From left, James McKissic, president of ArtsBuild; Carmen Davis, senior director of the city of Chattanooga's Culture, Arts, and Creative Economy Division; 1st Prize Winner, Courtney Cox; Rowena Belcher, board chair of ArtsBuild; and Dionne Jenkins, vice president of Diversity at Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union
From left, James McKissic, president of ArtsBuild; Carmen Davis, senior director of the city of Chattanooga's Culture, Arts, and Creative Economy Division; 2nd Prize Winner, Sarah Mixon; Rowena Belcher, board chair of ArtsBuild; and Dionne Jenkins, vice president of Diversity at Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union
From left, James McKissic, president of ArtsBuild; Carmen Davis, senior director of the city of Chattanooga's Culture, Arts, and Creative Economy Division; 3rd Prize Winner, Katheryn Hande; Rowena Belcher, board chair of ArtsBuild; and Dionne Jenkins, vice president of Diversity at Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union
Over the past nine months, 23 artists have undergone training and received tools and resources to develop sustainable business models for their creative careers. ArtsBuild hosted the inaugural Periscope Chattanooga Pitch Night and Artist Entrepreneur Showcase at R.I.S.E. During this event, six artists had the opportunity to present their final pitch, vying for a chance to win prize money.
The grand prize of $5,000 was awarded to Courtney Cox, founder of Courtney M. Cox Designs. Additional winners included Sarah Mixon, founder of Night + Day, at $2,500, and Katheryn Hande, CEO of The Maker Studio, at $1,000.
The community leaders comprised of the judges panel included Sarah Mattson - city of Chattanooga’s director of Entrepreneurship; Dionne Jenkins, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union’s vice president of Corporate Engagement, Dejuan Jordan, co-CEO of Launch Chattanooga; Arthur Lamon, Arthur Lamon Design; Stacy Martin, entrepreneur and owner of Seahorse Snacks; Malcolm Harris, CLN Worldwide’s director of Talent Acquisition; and Hannah Lancaster, United Way of Greater Chattanooga’s director of Nonprofit Support and Innovation.
Applications for Periscope’s 2nd Co-hort hosted by ArtsBuild will open on June 28. For more information about Periscope and the opportunities it offers to artists and entrepreneurs in Chattanooga, visit www.artsbuild.com.