Sculptures – Glass House Collective

The Pool

Teal — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 16:59:42 +0000

What if you could literally light up a neighborhood through a powerful combination of arts and engagement?

April 2017

BACKGROUND:

The Pool is an installation art piece of 40,000 LED bulbs and 106 pucks created by Brooklyn artist Jen Lewin, programmed to light up in clever, colorful ways when visitors step, run or dance across the piece. In 2017, the tech-enabled piece toured neighborhoods in East Chattanooga and brought families together in unexpected ways, in unexpected places. This installation kicked off The Highlight Festival which took place on the former HUD Housing Site called Harriet Tubman.

NEED:

Activate vacant sites through the power of local collaboration and draw focus on neighborhoods in fun, bright ways. And did we mention dancing?

WHAT WE DID:

Glass House Collective, green|spaces, and our local partners worked with Jen Lewin to engineer a beautiful act of placemaking outside of typical venues to underscore the point that every type of family should have the opportunity to engage with home in a new way. While The Pool had toured major cities and events around the world (and clocked millions of steps), it had never made its way to the Southeast.

First stop: the East Chatt Highlight Festival — itself a feat of local partnership. Greeted by a full gospel showcase, The Pool brought locals and visitors together around a very bright event. The festival was held in the vacant site where 440 housing units of the Harriet Tubman Homes formerly stood. That’s also where kids from nearby Hardy Elementary met with the artist’s team and helped program color patterns and test out the massive installation. From there, the piece moved to a site on the 1900 block of Roanoke Avenue — just down the road from our very own Glass Street. Over the course of one week, The Pool moved around the area three times — from Highland Park, to East Chattanooga to East Lake — making a vibrant and dance-worthy event accessible to the families of Glass Street, all through the hard work of local partners.

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VISION:

There are so many things that are so right about our neighborhoods — but sometimes, you’ve got to set the stage to celebrate home. The Pool provided an opportunity for locals to pause, party and come together in an unconventional, highly ‘grammable way. Call it a slow down or a glow up: either way, it’s all about shining a light on our awesome neighborhoods.

PARTNERS:

green|spaces

Empower

Lyndhurst Foundation

Public Art Chattanooga

EPB Fiber Optics

S&H Trucking

Kelly Subaru

Arts Build

OUTCOME:

vacant sites activated

700+

visitors engaged

countless

dance moves dropped

IN THE NEWS:

Nogga Today

The Chattanoogan

RELATED RESOURCES:

Youtube Video: Interactive Public Sculpture: The Pool

Jen Lewin Studio-The Pool

BLOG:

Empower Energy Club

Playing at “The Pool”

Highlighting the Good!

Studio Everything and Rondell Crier

Teal — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 16:58:21 +0000

Can an Artist Studio Become a Shared Public Resource and a Sustainable Method of Change?

2014

BACKGROUND:

Rondell Crier was another participant of the Creative Placemaking program at GHC in 2013. His portfolio includes an array of work in various mediums, and his work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. He has a strong drive to invest in communities through creativity, as well as mentoring and sharing his skills, which is precisely his mission with Studio Everything on Glass Street. Rondell received funding for his program on his own and continued Studio Everything on Glass Street after his initial grant with Glass House Collective.

What Studio Everything and Rondell Crier Did:

The studio was created to be a place where the community, especially the young community, could come and release creative energy through various projects of their own choosing. Participants are encouraged to bring salvaged items and recycle them into a work of art. Rondell Crier acts as a guide for participants, offering inspiration and knowledge about the various tools he keeps in the studio. Participants often opt for long-term projects, and may continue to attend open hours each week to hone their craft and skills.

Workshops and holiday events were also held during Crier’s residency, such as Mother’s Day workshops and Halloween parties for children. Crier’s work and mentorship has directly influenced many of the youth in the area, and he has continued the work by securing grants to keep Studio Everything open.

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VISION:

Studio Everything is a place where anyone can create art out of anything and everything. It’s a place where residents and youth can receive mentorship and advice from a professional artist while gaining experience working with a variety of tools and a variety of people.

PARTNERS:

Rondell Crier

The Educational Foundation of America

OUTCOME:

workshops held throughout the year

partnership strengthened

100+

items repurposed

IN THE NEWS:

WTCI via Greater Chattanooga–”Making Community”

WUTC

BLOG:

New Glass Farm Food Pantry Provides Nourishment for Body and Soul

2$ON and Art Trap Collective Keep Growing

One Giant Sweater for Larry Hines

Wayne O Rama

Teal — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 02:01:58 +0000

Can Giant Puppets Connect a Community Both Together and History?

