The Association for Visual Arts is pleased to present the 24th Annual 4 Bridges Arts Festival at the First Horizon Pavilion on the southside of downtown Chattanooga this April.
The 2023 4 Bridges Arts Festival will take place April 20 & 21. Gates will be open from 10am to 5pm both days, and admission is $5 for adults and FREE for children under 18.
Come enjoy browsing and shopping with artists from around the country, who create beautiful work in a variety of media and price ranges – there’s something for everyone.
2024 marks the 24th year of the festival, which has been voted as one of the best art festivals in the country by Sunshine Artist magazine (a trade magazine for art festivals) several times. The Association for Visual Arts is thrilled to bring this event back each year, as the Chattanooga community always shows a high level of support for the independent artists who come to the show.
140 artists will be at the festival this year from 27 states, including over a dozen from the Chattanooga area. And again this year, 4 Bridges highlights five emerging artists: Matthewe Cook (printmaking), Aimee Maschhoff (Oil/Acrylic painting); Shannon Gonzalez (2-D/3-D Mixed Media), Katie Aronat (2-D/3-D Mixed Media), and Bart Chase (Oil/Acrylic painting).
All of the presenting artists will bring work in a variety of media, including painting, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, wood, glass, photography, and much more. The shopping experience at 4 Bridges is unparalleled, whether you are looking for a new piece for your living room wall, a gift for a friend, or simply a treat for yourself.
In addition to the art, there will be a great roster of live musicians playing throughout the weekend:
Saturday
- 11:15-12:15 Butch Ross
- 12:30-1:30 Luke Simmons
- 1:45-2:45 Maria Jordania
- 3:00-4:00 Gordan Inman Trio
Sunday
- 11:15-12:15 Amber Fults
- 12:30-1:30 Jordan McKee
- 1:45-2:45 Rick Rushing
- 3:00-4:00 Chattanooga Girls Choir
And there will be special activities at the pavilion for kids. SPLASH Youth Arts Workshop will be back leading hands-on painting activities for children throughout both days. The festival is also very proud to have local artist/author/performing artist Andrea Zoppo on board as their children’s performing artist-in-residence for the weekend.
She and her troupe of performers will put on a special performance of her show “Weather the Weather,” an imaginative, playful, slightly surreal exploration of how weather affects us, which Andrea compares to old-fashioned Cirque-style clown performances. Andrea will also be set up for face painting on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon inside the pavilion.
To round out the festival experience, there will be a great array of food trucks available, including coffee, multiple lunch options, and delicious desserts and snacks from BopCha, Good News Coffee Roasters, the Kettle Corn Man, Johnny Poppers Burgers, Scenic City Shave Ice, Freaky Funnels, and more.
The poster artist this year is glass artist Terri Foster of Marietta, GA, whose platter titled “Tequila Sunrise” uses tiny rods of red and blue glass fused to form stripes of color that when laid out in their final pattern, resemble a woven basket.
The Association for Visual Arts’ mission is to strengthen and promote the artistic ecosystem of Chattanooga’s visual artists, art enthusiasts and arts-based institutions.
They envision and strive towards a healthy and thriving arts community, evidenced by an ever increasing engagement of artists and appreciation of the visual arts throughout the greater Chattanooga community.