conquest

For Centuries, crowned and calculated,
He rides Bow drawn against utopia.
Once a conqueror of kingdoms,
now a silent predator of spirit.
What is your worth?

What may seem to affect OTHERS, impacts us ALL.

Globally, this looks like struggles for land: Borders, seas, geographic names, and resources from minerals to people. Locally, this looks like struggles for land: For a space to exist, for private/public property, for financial equity, for development, for housing.

In the realm of the arts, this looks like a lack of community spaces.

While Knoxville's marketing as "a nature-loving-adventure-seeking-artsy-kinda town" creates an attractive narrative for tourism and development, it masks a more complex reality. The city's artistic community operates largely on a part-time basis, with most practitioners balancing their creative work against other employment. This isn't unique to Knoxville, but it contradicts the implication of a thriving arts district where creators can sustain themselves through their work.

The arts become a tool for corporate recruitment, young professional attraction (“it's a cool place…”) and property value appreciation. 

what can we do?

Affordable Space

• Repurpose vacant buildings for artist studios, galleries, and community centers, or creating live-work spaces in developing areas—or, for the love of God, creating THIRD SPACES that are publicly accessible regardless of socioeconomic status.

• Cooperative artist work spaces have already begun to pop up, but need support! Many greats have risen, but fallen quickly due to lack of funding and support.

Anti-Gatekeeping Education and Support

• You don’t know what you don’t know. Examples of aid include grant writing workshops, artist incubators, practical technical support, resource and information sharing. The key is kindness and community.