The Impact Of Clay Arts During A Pandemic
Over the past year, we provided 34 free or discounted take-home clay kits, serving over 100 participants and served five military families through in-person programming. Military Family programs are made possible by a grant from the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Arts Commission, Arts Access grant. Additional funding from the George R. Johnson Family Foundation and ArtsBuild.
As Covid-19 closed in-person programming, we shifted to the production and delivery of take-home clay kits. We began with three kit options and now have five available kits plus an additional holiday kit. We were able to work with veteran families to deliver clay kits for free and partnered with local organizations ELLA Library, Family Promise, and YCAP to deliver free kits to families in Chattanooga
The creation of these kits led to other community opportunities, like sharing an online workshop version of one of the kits with Leadership Chattanooga - a professional development and networking program with the Chattanooga Chamber. We also set up an in-person activity table at a "clean up the park" event at East Lake Park in partnership with ELLA Library.
The Take-Home Clay kits provided a way for those who would not otherwise have access to clay to participate in this artform and have a creative outlet for their family during the past year. It was an honor to put the clay directly into the homes of families when so many other opportunities were closed.