Chattanooga’s landscapes are full of natural beauty, but a stroll through several of the city’s neighborhoods will reveal artistic creations nestled in groves of native trees and sharing scenic vistas with the area’s mountains and rivers. Here’s how to spend a weekend soaking in cultural treasures scattered throughout the city while celebrating Chattanooga’s abundant scenery, local talent and appreciation for visual art.
Friday
Begin your tour in Chattanooga’s artsy Southside neighborhood, starting at Reflections Gallery (1635 Rossville Ave.; open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), where you’ll find original local art, including stained glass, jewelry, handmade kaleidoscopes, ceramics, woodworking, photography and more.
If it’s the first Friday of the month, visit galleries participating in the First Friday Art Crawl — when most participating galleries host events from 5-9 p.m. (see the event’s Facebook page for details) — or, create your own crawl of galleries in the Southside area. In January, the First Friday Art Crawl included ClearStory Arts (1673 S. Holtzclaw Ave.), which is home to 40 working artist studios in addition to a gallery space; Hart Gallery (110 E. Main St.), which features works by homeless and other nontraditional artists; and Stove Works (1250 E. 13th St.), a space focused on contemporary art with a residency program and regular exhibitions.
Time a visit at sunset to the Sculpture Fields at Montague Park (1800 Polk St.), a 33-acre park where you’ll find more than 50 sculptures from international artists along winding trails. Then head to local brewery OddStory (1604 Central Ave.) for a beer by a firepit on the outdoor patio.
(READ MORE: What to drink at Chattanooga breweries, beyond the beer)
Saturday
Start your day at the Hunter Museum of American Art (10 Bluff View; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and check out the newest exhibit, “The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability / Works from the Bank of America Collection,” which looks at the impacts of the environmental movement from an artistic perspective and runs through May 4. On your way out, don’t miss local artist Rondell Crier’s “Flights of Hope and Healing” mural, a collaboration with students from STEM School Chattanooga that will be on the exterior of the museum’s east wing through the end of May.
Visit the outdoor sculpture gallery at the Bluff View Art District before making your way to the Edwin Hotel (102 Walnut St.) to view works from local artists as you have lunch at its restaurant, Whitebird. Stroll toward the river and the Tennessee Aquarium to The Passage, an outdoor art display featuring a stairway of cascading water that marks the beginning of the Trail of Tears.
Then, walk up Market Street to Home, a bar and restaurant that specializes in espresso martinis and features works by local artists, including Genesis the Greykid.
(READ MORE: Museum or hotel? It’s hard to tell at these artsy stays in and near Chattanooga)
Sunday
Grab breakfast and a coffee at Mean Mug’s North Shore location (205 Manufacturers Rd, Suite 109) and take a stroll through Renaissance Park, where you’ll find a variety of sculptures along the riverfront, such as “Ascending Path,” a work by Aaron Hussey and Brad Bourgoyne with resin, bronze and steel that arches over the park’s paved pathway.
Several sculptures from the Hunter Museum’s collection are found in this former industrial-site-turned-park, including “Tennessee Leaf,” a bronze sculpture by Terry Allen that celebrates Tennessee’s state tree, the tulip poplar, a grove of which was planted nearby. Also tucked in among native plants is “Place in the Woods,” a walk-through piece of bronze and brass by Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse that practically begs you to take a photo with it.
Head into neighboring Coolidge Park and make your way to Frazier Avenue via Chalk Alley, where you can make your mark on the Chattanooga art scene by contributing to this ever-changing work of public chalk art.
Continue down Frazier Avenue, pausing to do the “Hokey Pokey” and other dances by following the bronze footsteps installed in the sidewalk by artist Jim Collins. Stop in at the Association of Visual Arts (30 Frazier Ave.), which hosts themed, rotating exhibits in its main gallery as well as works by local students and members of nonprofits in a separate space. Step a few doors down to see original works from 30 local artists at In-Town Gallery (26A Frazier Ave.), a Chattanooga institution for half a century, before ending your tour at Frazier Five and Dime (16 Frazier Ave.) with a creative craft cocktail like the Fear and Loathing, featuring Rosaluna mezcal, pomegranate tequila and citrus.