GHC | ARTPLACE PARTNER | FINAL REPORT July 30, 2013

PROJECT NAME: GLASS HOUSE COLLECTIVEOrganization: Community Foundation for Greater Chattanooga, Glass House Collective Fund

EIN #/Taxpayer ID #: 62-6045999

Primary Contact Name: Katherine Currin

Primary Contact Email: Katherine@glasshousecollective.org

PROGRAMMATIC REPORT 1. Is your project complete? If not, when do you anticipate completion?

• No. We anticipate the project to be complete by September 31.

2. Describe your progress since the last interim report was filed.

Better Block Glass Street

• Following a nationally recognized model of

public re-visioning, GHC facilitated a Build a

Better Block event on February 23 that attract-

ed 1,200+ participants. More than 24 artists

and architects produced creative installations

that temporarily transformed Glass Street into a

‘complete street.’ Highlights include a new com-

munity space designed by Hefferlin+Kronen-

berg Architects, artist Olga de Klein’s yarn-

bombed trolley (a 30-foot wide, 15-foot tall

mixed media mural made using 17,151 yards of

yarn and received international attention), and

an interactive pop-up installation called ‘Ha-

rambee’ by graphic designers Sheena Benaven-

te, Keren Beddoe, and Katie Holden.

Bank Art Center (BAC)

• BAC was a 30-day pop-up art and

culture space for learning, exhibitions, and

performance located in one of Glass Street’s

most iconic buildings. Jacob Lawrence, Norman

Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Joseph Delaney, and

Thornton Dial were among the renowned

African American artists who were represented

in the Bank Art Center’s gallery. In addition to

the temporary gallery, BAC featured live jazz

music, curator talks, and children’s art activities.

BAC was presented in partnership with James

McKissick (collector), Shane Morrow (curator),

and Carmen Davis (jazz musician) as part of

a series of events celebrating Black History

Month.

1,200+PARTICIPANTS

ART &CULTURE

Rise Up Chattanooga

• Rise Up is a public art project by Virginia-

based artist Charlie Brouwer. 452 ladders

borrowed from families, schools, businesses,

churches, & organizations from all over the

Chattanooga community were joined together

with heavy-duty cable ties to form a temporary

sculpture on the grounds of GHC. The project

generated new awareness and support for

efforts to bring life back to Glass Street.

Sculptural Seating Elements

• 122 artists from 35 states responded to GHC’s

Request for Proposals for the design and

fabrication of 5 sculptural seating elements.

An ad hoc jury comprised of residents and

representatives from Public Art Chattanooga,

Public Works, and GHC selected 9 finalists

who were then put forward for a public vote.

More that 170 votes determined the 5 winning

proposals. Artists are currently fabricating the

seating elements and will be installing them on

Glass Street before the end of September.

Bus Shelter Designs

• GHC received 55 responses to a local Call for

Designs for placement on 3 new bus shelters

for the Glass Street area. A selection committee

comprised of community representatives and

Public Art Chattanooga committee members

chose the winning proposals. The Chattanooga

Area Regional Transportation Authority is

providing the shelters and has placed the order

for them to arrive and be installed before the

end of September.

Glass Street Pocket Park

• In partnership with Chattanooga

Neighborhood Enterprise and the Trust for

Public Land, GHC is transforming the vacant

lot adjacent to our headquarters on Glass

Street into a pocket park for the community.

Palmer Built Environments has created a unique

design for the space, one that emphasizes the

neighborhoods history. Construction for the

park is scheduled to begin on August 15th.

452LADDERSBORROWED

122ARTISTS

Sidewalks, Lights, and Trees

• The City of Chattanooga began replacing

the sidewalks, installing streetlights, and

building tree wells on the north side of Glass

Street on July 22nd! The City has committed

to completing streetscape construction on the

south side of the street in August.

Art Camps

• GHC has provided physical space and funding

of up to $2,500 for a series of art camps over

the course of the summer months. The camps

have focused on building art bikes, painting and

drawing, and a site-specific design/build public

art project.

