Check out the Burnin' Bridges Mural Jam Block Party this weekend
Artists of Chattanooga unite, for a magnificent event is coming to Frazier Avenue this weekend from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each afternoon. Taking place in the parking lot behind the Art Creations Building across from the Walnut Street Bridge, will be the Burnin’ Bridges Mural Jam Block Party.
The event will host mural graffiti artists, music, and food and will be a spectacular gathering for the artistic minds of Chattanooga.
Constructing, and orchestrating the event, is the native Chattanooga creator Eric Finley, better knows as The Artist SEVEN. He will combine forces with BIGTEEF, and KILLIMARI, who are some salient artists from Atlanta, to create mural masterpieces in a block party type setting.
For those that are unaware, many of the graffiti style murals that are spread all over town are the work of SEVEN. He is well known for many of the vivid and reverberant graffiti murals, and canvas paintings that he has painted throughout Chattanooga, as well as the Southeastern United States.
SEVEN is a catalyst for the urban art movement in Chattanooga, and he creates complex, analyzable, big, bold, brilliant, colorful, visually stunning pieces of art. You can see his work around town on buildings including the Glasshouse, and the mural wall behind the Revelry Room.
To familiarize with his iconic pieces of art that are impossible to miss throughout the city, visit his Vimeo, Twitter, and Instagram accounts @theartistseven to gain familiarity of his unmistakable Chattanooga murals that will be instantly recognizable.
As a graduate of American Intercontinental University, with a Bachelors of Fine Art’s Degree, SEVEN is fluent in the world of art, but has flourished as a mural artist. He was one of eight artists to be awarded a grant from ArtsBuild, who gave select artists and organizations grants to help spread their unique and individual talent, or brand. ArtsBuild, with support from the Benwood Foundation, has created a new “Equity in the Arts” grant program to support projects led by local Black and Latino artists. Grants up to $10,000 were awarded to eight individual artists and organizations.
The goals for the new grant program are to help build the careers of local Black and Latino artists; increase sustainability of cultural organizations that focus on Black and Latino arts; build community awareness of Black and Latino arts within Hamilton County; and to support collaborations between Black and Latino artists and other arts organizations within the community.
The Burnin’ Bridges Mural Jam Block Party received support through ArtsBuild Equity in the Arts Grant Program. As part of the grant, SEVEN has already painted a large scale mural in April on a building located on Brainerd Road, near the McCallie tunnels.
Also due to the grant, he is in the process of taking on an artist apprentice, to train over a five-day period in mural techniques. The apprenticeship allows the selected artist to create their own large scale mural while collaborating with other professional artists.
Urban street art has been steadily gaining notoriety over the years, and now street artists that once had to worry about the authorities interfering with their artwork, and potentially incarcerating them, are now being hired by companies and organizations to demonstrate their powerful display of beauty and might onto permanent structures for the public to see and awe over, all over the world.
Street art can be both comely and raw, gorgeous and ugly, while portraying the unsightliness of the times, with such aesthetically alluring artwork. It is breathtaking, and it is changing aspects of art as a whole.
Starting out at its original form, street art was your typical graffiti style art, however, it has become an ever transforming, blossoming, outlet that hosts simultaneous blatant, and subtle hints of flair regarding politics, current affairs, emotions, and just typical life.
The poetry that intertwines and bleeds from it makes street art that much more compelling. It is a powerful entity that can be appreciated by people from all walks of life.
The Burnin’ Bridges Mural Jam Block Party is going to be an extraordinary event for Chattanooga. The artistic community is already in full swing in nearly every aspect, and for the urban graffiti mural aspect to be blossoming is phenomenal.
Every piece that SEVEN creates becomes an instant classic, and with the collaboration that will be happening at the block party with the out-of-state artists that he hand selected, mixed with the music, and the food, the outcome is sure to be a great time, and an impressive display.