University photo assistant Jaimie Davis’s artwork brightens posters, websites, and magazines, but it has never been wrapped on an entire bus. After winning a city-wide arts contest, everyone can see her winning digital photograph on a CARTA bus.
“I didn’t think I would ever win something of this magnitude,” Davis said. “I’m a huge supporter of local art and am thrilled my work will be featured in the community and will be seen by so many people,” Davis said.
Davis was one of five artists whose designs were chosen in a public art competition, Art in Motion. In cooperation with the River City Company, Public Art Chattanooga and CARTA, the competition was part of a new initiative to brand the city’s downtown area.
The city’s new brand, “Chattanooga Happens Downtown,” was unveiled at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the River City Company, the downtown economic development agency who has been involved in major projects in the riverfront and downtown area, including the Tennessee Aquarium, the Riverwalk, and the Nightfall concert series.
Called “Chattanooga’s Urban Connection, Yellow,” Davis edited a panoramic photograph of Chattanooga’s downtown to look like a colorful ink drawing.
“The theme of the photograph is connection. I wanted to show how the city’s Riverwalk links all the areas of downtown from North Shore to the South Side together. Chattanooga is an easily accessible community and I wanted to portray that,” Davis said.
Davis, a professional photographer since 2006, has lived in various places in the Northwest and Southeast. She settled in Chattanooga last year.
“Immediately, I liked the size of the Chattanooga and its proximity to other cities in the Southeast,” she said. “But I really love all the opportunities for outdoor recreation. Much of my photography is inspired by nature so I’m always taking photos outside. This is the perfect place for that.”
