Chattanooga, TN (May 11, 2022) – EPB’s Community Stakeholder Committee has selected twelve student winners from Hamilton County Schools for the fourth annual “ArtSpark Goes to School” challenge. The high school students were honored on May 10 during an event at EPB’s downtown building. Throughout the month of May, digital versions of their work will be displayed in the EPB windows at the corner of Market St. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
The student artwork has also been used to beautify EPB and City of Chattanooga utility boxes located across the community. The following students’ work was chosen for this year’s project:
The students created artwork to fit utility boxes based on this year’s theme “What Energizes You?” Students were asked to create a design that illustrated what in their lives gives them energy.
“I chose the sun because no matter where I am or what I’m doing, the sun always gives me energy,” said Anna Adams from Sale Creek High. “Since I was kid, anytime I was upset or tired, I would either go play outside or sit in the sun through a window and I would have more energy to complete my daily tasks.”
“The artistic ability displayed by our students was impressive and the thoughtful statements we received were moving,” said Elizabeth Hammitt, EPB Director of Residential Energy and Environmental Solutions. “We also appreciate the dedication of our art educators in nurturing the talent of these and other students. We’re so proud to have the opportunity to facilitate this program and shine a light on their work.”
EPB “ArtSpark Goes to School” partners include ArtsBuild, the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County Schools, Public Art Chattanooga, River City Company, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Unum.
The program engages high school students through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) where students learn about electricity while creating artwork for public spaces. The students used digital cameras, professional graphic design and photography software to design their artwork with the help of their art teachers and design experts.
“Hamilton County Schools is honored to see the artwork of our students recognized and shared throughout the Chattanooga community. The fine arts provide yet another opportunity for our students to connect with and learn complex topics in a way that makes education more enjoyable, engaging and meaningful to them,” said Dr. Justin Robertson, HCS Superintendent. “The EPB ‘ArtSpark Goes to School’ challenge shines a well-deserved spotlight on the talents of students who are thriving in our classrooms every day, and we very much appreciate the continuing support of our schools by EPB and all of the program partners.”
“The addition of these twelve new pieces builds upon a collection of innovative work rooted in STEAM,” said Laurie Allen, Executive Director with the Arts-Based Collaborative and the Challenger STEM Learning Center at UTC. “I’m thrilled to see how this program continues to grow and encourage students to consider interdisciplinary connections through their works of art. “
“We’re always excited to see the designs created by the students selected through the ‘ArtSpark Goes to School’ challenge,” said Emily Mack, President and CEO of River City Company. “Utility boxes are a necessity in our downtown and programs like this help to create a unique and special feel for those who live, work and play in our downtown. River City is proud to be sponsoring two boxes this year thanks to a generous donation we received from Unum in 2021.”
EPB works with a third party to create vinyl wraps from the winning student designs. A record number of twelve boxes will be covered this year, and the locations have expanded beyond downtown. Look for this year’s boxes by the Chattanooga Airport, Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, Tennessee Aquarium, the Warner Park Zoo and in Brainerd, East Brainerd, Hixson and other parts of the EPB service territory. With the completion of this year’s ArtSpark program, EPB will now have 37 utility boxes wrapped with student artwork.
About EPB
EPB serves the people of the Chattanooga area with advanced smart city infrastructure to enable world-class energy and connectivity solutions that include the most resilient smart grid power distribution system in the United States and the fastest internet in the world. EPB gained national notice when it deployed a community-wide fiber optic network accessible to all its customers and used it to launch America’s first Gig-speed internet in 2010 (beating Google Fiber by 4 years) as well as the first 10 Gig internet service available as a standard offer to all residences and businesses in 2015.
EPB also utilized the fiber optic network as the communications backbone for deploying more than 200,000 smart switches, sensors and other devices to establish the most advanced and highly automated smart grid in the nation. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy named EPB a living laboratory for pioneering smart grid technologies. Since then, EPB has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and more than 20 other national research partners to play a critical role in more than $155 million in smart city research. EPB was also the first major power distribution utility to earn the GBCI’s PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid in 2015 and followed up in 2021 by re-certifying at PEER Gold.
EPB is an independent board of the City of Chattanooga which began serving customers in 1939. Visit epb.com for more information.
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