black creatives
meet up
Our Black Creatives Meetup initiative is a long-term investment into Black artists and makers in our community.
As an on-going program, we will continuously provide support, resources and a safe space for our creative community to incubate and develop. Currently, we meet monthly and are seeking to raise funds in order to hold events and offer periodic programming.
we asked black artists what they
needed to thrive in community,
here's what they said:
welcoming spaces to learn together and share knowledge
Through our Black Creatives Meetup Initiative we are listening and responding to creative voices and helping emerging artists further establish themselves by providing resources and a safe space to learn, develop and create.
Our hope for this program is to offer free or low cost creative development programming led by Black artists/Black arts and cultural organizations that will supplement our general monthly meetups, and ensure that we’re offering new ways and opportunities to grow throughout the year.
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By providing developmental programming for Black creatives, and by intentionally seeking to work with Black artists/Black-led arts and cultural organizations, we are directly investing into a community that has been historically underrepresented. We are cultivating a sense of artistic pride in Black communities that live in Knoxville. We are listening and responding to creative voices that have long been unheard. We are helping emerging artists to expand and establish themselves.
check out our first workshop!
strips& strangs
Quilting Workshops with Gary White
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A three weekend course designed for beginners & experts alike. We explored the history of string quilts, the importance of quilting within the African American/Southern experience, and will create our own unique string quilt in a community quilting bee!
Our Black Creatives Meetup programming is made possible through funding received from the Tennessee Arts Commission, supporting arts projects that focus on increasing access to underserved and underrepresented communities
