DL Opinion columns, The Arts

4 Bridges Arts Festival a wonderful gift – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Thousands of folks join me in thinking that the 4 Bridges Arts Festival is, as a Bishop friend in Bermuda used to say, “wonderful, marvelous, glorious.” The Festival is presented annually by the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) and has been with us for 26 years.  AVA’s tag line is “ Connecting Art with Community’ and it’s supported by the TN Arts Commission, Lyndhurst Foundation, and ArtsBuild as well as dozens of sponsoring organizations and individual patrons.  While 4 Bridges grows bigger as the city expands, its home continues to be the First Horizon Pavilion near the Southside district of downtown Chattanooga. That’s where I went.

Talking with Lindsey Hill, AVA’s Board Director who’s had a dozen plus years championing AVA, I discovered that there are many local traditions which support the festival’s artists. For example the pre-festival Patron Party had over 1,000 attendees. And the number of tickets sold this year to attendees may reach close to 9,000. Wonderful!

Speaking with AVA’s Executive Director Jen Lewis, I discovered that while there are a dozen local artists involved this year, there are an additional 138 artists from around the region featured at the Pavilion. What brings them to Chattanooga? One reason is because Chattanooga is so welcoming and friendly to artists. And even though we’re a relatively small city compared to some other arts festival locations, the sales of artists’ work is better here than in larger cities. Jen explains, “Because the layout is compact, folks make multiple trips around the booths and are inspired to purchase the artwork.”  

The artwork is wonderfully diverse. It includes: 2-D and 3-D Media, Basketry Ceramics, Drawing, Fiber/Leather, Furniture, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Oil/Acrylic, Watercolor/Pastel, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and wood. There are judges  of the artwork with Winners at various levels. And there’s a “Peoples Choice Award” where we get to vote for our favorites and the winners receive wonderful prizes and awards. 

I walked past various booths and talked to a couple of kids. Even the babies and toddlers were full of smiles and having a great time. Of course! The children’s activities include face painting, henna (removable) tattoos, and coloring pages. I’d love to join them and I’m sure others would, too. The different generations at the festival went from tiny babies in prams to elderly folk walking with canes. Many were local and quite a few from out-of-town. What did the attendees have to say about their time at 4 Bridges? 

The reviews left on Face Book give a variety of perspectives, all of them positive. The venue is a  plus for many folks like this one, “I like the old factory and the pavilion it is set up in.” 

A newbie to the festival said, “This was our first time attending. We will definitely be back again next year!” Others shared that they were regulars,  “I look forward to this event every year!  I wish it would happen twice a year. I save my birthday present choice for this event.  And….I got it!” This comment is amazing, “I walked around for 4 hours and the last half hour I still was amazed at the beautiful pieces. So much talent!” I couldn’t agree more with this one, “I enjoyed meeting all of the artists, especially the emerging ones. It was worth the drive from Atlanta. I’ll be back next year!”

If you haven’t attended the 4 Bridges Festival yet, plan on it next April. Chattanooga has always supported the Arts, for good reason. Be part of that support and make the future artistically wonderful. And bring the family, too. It will definitely be a wonderful time for all.

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NOTE: Jen Lewis is moving on from AVA and Chattanooga. We all wish her well in the phase of her life. We also wish the best for the new executive Director, Laura Cleary Williams.  Congrats!

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