treats in One Mobile Arts Center!

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Sphero Paint Party - Spheros are sphere-shaped robots that roll on the floor to a user's commands. Art 120 takes this one step further by adding textures, paint, and a dozen Spheros for students to create and make their own artwork with. This program is great for groups ranging from 12-24 in size. All supplies are provided and an Art120 teacher will be on hand to assist. Primary to junior high.

Chibitronic Art - Create murals, cards or pictures that light up while learning about electronic circuitry. Our curriculum is customizable to accommodate up to twenty students and engage learners from 3rd grade through high school.

Squishy Circuit Light up Figures - First through third graders learn how to create conductive and non-conductive materials to create figures that can light up, blink and turn off or on. This is a great precursor to Chibitronic Art and can accommodate a large group of students.

Urban Art Bike Program - Our mobile classroom allows us to setup a three bay welding class anywhere. Learn to weld, use power tools and make fully rideable sculptures in this immersive class for ages 10 and up. This is a great add on for a workshop, class project or summer program.

Attention principals and teachers: Funding available through the Tennessee Arts Commission for Title 1 schools.

Contact Kate Warren to schedule a meeting and get signed up today!

Our Southside Maker Arts Center (SMAC) has evolved from a brick and mortar on the southside into a fleet of vehicles that can bring programs to any events, classrooms, recreation centers, or other groups where learning and fun go hand in hand. Introducing the new SMAC (STEM Mobile Arts Classroom). Programs include:

Childrens' Sculpture Park - Make and create on a large scale with these giant blocks, chutes, balls and objects. The full garden can handle twenty-five children at a time and provides creative play for hours. This is available for a daily rental fee and teachers are available for an additional charge. Perfect for primary grades (and adults too).

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Laila Smith Laila Smith

Step-Up Intern Loren West Shares Her Story!

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Loren has just graduated from Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts and will soon be a student of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago this fall. She has always had a passion for art and mainly paints and draws, but is hoping to experiment with other mediums in college. She has also had the privilege to take art classes in Los Angeles during the Summer of 2016 and meet successful artists. Loren hopes her experience with Art 120 will help her choose what career path she wants to take when finished with college. Learn more about Loren on Art 120's About page!

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"I know I want to pursue a career in the arts, maybe go into the fine arts, or become an illustrator, I’m not exactly sure about which specific pathway I want to go on, but I want it to involve art. After this experience though, I think I’ve come closer to making a decision about which career path I want to take, which is probably art education. I’ve always been doing traditional art such as 2 dimensional paintings and drawings, but my experience with Art 120 pushed me out of my comfort zone when I worked learned new skills such as welding, and turned around and taught it to middle school aged kids.

I’ve been interested in art since I can remember, but I only thought of pursuing it as a career when I was probably fifteen after touring some art schools with my grandma. I went to Center for Creative Arts since sixth grade as an art major, and finally graduated last May. But throughout seven years of going to an art school learning how to paint and draw was just not enough for me. I never felt like I was given the resources at that school to bring out my full potential. I really wanted something that would push and guide me into the direction I wanted to go in. Although CCA was a good school and taught me well, I couldn’t help but feel like I was restricted. I needed something to expand my horizons. After my junior year in high school I decided to take summer classes at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. With the amazing teachers who pushed me and also took into consideration of what kind of art I wanted to make, I really felt like I blossomed as an artist. I still wanted to push myself even further, so I decided that working for Art 120 this summer would give me this challenge.

I discovered Art 120 through Step-up Chattanooga. I joined step-up because I needed something to occupy my time this summer and save up some money for myself when I go to college. Art 120 seemed like the perfect match that would also give me a challenge. Looking at the things Art 120 accomplished such as the art bikes and art cars really peaked my interest. The way how I saw that the artists could make something so strange out of an ordinary object.

I hoped to experience new ways or gain a new perspective of making art, and maybe teach some classes or help with a few projects, which I did. I was excited at the opportunity to teach for the urban art bike program since art education is one of the careers I’ve been looking into. I was hoping this program would help me decide which direction I want my art career to go to, and after this experience I’m leaning more towards art education. It was so much fun and interesting to see kids take on new skills that could help them in their future and how they enjoyed what they learned. The program seemed like one that would challenge me, because not only did I have to learn how to weld, I had to turn around and teach it. I couldn’t wait to see something good come out of it.

