News

Creative Placemaking projects across TN create distinctive places

By Suzanne Lynch, Director of Marketing and Development —

The Creative Placemaking grants competition was designed to help build stronger communities by enhancing the distinctive character of Tennessee places. Thirteen projects were awarded in FY2017, and 12 projects were awarded in FY2016.

unicoi buffalo project
Roy Pilkenton working on his buffalo carving. Photo by Sue Guinn, Johnson City Press
Chilhowee Park mural. Photo courtesy of Chilhowee Park.
Chilhowee Park mural. Photo courtesy of Chilhowee Park.

Awarded this year, Unicoi Buffalo Project is a three-part project that celebrates the importance and role of the buffalo in Unicoi’s history. The first part is a partnership between the Town of Unicoi and the Tanasi Arts and Heritage Center to host an artist-in-residence. The selected artist is Joe Pilkenton to carve a sculpture of a small buffalo family. Pilkenton is best known for his work on the Kingsport Carousel project. As he works on the relief carving at the Unicoi Visitors Center where the work will be permanently installed, guests will be able to watch him work and ask questions. To follow the carving will be a large mural and a video that depict the buffalo’s prominence in Unicoi’s heritage. The mural will be located at the new Mountain Harvest Kitchen and the video will be played at the Tanasi Arts and Heritage Center and online.

The Chilhowee Park Mural Project was awarded in FY2016. Artist Brandon Donahue was selected to create the mural on the park’s retaining wall near the main entrance. Donahue selected key elements to represent the park’s history in alignment with the project’s aim of reconnecting the community to the public space and establishing the park as a cultural asset. The murals feature a streetcar, a dream-catcher and a backdrop of the Smoky Moiuntains—all elements reflecting Chilhowee Park as a beautiful southern playground in Knoxville. This collaborative effort was led by Julie Graham, executive director of the East Tennessee Quality Growth, and included partners such as the East Tennessee Foundation, the First Tennessee Foundation, the Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance, and the Knoxville Public Arts Committee.

MainStreet Dayton Cultural & Heritage Project received a Creative Placemaking Grant in both FY2016 and FY2017. The project is part of an ongoing effort to repurpose the Rhea County Courthouse as an Arts and History Center to support the Scopes Festival. In 2014, MainStreet Dayton and Cumberland County Playhouse partnered to create Front Page News, a historically accurate play about the famous 1925 Scopes Evolution Trial. The FY2016 grant provided funding for technical support and equipment to expand the festival’s programming and the Front Page News production. The FY2017 grant award is being used to develop digital documentation of the historical events, actors and arguments that were involved in the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton. The finished presentation will be projected in the original courtroom and will provide visitors to the Rhea County Courthouse in-depth experiences year-round while preserving the historic site.