Two kindergarten artists finishing their contributions to the Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences mural project. Photo courtesy of Arts-Based Collaborative.
With spring in full swing, the Arts-Based Collaborative (ABC) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has been bringing the arts to life in classrooms and communities across the area.
ABC, housed in the UTC College of Health, Education and Professional Studies, facilitates arts-based professional learning programs that support a variety of needs across multiple fields and disciplines. The spring semester has been particularly active, with initiatives ranging from a schoolwide Blues Week celebration and a nature-themed mural installation to dozens of classroom residencies supporting arts-integrated learning.
“It’s been quite a semester,” said Angela Dittmar, director of teaching artist residencies for ABC.
Rick Rushing III works with Hixson Elementary School fifth graders on their lyrics. Photo courtesy of Arts-Based Collaborative.
One of this spring’s most ambitious initiatives took place April 28 through May 2 at Hixson Elementary School, where the entire student body participated in Blues Week. ABC partnered with Hixson’s related arts teachers—art, music, library and physical education—and local musicians Jennifer Daniels and Rick Rushing III to bring the weeklong experience to life.
The program began with a schoolwide concert led by Daniels and Rushing. Over the next three days, the musicians rotated through classrooms, helping students write original blues lyrics. The celebration culminated with a second full-school concert featuring students performing the songs they helped create.
“This is the first time we’ve done something like this,” Dittmar said. “It’s been exciting to see how the artists and the teachers worked together to build something really special. And I love that it’s customized. The related arts team really took the lead in shaping this.”
A connection between Hixson Elementary and the Northside Neighborhood House sparked the Blues Week project. Community educator Rose Denor, inspired by an ABC-facilitated summer teacher training session, applied for a Tennessee Arts Commission Student Ticket Subsidy Grant to fund the program. Though Denor is no longer involved, Dittmar said, her work paved the way for the initiative to take shape.
Artist David Riall comparing children’s versions of the mural imagery with Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences kindergarten students. Photo courtesy of Arts-Based Collaborative.
In another ABC initiative, Dittmar said work is ongoing on a new mural project at Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences (CSAS). The hallway outside the kindergarten classrooms is being transformed into a colorful, curriculum-supporting mural designed and painted by ABC teaching artist David Riall.
The CSAS mural began last year with the creation of a forest and pond scene. This spring, Riall returned to complete the opposite wall with a colorful meadow.
Students were invited to help paint sections of the mural—which features educational elements tied to science and nature themes, including the life cycle of plants and pollinators.
“It’s designed to be interactive and teachable,” Dittmar said. “There are intentional areas where students can add to the scene with projects from their classrooms.
“It’s a mural—but it’s also a teaching tool.”
Dittmar credited CSAS kindergarten lead Michelle Howell for initiating the mural concept, which a Student Ticket Subsidy Grant also supports. Riall’s wife, Dixie, and another local art teacher known as GQ have contributed to the painting process—making the project, as Dittmar said, “a true community effort.”
“I believe this mural has transformed a shared space that is welcoming to our staff, visitors and school community,” Howell said. “The mural helps others see the value that we place on student creativity and student involvement at CSAS. Our kindergarten students will be able to see that they were part of something that will be enjoyed by many long after they move on.”
Pre-K children show their emotions through puppetry at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School. Photo courtesy of Arts-Based Collaborative.
While the Blues Week and CSAS mural projects stand out for their scale and visibility, ABC’s classroom residencies continue to form the backbone of its work. Through its Wolf Trap and Baby Artsplay! programs, ABC pairs professional teaching artists with classroom educators for co-taught lessons that integrate the arts into core subjects.
This spring, ABC is active in schools and centers—including East Brainerd Elementary, Hope City, Montessori Elementary at Highland Park, Battle Academy, Wallace A. Smith Elementary, Hardy Elementary and multiple Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms. The residencies focus on early learning and arts integration in subjects like literacy, math and social-emotional development.
Jessica Blevins, who teaches at Wallace A. Smith Elementary, said her residency team “decided to use a pre-, mid- and post-test to see if students would grow their imaginations and sentence structure during and after our lessons.”
“I have noticed kids have a hard time playing imaginatively and talking in detail about things. We saw growth just in the short time we were together,” Blevins said. “The students were using picture cards and feelings to use their imaginations. This ultimately led to them being able to explain in more detail their best and favorite day in pre-K.”
Dittmar said many of the residencies are funded by grants and community partners, including Chattanooga 2.0, the city of Chattanooga and the United Way of Greater Chattanooga.
“In total, we anticipate serving more than 25 classrooms this year,” Dittmar said. “We’re still placing artists so our final numbers aren’t in yet. But what’s so meaningful is that teachers are coming back year after year. They want to keep working with us. That’s the sign of a true collaboration.”
ABC also partners with organizations like WTCI-PBS for arts integration activities at East Chattanooga and Carver Community Centers and contributes to teacher development through the Partners in Education coalition—which includes ArtsBuild, WTCI, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and Hamilton County Schools.
Looking ahead, Dittmar said ABC is preparing for a year-end celebration with teachers on Thursday, May 8, where the Blues Week photos and mural progress will be on display.
The story of ABC’s spring semester, she said, is about more than just individual programs—it’s “about building community, expanding learning through creativity and making the arts accessible for students of all ages.”
“Students benefit so much from having teaching artists come into their classrooms,” Dittmar said. “It breaks up the routine, it brings joy and excitement, and it helps them learn in deeper, more meaningful ways.”
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The Hixson Elementary School Blues Week residency team, from left: music teacher Amanda Stawick, ABC teaching artist Rick Rushing III, ABC teaching artist Jennifer Daniels and librarian Kierstyn Wallmarker, Photo courtesy of Arts-Based Collaborative.
