About Us

Public Art Commission

The Chattanooga Public Art Commission is established by City Code and authorized by Council Ordinance to oversee public art on City property. Public Art Commission members are appointed by the Mayor. For more information on terms and how to serve, visit the City’s boards page.

Timothy Goldsmith, Chair, Curator and Education Director, Association for Visual Arts

Angie To, Vice Chair, Head, Department of Art at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Ian-Alijah Bey, Video and Motion Graphics Producer, The Enterprise Center

Courtney Cochran, Communications Design Manager, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

Jules Jackson, Visual Artist / Programs Coordinator, ArtsBuild

Ryan Kirk Kopet, Principal, Miles and Kirk Design LLC

Nandini Makrandi, Curator, Hunter Museum of American Art

Sydney Smith, Urban Designer

Valerie Smith, Visual Artist / Assistant Principal, HCDE

Dixon Stetler, Visual Artist

Matthew Stovall, Landscape Architect, Barge Design Solutions

Commission Meetings are held at 1PM on the 4th Thursday of every other month (February, April, June, August, October, December*) in the JB Collins Conference Room in the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. *The December 2024 meeting will be held on Thursday, December 12 at 1PM.

Executive Committee Meetings are held at the same time at the Association for Visual Arts, 40 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405 on the off-months (January, March, May, July, September, November). The November 2024 meeting has been cancelled.

2023 Meeting Minutes
February, April, June, August, October, December

2022 Meeting Minutes
April, June , August, October, December

2021 Meeting Minutes
December / January, February, April, June, August, October, December

2020 Meeting Minutes
February / March, April / May, June / July, August / September, October / November

2019 Meeting Minutes
February, April, June, August, October, December

2018 Meeting Minutes
February, April, June, August, October, December

History

Chattanooga values public art, employing it to help transform its downtown and neighborhoods, bring people together, and celebrate its spirit of creativity. Thanks to the leadership of several forward-thinking mayors, community leaders, and design professionals, Chattanooga has reinvented itself as one of the country’s most livable mid-sized cities.

Outdoor sculpture displays abound including the Bluff View Art District’s River Gallery Sculpture Garden, the Hunter Museum’s outdoor sculpture collection, Sculpture Fields, and the Chattanooga Sculpture Biennial, which attract visitors from around the world. Since the early 1990s, the City, in partnership with the private sector, has completed more than 100 permanent and temporary outdoor public art projects.

The development of the Te nnessee Aquarium in 1992 included a remarkable integration of art and landscape by S.I.T.E. architects with artists Jack Mackie and Stan Townsend at Ross’s Landing. Chattanooga completed a public art plan in 2003 resulting in several key initiatives, with the 2005, 21st Century Waterfront project as the most prominent. Dedicating 1.2 million towards public art, the waterfront project included “Luminous Light Masts” by James Carpenter, “The Passage” by Team Gadugi, and the First Street Sculpture Garden. Since the completion of the waterfront project, public art has continued to play a critical role in revitalization efforts and in the creation of a distinct sense of place. Key projects include:

2005: “The Passage” by Team Gadugi, a living tribute to the resiliency and vibrancy of the Cherokee culture – and those of other tribes removed from this region during the Trail of Tears.

2005: “Luminous Light Masts” by James Carpenter, the iconic light masts on the Chattanooga Pier.

2005-2015: Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, a rotating sculpture program along First Street, Chattanooga Green and the waterfront.

2008-Present: Art in Neighborhoods program, engaging residents and providing access to art beyond downtown.

2009: “The Four Seasons” by Daud Akhriev, a series of four sculptures placed at the Market Street Bridge and First Street in partnership with River City Company.

2009-13: Art on Main sculpture program on East and West Main Streets.

2011: Art in Motion Project, downtown artist-designed bus wraps in partnership with River City Company

2011: “Main Terrain” by Thomas Sayre, the transformation of a 1.72 acre vacant lot into an active, distinctive urban art and fitness park funded through a creative placemaking grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

2013: Temporary artist installations and permanent artist designed bus shelters and benches at Glass Street in partnership with Glass House Collective.

Photo from Brent Moore

Visit our projects page for in progress projects and recently completed projects.

2019 Strategic Plan

The 2019 Public Art Strategic Plan responds to the different perspectives from Chattanoogans about what constitutes public art, its purpose, and the growing demand for public art to address specific community concerns. Chattanoogans strongly value and support public art, and they look to the City to provide equitable access and opportunity to experience it — adding meaning, beauty, connection and dialogue to daily public life. Informed by this input, the plan prioritizes placemaking and community empowerment by integrating art and artists into the way the City builds itself through capital construction and neighborhood projects. Also, acknowledging the tremendous role public art has played in the transformation of Chattanooga, the plan establishes a clear tie to the city’s economic development initiatives.

Building on the rich history of Chattanooga’s public/private partnerships, the plan allows the City to assume a more prominent role in driving the vision for Chattanooga’s public art — taking the lead in its planning and funding, while forging a balanced partnership with the private sector by leveraging City capital and operating budgets.

Finally, the plan offers a ten-year action plan with specific recommendations for how PAC can support multi-sector public art efforts while proactively taking the lead to integrate art into City-funded capital projects and neighborhood initiatives.

PLAN VISION

Public art helps define Chattanooga by enhancing the public realm, stimulating dialogue, and building community.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Chattanoogans believe that public art has the power to:

Provide equitable access to a diversity of artists and artistic experiences.
Celebrate our communities’ cultural assets, highlighting the unique character of our neighborhoods, honoring their histories, and preserving quality of place.
Elevate the role the artist and the creative process plays in connecting people and place.
Encourage multi-disciplinary collaboration in the public and private sectors to create vibrant public spaces.
Express Chattanooga’s identity through the built environment.

Frequently Asked Questions