ABOUT ARTSBUILD

ArtsBuild’s mission is building stronger communities through the arts.

Since 1969, ArtsBuild has served as a catalyst for the arts in our community, investing more than $77 million in arts organizations, arts programs and arts education. Throughout the past 54 years, the vision of our founders to build a stronger community through the arts has remained consistent. That vision includes creating access to the arts. We do this through grant-making, arts education initiatives, and arts advocacy.

Your support allows ArtsBuild to invest in:

• Local nonprofit arts organizations and their outreach efforts
• Art programs across the community for many different kinds of groups, including neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations, and social service nonprofits
• Curriculum-based out-of-school arts experiences for thousands of students in Hamilton County Schools

1. Arts improve individual well-being

2. Arts unify communities

3. Arts improve academic performance

4. Arts strengthen the community

5. Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses

6. Arts spark creativity and innovation

7. Arts drive the creative industries

8. Arts have social impact

9. Arts improve healthcare

10. Arts for the health and wellbeing of our military

From Americans for the Arts:

Advocacy

ArtsBuild serves as a champion for the arts. We aim to showcase the collective impact the arts have on our community, as well as the many ways that the arts improve our quality of life. As a hub for the arts in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, ArtsBuild leads and participates in community-wide discussions and strategies about how to cultivate and advocate for the arts in education, local economy and tourism.

The Arts & Economic Prosperity® 6 (AEP6) was a national study done by Americans for the Arts released in 2023. It found that the Hamilton County nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $191 million in economic activity—$94 million in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $97 million in event-related spending by their audiences. This activity supported 3,120 jobs and generated $33.2 million in government revenue.

Donate

You can make a difference through the arts with a gift to ArtsBuild. Become an ArtsBuilder today!

Partners

It takes a large group of arts organizations, artists, administrators, and educators to build a vibrant city rich in arts and culture. The arts organizations that currently receive Mission Support from ArtsBuild excel at what they do and strive to create access to their programs for youth and adults all across the community. We rely on these partnerships with established arts organizations, our Community Arts Partners, to build a stronger community through the arts.

Our 2024-2025 Community Arts Partners

Resources

Looking to learn more about the arts, arts advocacy and arts education? Here are a few of our favorite local, state and national resources.

Cultural Plan

In 2011, ArtsBuild participated in landmark city-wide cultural plan called Imagine Chattanooga 20/20. The plan was built around community priorities identified by local citizens. It is a series of carefully chosen action steps designed to make the community a better place to live, work, and visit. With the vision for a vibrant and diverse Chattanooga region that is celebrated for the ways in which creativity, arts, and culture enrich and enhance its way of life, the plan was designed to include everyone, not just those who are traditional arts consumers and supporters. “The arts,” as we say in Chattanooga, “are for all.” As a result of the planning process, ArtsBuild changed its original name of Allied Arts to ArtsBuild in 2012 in order to acknowledge a more vibrant role in the community.

Current Strategic Plan

Through the goals outlined in ArtsBuild’s Strategic Plan, ArtsBuild board members, staff, partners, and stakeholders will work toward being an ever-responsive organization to the needs of the community. We are committed to investing in arts education in addition to supporting and growing a creative, diverse, and equitable arts sector in Chattanooga-Hamilton County as we fulfill our mission to build a stronger community through the arts.

Board of Directors

Dr. Andrea Becksvoort
John Beder
Ron Blankenbaker
Ella Clark
Olga de Klein
Karen Estes
Patti Frierson
Drew Hibbard

Staff

James McKissic

President
(423) 777-4210

Sallie Lawrence

Director of Finance
(423) 777-4211

Alex Close

Director of Development
(423) 777-4212

Melissa Astin

Caroline Bulman

Development Manager
(423) 777-4213

Brianna Jones

Programs and Grants Coordinator
(423) 777-4217

Jonathan Dean

Administrative Coordinator
(423) 756-2787

Jules Jackson

Programs Coordinator
(423) 803-4784