Creative citizenship
The Chattanooga Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, a professional association for design, is launching a new program called Creative Citizenship featuring unique events in January focused on inspiring civic involvement in the upcoming municipal elections.
The keynote event, “We Helped Obama Win,” kicks off the program at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23, on the fourth floor of the Chattanooga Public Library downtown, where all follow-up events will be held.
The evening will feature a presentation and Q&A with Josh Higgins and Daniel Ryan, two key players in the success of the much-discussed Obama For America campaign. Ryan, a resident of Chattanooga, served as the director of front-end development for the campaign. Higgins was design director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign.
Next, a “Candidate Forum” is a two-day get-out–the-vote event with the 2013 Chattanooga city council candidates set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, followed by DesignFest at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26. Mayoral candidate Andy Berke will help kick-off DesignFest on Saturday.
After spending time with the candidates, teams of citizens will put their heads together to brainstorm and build new techniques which can be used to build a better relationship with the local government. The goal of DesignFest is to produce future Creative Citizenship events, communication tools or even, perhaps, an app. There will also be a “Get Out and Vote” poster rally at the DesignFest as well. Posters designed that day will be printed by Wonderpress and distributed around the city. Both events are free and open to the public.
Pre-registration is required for all events and a ticket purchase is needed to attend “We Helped Obama Win.” Full details on registration and tickets can be found on the AIGA Chattanooga’s website at chattanooga.aiga.org.