Storytelling Spaces was conceptualized through the desire to explore what placemaking & art opportunities can do for communities.
The event had two main priorities: equitable access to art in historically marginalized communities and connecting local artists, many of whom were searching for new outlets amidst and ongoing pandemic, to the community they call home, yet became removed from in a COVID quarantine world.
All featured photography of the event is by J Adams Photography.
For more photos, visit our TEC Facebook page.
About the artists:
Jequise Beverly is a photographer whose series Black and Brown presented images of Beverly’s family and community in their softness and vulnerability in moments of relief of a world that so often demands their strength and resilience.
Isela Arredondo, a jewelry maker, author, and health specialist, facilitated an earring-making workshop as a space for storytelling, healing, and advocacy.
Playful Evolving Monsters, led by puppet artist TJ Hanretta, hosted a meet-and-greet with lantern-based puppets that the organization will feature in a large-scale puppet production in 2023.
Jordan Scruggs is an artist, communicator, and activist whose interactive installation invited people to share influential books and works of written words in a community archive.
Jazmine LaBlanc is an artist, story sharer, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the East Lake Language and Arts Library (ELLA). LaBlanc exhibited drawings and written work to present stories of people from Chattanooga’s unhoused population.
Joshua Williams, a visual artist and student at Covenant College, exhibited paintings and drawings that explore personal narratives in the contexts of dreams, fantasy, history, and pop culture.
Elea Xylem is a multidisciplinary artist who invited people to experience Chattanooga’s biodiversity and cultures through projecting abstracted scenes from throughout the city.
Meredith Garrett, known as the River City Street Poet, is an on-the-spot-poet, who will create “Poetraits” that depict persons, their stories, and conversations through words painted with a brush.
*Special thanks to local artist Josiah Golson for facilitating, Project for Public Spaces for artist grant funding, & River City Company for kickoff sponsorship!
