The 'Perfect' Little Festival

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Three days before the 4 Bridges Arts Festival opened in 2001, its organizers felt like they’d been hit by a tidal wave. The grassy fields of Coolidge Park, their chosen venue, had disappeared under the waves of a record inundation. Then, Chattanooga Market Director Nick Jessen threw out a life preserver. The homeless crafters, he said, could pitch their tents at the covered Cricket Pavilion on the Southside. “And the show was a huge success,” recalls co-founder Terry Cannon, owner of Loose Cannon Gallery. “It ended up being a home run down there.”

4 Bridges—named for the spans visible from Coolidge Park—has been hitting grand slams at the renamed First Tennessee Pavilion ever since. Despite a lack of greenery and overpasses, the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary next month. Once nurtured by cool, creative crafters, the show has evolved into a sophisticated nationally-acclaimed event. “I feel very proud of it,” says Dana Shavin, a co-founder and owner of Barking Horse Studio.

And rightly so, says Festival Artistic Director Jerry Dale McFadden. Sunshine Artist magazine listed the show in its “Top 100” in 2005 through 2007. Some estimate the event will bring up to $1.5 million to Hamilton County this year. With beefed up regional marketing, a new “go green” push, interactive Internet coverage and gourmet food options, McFadden says attendance could double to 30,000 in 2010.

The show’s producer, the Association for Visual Artists, reports gains, too. “This is the biggest fundraising event we do,” says McFadden. Money for the nonprofit’s local art exhibits, art in schools and public workshop programs, he explains, flows mainly through 4 Bridges.

Underpinning AVA’s moneymaking efforts is its highly successful Patron Purchase Program, organizers past and present agree. When he pitched the concept in 2000, “people rolled their eyes,” says Cannon. Thanks in part to eff orts of his wife, Dr. Deanna Duncan, and then-Mayor Bob Corker, he adds, the program raised $30,000 in the first year.

Affectionately called “Bridge Bucks,” the program—which packs pre-show art purchases and an AVA contribution into a single tax-deductible donation—raised $70,000 last year. In peak years, more than $100,000 poured into AVA and 4 Bridges’ artists’ coffers. “No other art show in the country puts up those kind of numbers,” says Cannon. “It’s just unheard of.”

The “buzz” also transported 4 Bridges to national prominence. Artists praise the program in Sunshine Artist and other media, luring more talented artists to apply, thus boosting show quality, explains Daryl Thetford, a five-time exhibitor and 4 Bridges 2010 poster artist. “The patron purchase put the show on the map,” says Thetford.

Patrons and artists also pen mash notes to 4 Bridges. “Artists love the show,” says Greg Lawler, owner of Art Fair Sourcebook, an independent artist show rating service. The show receives rave reviews each year, he says, because of its lavish Southern hospitality and the sheltered venue. “4 Bridges is one of the best art shows I do all year,” agrees Tim Hooper, a four-time exhibitor from Nashville.

After 10 successful years, some suggest 4 Bridges explore new waters. The show slipped off Sunshine Artist’s “Top 100” list in 2008 (2009 results have not been tabulated). “But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good show,” says General Manager Joe Halbrucker. The list, he explains, reflects only artists’ sales, not an event’s total appeal.

The show’s regional appeal is a “testament” to the its success, says Hooper. But he wonders why most of his pieces find a home with Nashville or Atlanta buyers—not Chattanoogans. “I’m not sure local folks fully appreciate the talent the festival draws,” Hooper notes. Responding to economic challenges of the past year and a half, AVA made key changes in 2010, says McFadden. The nonprofit contracted with a local, private company—Quiddity Entertainment—for show operations. Fine food, a bike valet service, recycling stations and streaming video represent additional strategies to “breathe new life” into the show, says McFadden.

For his part, Cannon says he’d like to see more neighborhood festivals and edgier art—in short: An expansion of the 4 Bridges mission. “Chattanooga needs and deserves a top-notch art festival, and 4 Bridges is that,” Cannon says. “But I wanted this show to be a little more creative, a little more individualized and whimsical.”

Other co-founders and exhibitors say the show has happily traversed deep waters. “The quality of the show has gone way up and it’s helped educate the public about what original art can be,” says Shavin. While artists appreciate new ideas, customers don’t always buy them. “It’s come back to center a little bit, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing,” she notes. “Chattanooga is not the edgiest place in the world.”

Since he took over show direction a year and a half ago, McFadden says, he’s found that 4 Bridges functions well as a fundraiser, appeals to a savvy crowd and draws the right brand of national attention. Since it’s far from broken, he says he doesn’t need to fix it. “Right now,” he says, “4 Bridges is the perfect little festival.”

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