When Chattanooga realist painter James Courtenay James organized the first art critique night at the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery, four people showed up to share their work.

Then the pandemic hit. The monthly event moved to Zoom, but rather than tapering off, more artists began to join. Now back in person, critique night has continued to grow — sometimes attracting up to 30 people, says Tim Goldsmith, AVA curator and education director.

Hosted the last Tuesday of each month at North Shore’s AVA Gallery, the free program invites local artists to bring a work-in-progress to get feedback from their peers.

“[Courtenay James] wanted to see a space where artists could improve their skills and support one another,” says Goldsmith, who now organizes the event.

In January 2024, 76-year-old Courtenay James passed away, but his memory remains strong within the group, according to Goldsmith.

“He set the tone for the night to be useful for artists,” Goldsmith says. “He created a culture that was nurturing and generous.”

Artists of every age and medium are welcome at the event. Many are painters, but there are also sculptors, photographers, mosaicists, jewelry makers and more, ranging in age from 15 to 85.

“We have a person who works with bones and a guy who makes shadow boxes with 3-D fairy tale scenes,” Goldsmith says. To accommodate the ever-growing group, each event allots 22 first-come, first-served sign-up slots. Then, each artist is given seven minutes to present and discuss their piece.

“But it’s not show-and-tell,” Goldsmith says. “You bring something you’re stuck on, or something you want feedback on.”

For example, he remembers when a new photographer began attending critique night.

“He’d never done art before, and he just wanted to know if [his work] was any good,” Goldsmith says. Through the other artists, he began learning about composition, balance and even various printing options.

Then there was the self-taught painter who struggled with mixing colors.

“You can over-mix colors so they get muddy,” explains Goldsmith. “So other artists suggested she try adding this color or that color to balance out the area where she was stuck.”

Some critiques, however, may be more personal. For instance, an artist may want to know if the meaning of their piece is clear or how to make difficult subject matter more palatable.

For art school students, critiques are fundamental to education, says Goldsmith, who received an MFA from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Art is subjective, yes — but there are objective elements to it. You have to keep learning, otherwise the art stops being interesting,” Goldsmith says.

Many of the artists who attend AVA’s critique night are self-taught or have been out of school for a long time, he says, so the sharing of such principles — different brush techniques for painters or lighting options for photographers, for instance — often benefit more than just the artist at the front of the room.

“Critique is such a harsh word. But [critique night] is never about tearing down an artist’s work — and that’s by design, but also because we have kind people,” Goldsmith says.

Being an artist can be lonely, he adds.

“We work in silos and can feel like we’re the only ones struggling.”

Even more than education, critique night is about camaraderie.

Goldsmith suggests first-time participants attend a critique night just to meet people and get a feel for the space before bringing in a piece of their own. After the event, the group often goes out for sushi together.

“It was always Courtenay James’s goal to see AVA serve the local artist community,” Goldsmith says. “Chattanooga has an amazing community of artists, and for a city our size, the fact that we have something like this is pretty wonderful.”