Murals, signage, and façade improvements

• GHC provided commissions to individual

artists for four craft signage projects. Another

commission was provided for the design and

installation of storefront banners that promote

and unifies Glass Street. Basic improvements

were made to four storefronts that served as

pop-up shops during the Better Block event.

Commissions were awarded to three artists for

creative storefront installations on vacant and

boarded up buildings. We are currently offering

a 2:1 matching grant opportunity to encourage

additional façade improvement projects along

the Glass Street commercial corridor.

Partnerships

• Following a municipal election this spring,

GHC worked to rearticulate a favorable

partnership with the City of Chattanooga’s new

administration.

3. What are the biggest challenges you have encountered?

• Collaborative projects take longer than expected – especially when the public sector is involved.

• This creates confusion in our messaging – to the public and to our funders.

• The perception that this neighborhood is abandoned and dangerous deters private investment in

the area.

• Balancing artistic excellence and integrity with community focus and meaningful engagement.

4. What have you learned that you can apply to your work and that other

ArtPlace partners can learn from?

• People are Chattanooga’s greatest resource, and our best investment.

• Building capacity is better than maintaining control.

• Creativity incites change, in the neighborhood, in the storefront, and in the imagination.

• Build meaningful relationships with individuals in your community on the front end - they will

contribute positively and directly to the sustainability of your work and organization.

• Invite those benefiting from the work to co-create, i.e. design with not for

• Effective public-private collaboration is everyone’s responsibility.

• Don’t underestimate the power of buzz.

5. Have you had any unexpected surprises — good or bad? If so, tell us about them.

• Business, civic, and foundation leaders recently presented Mayor Berke with five specific ideas to

continue the revitalization of Chattanooga, growth in tourism, and enhancement of quality of life for

local residents which includes ‘capitalize on Chattanooga’s rich locomotive history by connecting

the world-famous Chattanooga Choo-Choo and the Tennessee Valley Railroad with a train attraction

and ride. These dedicated tracks could also connect a developing neighborhood with Downtown

and act as Chattanooga’s first commuter train between East Chattanooga and Downtown. Phase

two could connect the Airport and Downtown by extending the tracks.’

6. Did you achieve what you set out to achieve through this project? Please describe expectations

and achievements of the organization/project and of the change in the community.

• Through this project, GHC set out to create a sense of place and foster a more sustainable form of

economic development to catalyze future revitalization efforts in East Chattanooga.

• GHC expected the divergent thinking of creative individuals to enable others to see new

opportunities for engagement in the community. By inviting individual artists and architects to

help re-imagine and redesign the commercial corridor, we engaged more than 3,500 individuals

in placemaking activities and leveraged $140,000 to attract more than $550,000 in funding from

partners for site-specific projects and community programs.

• We expected the improvements to the buildings and streetscapes as well as the presence of

aforementioned partners would lead to positive behavioral changes in residents and visitors. Data

provided by the Chattanooga Police Department shows an increase in criminal activity between

2010 and 2012. A comparison of January through June of 2012 and January through June of 2013

shows a 42% decrease in violent crimes and a 62% decrease in property crimes in the Echo 2

Division (Glass Street impact area).

• GHC expected creative events and installations that animate public spaces would encourage

pedestrian activity on the historic commercial corridor. By finding opportunities to literally showcase

creative talents right on Glass Street, we have helped East Chattanooga lay down a new kind of

welcome mat for residents from adjacent neighborhoods, 10-11,000 daily pass-through commuters,

and Chattanoogans from across the city. More than 5,500 pedestrians were attracted to Glass

Street over the course of the year. Unfortunately, this pedestrian activity is not yet sustained beyond

special events/installations.

• These highly visible projects and the related media coverage have collectively started to reshape

the public’s perception of Glass Street – from an abandoned and dangerous place to one that is

capable of new life and vibrancy.