When I was teaching for the urban art bike program, watching the kids come up with designs from the top of their head reminded me that when coming up with an idea to make a work of art, that the idea doesn’t have to be perfect at first. The way that the kids would work freely from the heart without overthinking the project was something I latched onto and is something I’ll take to my solo projects. Collaborating with the kids has given me a new way of looking at creating something new. I got the opportunity to meet other artists in the community when working in the Painted Story gallery, allowing me to see dozens of new perspectives of art from all different walks of life. I loved that the paintings were hung low enough for a child’s eye-level so the children could learn to appreciate art a young age. I know that the purpose of this gallery worked because I saw so many wide eyed kids come in and really look at the artwork. I remember one kid loved the art so much he wanted to buy some prints and hang them in his room. I could tell that programs like these left a positive impact on the community because of how much people enjoyed it and the knowledge and skills younger people have gotten out of these things.

I’m grateful that I learned skills that I probably wouldn’t have learned anywhere else. I got hands on experience on teaching kids who are passionate about art. I only wish I got to spend more time on projects like these with Art 120. Overall, it was a good experience!"

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Laila Smith Laila Smith

New Partnership: Painted Story Children's Gallery!

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We Need 2017-2018 Host Sites!

Art 120 is partnering with The Bethlehem Center, and local artist Christina Thongnopnua, to bring an ALL NEW traveling art exhibition for children to Chattanooga, TN! Painted Story Children's Gallery will be an unique experience for the community and for local artists that want to be a featured artist in the Gallery, or work with us in other ways like teaching workshops or hosting the gallery in their studio space. If you would like to host Painted Story at your organization, at an event, or become involved as an artist or volunteer, please email edu@art120.org or paintedstoryart@gmail.com!

The deadline for submission of the application, Art120PaintedStoryArtistApplication.pdf, is March 20th, 2017! We launch in June 2017! CallToArtists_PaintedStoryChildrensGallery.pdf

We look forward to working with you, Chattanooga, on bringing a truly child-centric program to you! Email Hannah Hahn at edu@art120.org or paintedstoryart@gmail.com if you're interested in applying to volunteer with or hosting the exhibition!

**We are on the lookout for month-long hosts for the Gallery! Inquire with paintedstoryart@gmail.com and paintedstorygallery@gmail.com!**

Follow us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter! The website is coming soon!

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Follow The Bethlehem Center, too!

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Urban Bike Rebuilding

We are SO grateful for the support from the community since the devastating fire on Thanksgiving Day to our shop.  Thanks to the support of the community, OCI, and the Edney Innovation Center, and The Bethlehem Center, we have been very fortunate to continue our programs uninterrupted through the school year. This allowed us to provide mentorship and curriculum development for Howard’s Career Technical Education classes, partner with Red Bank Elementary School to develop Hamilton County’s first K-5th grade maker space, and bring art programming to primary grade students at WoodmoreBess T. ShepherdBarger, and Red Bank as well as the art program at The Howard School.

Now that the school is over, we have a HUGE need to get the Urban Art Bike Program back on its feet. Our friends at Glass House Collective want us back in the community to give twelve amazing kids the chance to design, create, weld, and make something amazing for their community. We are outfitting our enclosed trailer to become our mobile welding classroom. This will eliminate location as a barrier to our kids and help us grow this program year round. Our welders have been fixed and are ready to go but we need supplies and funds to cover costs to get our program ready for teachers! 

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Stage Genies at Picnic in the Passageways on 5.19.17!

Come be serenaded by Dan Mailman, the Studio MindStride Stage Genies extraordinaire at Picnic in the Passageways on May 19, 2017! Find out more about our collaborative Passageways project with Stage Genies, where we partnered with the Stargaze installation, River City Companythe HIVEGigabit Mozilla Learning, and the Mozilla Foundation to bring musical computer programming opportunities to students in Chattanooga, TN. Special thanks to our partners and volunteers who help make this artistic endeavor successful! If you'd like to take a class with or teach tech with Dan, please email edu@art120.org! P.S. Here's a map of the Passageways exhibits (#4 is great)!

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Laila Smith Laila Smith

Art 120 Seeking SPONSORS for Paid STEP-UP Internships for Students in Summer 2017!

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Public Education Foundation's STEP-UP Program is providing local Hamilton County students with an opportunity to work with the Art 120 team as PAID interns for the Summer of 2017!

STUDENTS: A personal essay describing the applicant's reason for applying and eligibility, a professional looking photograph of the applicant, and time to complete the application online in one sitting will be necessary in a successful application submission. Students must have their application submitted BEFORE 5:00pm on February 21, 2017.

SPONSORS: Email edu@art120.org for details on the application or sponsorship process. We look forward to working with you! JUST $800.00 GETS A STUDENT THE MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP NEEDED FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EMPLOYED EXPERIENCE! This is the Sponsorship Information Letter: Art120STEPUPStudentSupportLetter.pdf

Summer 2017 Job Descriptions (positions available if Art 120 *Sponsored/Invested In)

  • Project Manager: The intern’s duties will include volunteer recruitment and management, task timeline and delegation, and collecting, analyzing, and presenting program data outcomes.

