The 800 Collective works to bring together art and social awareness
Is it possible for art to change our social and moral fabric?
Robert Henri (pronounced hen-rye) influenced the American art world in the late 1800s and into the 20th century with his rebellious approach to impressionism. Rather than the genteel artwork that had been the product of societal propriety, Henri and his followers sought to shift the focus of art to the community and everyday people. After a lack of support, Henri walked out on The National Academy of Design in New York and created his own exhibition titled “The Eight” after the eight painters in the group.
Chattanooga has its own group of artists, the 800 Collective, who, much like Henri and his eight, seek to use art as a tool to create awareness of social issues. The moniker is a nod to Henri and his eight painters along with the location of their original meetings on 800 Market Street.
Josiah Golson, 800’s founder, explains, “What’s important to us is people just realizing the power of visual expression itself, especially when visual expression is connected to things that affect us in everyday life and that affect our community.”
Sketchpads, pens and pencils lie scattered about the room among the various members who, in a round robin fashion, take turns commenting on each other’s work, their own work and the issues they are having with their work. Through this dialogue, the group finds ways in which to remedy creative blocks or to unlock dormant talents.
Golson admits that the 800 Collective is surprisingly made up of a large number of everyday people who do not consider themselves artists—artistic skills are not necessary and no materials are needed—everything is provided. Just bring yourself.
Golson, a former real estate lawyer, decided to step away from a life filled with desks, meetings and paper pushing to something he feels is more purposeful. Golson, who is very passionate about promoting social change admits, “I wanted to use artistic expression to reach those social goals rather than through legal means.”
Topics such as education, community safety and local economic issues are introduced into the monthly workshops.
“We find a way to have a creative and artistic dialogue about those things which helps us talk about them in a way you ordinarily don’t get to talk about [them],” Golson says.
Most recently the 800 Collective worked alongside students at Howard High School on an art project titled “To Thine Be True”—a line taken directly from Howard’s alma mater. The goal of the project was to help the students create a sense of ownership of their learning environment rather than a place that is unwelcoming or restrictive.
Students painted various murals of their library, marching band members, and of themselves learning new things. The mural is clearly a celebration of the students and their lives and also a representation of the positive view the students place upon themselves.
A much larger initiative is taking place at Chattanooga’s City Hall. “The Welcome Well” is an old-fashioned wooden well that hosts a mixed media collage of local citizens of Chattanooga.
“The idea of the water well is to tell a story of integration with the significance of water being a medium to bring people together,” Golson says.
Rather than display the exhibition in an area where other artists tread, the well is located in an environment that seeks the attention of all community members.
Back at the 800 workshop, individuals from all walks of life discuss the next social issue project or perhaps they simply sit in silence and work on a piece that is significant only to them. Either way the wheels of change continue to turn taking each person in a different direction revealing what is real to each creative and providing them with a new perspective for their artistic endeavors.
“Paint what you feel. Paint what you see. Paint what is real to you,” Henri said.
And much like Henri and his “Eight”, the 800 Collective is working to reveal the issues we all face and bring them to the attention of the community all in the name of change.
Is it possible for art to change us? Be one of the 800 and find out.