September 24, 2016, Glass Street

BACKGROUND:

Local Chattanoogan and Emmy Award winning artist Wayne White and the Shaking Ray Levi Society, a non-profit supporting non-traditional artists, announced in late July of 2016 that White would be putting on the Wayne-O-Rama, a year-long interactive art installation. There were various exhibits throughout the city, all depicting scenes from Chattanooga’s history, and White participated in events such as GHC’s 2016 Glass Street Live.

NEED:

Wayne White’s inclusion in GLS 2016 added another layer to the events, one that showed the community a piece from the substantial veins of history in Chattanooga, and further connected them to the historical parks right next door.

WHAT WE DID:

White created twenty feet puppets of two Civil War generals who charged up the hill on the Chickamauga Battlefield 100 years ago, which marched down Glass Street in a community parade to begin Glass Street Live. A number of other puppets, handmade by adults and youth from the community, were also featured in the parade, having been made in the weeks prior. Mark Making graciously opened their studio on Monday and Thursday nights for puppet building, while funding was provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission. All the puppets were created from recycled material, giving new life to cardboard, fabric, and paper that would have otherwise been thrown out.

White’s puppets depicting the Civil War generals spread greater awareness to the community about the beautiful natural park right next door to them, the Pennsylvania Reservation, which was (and still is) newly connected by a trail to the Sherman Reservation along the ridge. Visitors and residents were encouraged to explore the new trail and the park, with rangers providing tours during the afternoon.

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VISION:

Having so many people march down the streets of their community with pieces of art created by their own hands brings nothing but pride and joy. Bonds and kinship were shown in the most unlikely way: puppets!

White’s puppets also furthered GHC’s project to get the community outside and in the natural beauty of the Sherman Reservation, where they could explore the outdoors and learn about the history and battles that shaped the city.

PARTNERS:

Wayne White

The Shaking Ray Levi Society

The Tennessee Arts Commission

Mark Making

OUTCOME:

Glass Street float

50+

participants from the community

giant puppets

IN THE NEWS:

The Chattanoogan: Wayne-O-Rama

The Chattanooga: Wayne-O-Rama Performs at GSL

The Times Free Press

RELATED RESOURCES:

Youtube: Glass Street Live 2016

BLOG:

Glass Street on Main Street!

Oh What a Day!

Join us for Glass Street LIVE!

Three Giant Insects

glasshousec — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:18:22 +0000

How can wooden pallets create a destination point in the community? Artist Zachary Reynolds worked with volunteers to deconstruct old pallets and reassemble the salvaged wood as three massive insects — a praying mantis, cricket, and fly. The playful sculptures play with the idea of exaggerated scale and color. Together, they transform the new community space on Glass Street into an eye-catching destination point for the people to connect.

Outcomes:
3 new public art installations on Glass Street
11 volunteers engaged in projects
Sculptures found their forever home at Grow Hope Urban Farm

Rise Up Chattanooga

glasshousec — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:12:20 +0000

Can a public art project reach people beyond the traditional “art world”? Rise Up Chattanooga is a public art project by Virginia-based artist Charlie Brouwer. 452 ladders borrowed from families, schools, businesses, churches, and organizations from all over the Chattanooga community were joined together with heavy-duty cable ties to form a temporary sculpture on the grounds of Glass House Collective. Each ladder represents the hopes and dreams of its lender. Connected, the ladders represent the community supporting each other as they rise together. Artist Brouwer says that a “community exists when each member realizes that their own hopes and dreams depend on, and are tied to everyone else’s.”

In 2002, Brouwer began these ‘Rise Up’ projects as a way to engage a broader audience in a contemporary art experience that involves them in its making. This is his 9th installation made from borrowed ladders.

Outcomes:
452 ladders borrowed
244 ladder lenders engaged
1,200 visitors
3 school field trip visits

Media:
Times Free Press, Glass Street group celebrates its Rise Up Chattanooga sculpture
The Pulse Weekly, Glass Street Scales Ladders to Rise Up
The Wall Breakers, Rise Up Chattanooga!
WRCB Channel 3, Rise Up Chattanooga:a man’s dream to use art to unify Chattanooga
WUTC Public Radio, Transforming Glass Street from the outside in
Nooga.com, The beautiful uprising on Glass Street
Times Free Press, Sculpture expected to inspire Glass Street improvement
Times Free Press, Glass Street’s streetscape improvements seen as key step in Chattanooga area’s revitalization
WUTC Public Radio, A Rung Up on Art
Pulse Weekly, Loan Your Ladder
St. Andrews Center Project Video
Rise Up Chattanooga Video