• Today, we are seeing a renewed a sense of pride in the community. The Glass Farm Neighborhood

Association has attracted at least 11 new members, neighbors are using and promoting online

communication platforms such as Next Door, and teams of residents have volunteered time and

resources towards a series of beautification projects in the neighborhoods adjacent to Glass Street.

7. Are there any project milestones that will occur over the next six months that ArtPlace should

know about? If so, please tell us about them.

• We plan to have a ribbon cutting for the new pocket park on Glass Street in the spring of 2014.

• Today, we have two out of five sculpture seating elements installed and others will be installed

Winter of 2013/2014.

• We anticipate the three bus shelters wrapped with local artists’ work to be installed on Glass Street

at the end of February 2014.

8. Has your community applied to or received funding from a federal program within the past year

that relates to your project? If so, please explain this federal alignment.

• No.

9. Have you contacted your mayor or county executive to discuss your project with him/her?

If so, please describe what has resulted from this conversation.

• Yes. As a result of our discussions about our efforts and goals, the previous city mayor designated

Glass Street to be among the first in the City to have new next generation high tech and high

capability street lights installed, channeled Community Development Block Grant dollars to support

streetscape upgrades, and asked that the appropriate city departments help facilitate neighborhood

planning and participate in community building events.

10. Have you contacted your congressional delegation to discuss your project with them?

If so, please describe what has resulted from this conversation.

• We met with our state House Representative JoAnne Favors. She made a commitment of dis-

cretionary funds towards City of Chattanooga’s Parks Department for the beautification of a city-

owned parcel on Glass Street. Unfortunately, these funds have yet to be put to use.

11. Since applying for ArtPlace funding, have you secured additional funding for this project?

If so, please provide a list of the sources and amounts below or as a separate document.

• The Benwood Foundation, $67,500

• Hamico Foundation, $5,000

• Public Art Chattanooga, City of Chattanooga Parks & Recreation Department, $4,000

• TN Valley Railroad Museum, $12,000

• CreateHere, $6,500

• ArtsBuild, $3,000

• The Trust for Public Land and Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises (with support from the

Benwood Foundation and The Community Foundation for Greater Chattanooga), $50,000

• The Educational Foundation for America, $87,500

• Individual Donors, Corporate Supporters, and Event Sponsorships, $40,000

12. Since applying for ArtPlace funding, has the community in which your project is located

attracted investment from other public, private or philanthropic sources? If so, please describe this

investment.

• Over the course of 2013, there have been five acquisitions on the street.

• Currently, five properties are under construction.

• The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) is using a grant from the U.S.

Department of Transportation to fund three new bus shelters that will feature digital message

boards with real-time transit information, lighting, seating, and security cameras.

• Mark Making, a local non-profit arts organization, is initiating a year-long community art project

called ‘Portraits of East Chattanooga’ with funding from the Community Foundation for Greater

Chattanooga.

• There have been three offers on buildings located along the Glass Street commercial corridor

in the past month. Unfortunately, a lack of transparency as to who is backing these offers and

uncertainty of their intentions does create some concern on our end.

13. Has your project received local or national media coverage? If so, please provide a list of the

press received including links to electronic articles below or as a separate document.

• See separate document titled ‘Glass House Collective Media Links’

14. What key insights did you take away from the 2013 Creative Placemaking Summit and how did

they impact your work? (If your initiative was not represented at the Summit, please disregard this

question)

• Key insight: To connect the arts with other fields, we have to create a narrative that’s going to

have traction beyond talking to ourselves. Impact on our work: We avoid using too many creative

placemaking ‘buzzwords’ in our messaging and talk about our work in the context of our audiences’

values and priorities.

• Key insight: Assembling a team of residents and business owners to act as advisors will foster

ownership of a community renewal and/or cultural development process. Team members should be

compensated for their time and service. Impact on our work: GHC recently engaged nine residents

and business owners to act as a community board for Glass House Collective. They will provide

strategic input and serve as advocates for GHC in the community, participate in a series of block

leader trainings, and have access to seed funding for community-based projects that engage their

neighbors.

