Matty Parker
Matty is a dynamic creative who thrives doing community-based work. He brings a multidisciplinary approach with backgrounds in gender and race studies, rhetoric, professional writing, and visual and performing arts.
He first entered the Chattanooga arts scene as an Editor for Sequoya Review UTC’s Literary Arts Publication. Shortly after graduating, Matty joined the team at The Enterprise Center working to keep local communities sustained, informed, and connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He auditioned for The Pop Up Project, a local dance company founded by Jules Downum and Mattie Waters, in the same year, and his induction was a further investment in art’s power to bolster, protect, and transform communities.
Matty performed in the Pop-Up Project’s debut dance film The Light We Share highlighting a vast collection of Chattanooga artists, venues, and stories. He continued performing and choreographing in four more immersive site-based local community shows during the next three years: Romeo y Julieta, If These Walls Could Talk, Until the Sun Rises, and From Within. In 2023, Matty joined Juba Dance Company as a dancer and choreographer for Chattanooga’s first African American dance company directed by Crystal Newson.
Matty is a staunch advocate for pouring into the power of community. His ability to connect with the vibrant threads of human experiences creates powerful stories and impactful work. He remains a Teaching Artist for the Pop-Up Project offering dance education to Hamilton County’s schools, adult dancers, and community centers. He has participated in building community resources like The Enterprise Center’s Resiliency Checklist and published works for national campaigns such as the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s Digital Inclusion Week Social Media Toolkit.
Matty’s inspiration is fueled by the beauty of our nuanced connection to each other, our history, and the natural world around us. He wholeheartedly believes in love’s power to cultivate our communities and environments through art, conversations, and intentionality.
