Photo by Millicent Garland
CREATIVE ECONOMY / PERISCOPE CHA
Artist Entrepreneur Training
Empowering working artists to see their creative practice through an entrepreneurial lens.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Skills and Strategies for a Sustainable Arts Career
Periscope is a year-long intensive training opportunity that empowers working artists to see their creative practice through an entrepreneurial lens. Led by highly experienced instructors from within Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial community along with break-out sessions facilitated by Chattanooga’s top arts professionals, Periscope is designed to be a transformative experience for each artist, sparking the moment when their career may really start to take off.
Periscope, originally created by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, has been empowering artists for over a decade. Launched in 2014, the program expanded to rural Tennessee communities in 2021 and arrived in Chattanooga in 2023. It features a 10-week intensive curriculum followed by six months of personalized mentorship, culminating in the celebrated Pitch Night and Entrepreneur Expo. Since its debut in Chattanooga, Periscope has enabled numerous artists to transform their creative passions into thriving businesses, enriching both the cultural and economic fabric of the region.
Join a Cohort
The application deadline for Periscope Class of 2027 is August 7, 2026.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Periscope CHA Informational SessionJuly 21, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 amChattanooga, TN- Periscope CHA Informational SessionJuly 21, 2026
5:30 pm – 6:30 pmChattanooga, TN 
Periscope CHA Application DeadlineAugust 7, 2026
11:00 pm – 11:50 pmChattanooga, TN
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
How it Works
How it Works
Training
Working artists receive 10 weeks of professional development training utilizing the CO.STARTERS business curriculum by FINSYNC.
Exchange
Artists share best practices with interdisciplinary peers through small group work.
Mentorship
Each artist is paired one-on-one with a high-caliber mentor for 6 months.
Exposure
Year-round opportunities to celebrate the work of alumni artists, plus participant visibility at the culminating celebration, the Pitch Night + Artist Entrepreneur Showcase.
Year-round opportunities to celebrate the work of alumni artists, plus participant visibility at the culminating celebration, the Pitch Night + Artist Entrepreneur Showcase.
PARTICIPANT PROFILES
Meet the Graduates
NEWS FROM THE
Support this Program
Support this Program
Support this Program
Your gift to ArtsBuild supports opportunities for artists like the Periscope CHA training program.
Sponsors
ArtsBuild’s Periscope CHA program is generously supported by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, Benwood Foundation, City of Chattanooga, State of Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, The Howard Fund - Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, RISE Chattanooga, and individual donors.
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