Can a public art project reach people beyond the traditional “art world”? 

Rise Up Chattanooga was a public art project by Virginia-based artist Charlie Brouwer. In 2014, under Teal Thibaud’s leadership at Glass House Collective, Brouwer borrowed 452 ladders from families, schools, businesses, churches, and organizations from all over the Chattanooga community and joined them together with heavy-duty cable ties to form a temporary sculpture. Each ladder represented the hopes and dreams of its lender. Connected, the ladders represented the community supporting each other as they rose together. Artist Brouwer said that a “community exists when each member realizes that their own hopes and dreams depend on, and are tied to everyone else’s.”

Over 1,200 visitors, including 3 school field trips, toured the site in an under-resourced neighborhood in East Chattanooga, highlighting the potential of an often-overlooked part of town.