• Key insight: To gain traction, it’s important that your message also come from people with a voice

in the community. Impact on our work: See previous response.

• Key insight: Projects may take 4 to 6 years, and over time core truths change (budgets and

partners). That creates a guarded culture internally which means trust in the leader and excitement

about the effort will be challenged. Impact on our work: We actively engage the entire GHC team

in problem-solving issues facing the organization – this creates common understanding and shared

ownership for the organization. We also engage the entire team in celebrating our ‘wins’ – even the

small ones.

10 SIGNALS OF MOMENTUM

ArtPlace has developed the Vibrancy Indicators, a set of indicators that reflect the vibrancy of

a place, with the goal of tracking the change in these measures over time to assess the impact

of creative placemaking. To accompany the Vibrancy Indicators, we ask that you observe your

community now and compare it to the start of the grant period and answer the following ten

questions. Please respond with a simple “Yes” or “No.” In instances where you respond “Yes”

please include a short statement of evidence or images of the stated change.

1. Is the community cleaner?

• Yes. New sidewalks, improved storefronts, and reclaimed public spaces have enhanced the

appearance of the street. In turn, our neighbors are taking better care of their community. We have

seen a decline in litter and increase in the number of individuals taking the time to care for their

properties through landscaping and maintenance projects.

2. Does the community feel safer?

• Yes. When comparing the first six months of 2012 to the first six months of 2013, property crime is

down 62% and violent crime is down 42%. The following images show reported crimes in 2012 and in

2013. This is a comparison of a 12-month period and a 6-month period, but we believe it is still very

compelling.

3. Is the community more attractive?

• Yes. A new mural offers a more attractive entrance into the corridor. Six buildings were cleaned

out and spruced up in preparation for the Better Block event. Façades were painted, signage was

installed, windows were replaced, and more. Banners celebrating the district and promoting the

community’s identity hang on the storefronts along the commercial corridor. Streetscape upgrades

currently underway will include new sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian lights, and trees. All of these

things are adding to the attractiveness of the community.

4. Are there fewer vacancies?

• Yes. Since our interim report to ArtPlace, two new businesses have opened up on the street. These

businesses include a specialty retail and restaurant. There is still a great deal of uncertainty about

the longevity of these businesses.

5. Are there more people on the sidewalks?

• Yes. The increase is slight and not yet sustained beyond special events. We believe the installation

of five sculptural seating elements and the new pocket park will help attract more pedestrians to the

area.

6. Is there a popular new outdoor gathering place?

• No. BUT we believe the pocket park (see images in previous response) will be very popular among

residents as well as visitors to the area. An old train rail is being repurposed as a sculptural element

that provides separation from the street as well as a swing set for the park.

7. Is there a popular new indoor gathering place?

• Yes. Glass House Collective continues to be a place where residents connect – through special

events as well as casual drop-ins.

8. Is there new evidence of arts activity?

• Girls’ Inc. engaged their students in a series of classes that included screen printing t-shirts, build-

ing planters, and painting self-portraits. Art120, a local arts organization, hosted two Art Bike Camps

on Glass Street this summer – one for adults and one for youth. Brush Paint & Sip hosted a free art

camp for kids in the community to learn basic drawing and painting skills. GHC awarded commis-

sions for locally established artists Shaun LaRose and Rondell Crier to design and paint a mural on

one of Glass Street’s most iconic buildings. With additional funding from the Royal Society for the

Arts, two emerging artists will train and implement their own murals on Glass Street this fall. The

Community of Christ, located across the street from GHC, provided funding for a design/build proj-

ect that engaged their youth in the animation of vacant lot on the street. Local architect Kelly Fitz-

gerald and artists Rondell Crier were hired to lead the project.

9. Has the local press reported on it positively?

• Yes. Please see ‘Glass House Collective Media Links.’

10. Do people in the community generally agree that the community is getting better?

• Yes.