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Guest Blog: The Chronicles of CreateHere Monday, December 14, 2009
Alison Lebovitz is one of CreateHere’s board members, president of One Clip at a Time, and host of WTCI’s “The A List with Alison Lebovitz.” She brings us this dispatch on “We Stand: A Civic Engagement Laboratory,” and specifically, our book drive for local schools.
If you have never had the occasion or inclination to walk into the CreateHere space on Main Street, then you have definitely been missing out on one of Chattanooga’s greatest treasures. Next to Rock City, of course. Walking into CreateHere is sort of like walking through a wardrobe into a modern day Narnia. It is a place filled with so much inspiration, promise and, of course, creativity, that just stepping inside feels almost magical.
But contrary to a fantasy world, this is a real place with genuine ideas, authentic people and true innovation. At a recent meeting there I found myself entrenched in their newest rotating exhibit, “We Stand: A Civic Engagement Laboratory.” It is an amazing interactive experience that combines visionary work with relevant statistical data. And best of all, it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Confucius who said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.”
Part of the “doing” in this case is a small section that contains a scantily clad bookshelf as part of a community book drive to help collect new or gently used books for students at Battle Academy and Calvin Donaldson Elementary. If you are like me and my husband, there is nothing more exciting than an excuse to rid your house and home of unwanted stuff during this holiday season, and even better if we can tie it into a service project for the kids. And so, this weekend we are cleaning out our own bookshelves and plan to bring a load of books to CreateHere next week to donate to the cause. It will be a great excuse to bring our kids to this urban wonderland, and for them to see this exhibit first-hand.
And while we are there, I think I will give each of them a token for the Art-o-matic – a refurbished cigarette machine that dispenses tiny boxes of artwork instead of smokes. Because the only thing better than visiting Narnia, is taking a piece with you when you leave.
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