Chattanooga, TN (Jan. 5, 2021) – EPB is proud to announce the names of the nine artists chosen for our 10th Street Community Mural Project. These artists will paint murals on nine panels along the EPB substation fence at 10th and Foster Street.

The central theme for the mural project is “The Soul of MLK – How artists visualize the heartbeat and soul of MLK in arts, music and culture” to highlight the history, heritage and significance of Downtown Chattanooga’s Martin Luther King Boulevard area. 

Here are the names of the artists and the titles of their artwork that were selected.

Jaclyn Anderson – Barbershop Vignette
Rondell Crier – Good Fish
Josiah Golson – Head in the Clouds of History
Keelah Jackson-Harris – Dr. King’s 9th Street Reverie
Julius Hubbard – Dare to Dream
Harlan Lovestone – A Dream Rises
Madison Myers – Interracial Couple Dancing
Lauren O’Neill – The Quilt
Rachel Veal – Street Music

The artists’ work was selected by a group of outside stakeholders based on its artistic value, clarity of thought, community reflection and relevance with blind judging. Work will begin this spring.

“We were so impressed by the number of artists who applied for this project.” said Kelvin Boyd, Community Relations Specialist with EPB. “This is an opportunity for these artists to make their mark on our city that will be enjoyed by locals, visitors, and future generations.”

“The 10th Street mural project helps highlight our growing Chattanooga creative community,” said James McKissic, President of ArtsBuild. “We were proud that 100% of the selected submissions were from minority or women artists, some of whom have been given the opportunity to create their first mural. In addition, this project is being offered during a challenging economic time, giving artists a chance to put their skills to work.”

ArtsBuild will be working with several artists without previous mural experience to scale their work and provide support during the process.

“In alignment with the historical significance of the MLK district, we were honored to be part of a process that blindly selected such diverse artists,” said Vickye Bone, Vice President of Programs with the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga.  “The result is a body of work that lifts local voices and creates a tapestry reflecting the culture, traditions, and social justice heritage of the area.”

A huge thank you to our partners who helping EPB with this project: ArtsBuild, Association of Visual Arts, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, City of Chattanooga’s Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga Community Kitchen, RISE Chattanooga, River City Company, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga and University of Tennessee – Chattanooga.

EPB looks forward to partnering with Chattanooga’s diverse creative community to help beautify our Scenic City even more. For more information, contact EPB’s Elizabeth Hammitt at hammittec@epb.net.

About EPB

EPB serves the greater Chattanooga area by providing world-class energy and connectivity solutions as a means of promoting economic development and enhancing quality of life for our community. We deliver electricity to more than 170,000 homes and businesses across our 600 square mile service area which includes most of Hamilton County as well as parts of surrounding counties in both Tennessee and Georgia. In 2010, EPB Fiber Optics, which offers internet, TV, and telephone services, became the first provider in the United States to deliver up to 1 Gig (1,000 Mbps) internet speeds utilizing a community-wide fiber optic network which is accessible to every home and business in its service area. In 2015, EPB became the first, and to date, only American ISP to make up to 10 Gig (10,000 Mbps) internet speeds accessible to all of its residential and commercial customers as a standard offer.

EPB has also utilized its community-wide fiber optic network to deploy the most advanced and highly automated smart grid power management system in the nation. In recognition of EPB’s groundbreaking infrastructure, the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are utilizing EPB’s smart grid as a national model for researching and developing best practices. EPB is also the first major power distribution utility to earn the USGBC’s PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid.

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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