  • Networking and Marketing Manager: The intern will determine organizational partnerships that will benefit the programs and Art 120’s opportunities. They will inform social media marketing and newsletter outline that will help appeal to donors, volunteers, and community members.

  • Curriculum Consultant: The intern will help the Art 120 team with teaching, improving, and tracking summer curriculum, as well as developing Fall 2017 programs based on their research.

  • Artisan Assistant: The intern will perform tasks applicable to the artistic workshops that will be taking place in the Summer of 2017, from assisting professional artisans in creating and maintaining artwork, to facilitating maker education and professional development workshops.

  • STE(A)M Education Assistant: The intern will perform tasks that will result in their understanding of basic computer science principles and Raspberry Python coding language, as well as a role in the research and development of STE(A)M-based learning program initiatives.

*Internship Duration: May 25 to August 5, 2017*

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Art Cars are Coming! 4.27.17 - 4.30.17

While a fire may slow us down, it will not keep us from bringing art to the schools who need it most. Hold onto your hat, Art 120's 2017 Scenic City Art Car Weekend is April 28-30th, complete with a children's mini art car parade. 

Help us make this extra special for the students of Hamilton County and Chattanooga by sponsoring a child for as little as $5. Click here and make a difference today!

Art Car Weekend Public Schedule 

Art Car Breakfast and Art-Car-A-Van to schools (Fri, Apr. 28, starting 7:30am, The Camp House)

Art Car Tailgate Party and Art Show and STE(A)M Educators Workshop (Saturday, Apr. 29, 9am-5pm at the Tennessee Aquarium Park)

Illuminated Art Cruise to The Pool (Saturday, Apr. 29, 8pm-10pm at East Lake Park)

Potluck Breakfast and morning sendoff (Sunday, Apr. 30, 10am-noon at the Montague Sculpture Fields

"Arthur Zarr's Amazing Art Car" Book-signing at Hamilton Place Barnes & Noble (Sunday, Apr. 30, 2-4pm)

STEM Jubilee at TN Riverpark (Sunday, Apr. 30, noon-4pm)

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Art 120 Students Celebrate Blues Legend Bessie Smith!

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT Y'ALL! The Awards Ceremony starts at 5:30pm on April 25, 2017!  

Participating students (and their families) of the Hamilton County Department of EducationBessie Smith Cultural Center art contest can attend a special reception and awards ceremony at The Bessie! Make sure you check out all of the amazing student art! We have to give a shout out to our partnered students and teachers at The Howard School Of Academics Technology and Red Bank Elementary who placed in their category! One of them won first place and the other won second place so congratulations on your creativity and awesome educators! The Howard School's Visual Arts instructor is Sherry Heinz. Red Bank Elementary Librarian, Cristol Kapp, is working with Art 120 Education Coordinator, Hannah Hahn on various STE(A)M-based curriculum development and implementation.

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Laila Smith Laila Smith

Award Winning Author Wants to Visit Your School!

We are thrilled to have award winning children's book author, Cathey Graham Nickell joining us for the Scenic City Art Car Weekend April 28-30. Cathey's book is called, "Arthur Zarr’s Amazing Art Car". The artist who illustrated the book, Bill Megenhardt, will also be in town for art car weekend. Cathey has an amazing presentation where she reads the book and talks about how and why she became a writer. Cathey and Bill have done this presentations for over twenty schools in Texas and the children absolutely love it. Bill closes the presentation with a live illustration where the students call out what they think the image should be and what elements should be included. After the presentation, students come outside to meet an art car artist and see a real art car up close. The school receives the illustration as a special gift.

We can only extend this opportunity to one school on Friday, April 28th and you can help. Every $5 donation made to Art 120 between now and April 24th will count as a vote toward a school receiving this visit. The school with the most votes by 12:01am on April 25th will receive this wonderful opportunity for their children to enjoy. All proceeds will benefit the ArtCarAVan. Don't wait, click here to vote today!

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Laila Smith Laila Smith

This Friday at the Well on Southside!

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Art 120 will kickoff spring with a groovy get-together, The March Hare Disco Dance Party, on March 10th, co-hosted at The Well (1800 Rossville Avenue)! Doors open at 6:30pm and Chattanooga's hottest DJ, MillionDollaMan, Keenan Daniels will be spinning disks for dancers of all ages until 10:30pm. There will also be a MadHatter tea bar provided by Positifftea, and the Dress-A-Tron 200, courtesy of DeShel Hambrick at 4Ever Young. You may even get a glimpse of the Red Queen before the evening is out. Click here to buy your tickets today!

Let us know you're coming and share our Facebook event and Evensi event with your friends! 

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