We are creating an engine for Economic Development in Appalachia through the arts

Help us make the Appalachian Highlands a better place to live and work through innovation and entrepreneurship centered around the arts.

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To integrate arts and business for the benefit of our region.

Create Appalachia’s goal is to make the Appalachian Highlands a better place to live and work through innovation and entrepreneurship centered around the arts.

We are working to support an environment that will generate new businesses that provide jobs in the arts, and encourage graduates from our colleges and universities to stay in our community. We want to help grow a strong, 21st century creative industry in Northeast Tennessee.

News from

Create Appalachia

Here’s the latest going on with us at Create Appalachia, and some bits about the amazing creative activity in our region. Do you have a story for our arts and economic development community you’d like to see us feature? Give us a shout!

Now Open! Create Appalachia’s First Annual Leaf & Root & Berry Appalachian Highlands Botanical Exhibition

Looking for something COVID-safe and “art-full” to do on a beautiful afternoon? Visit our first annual Leaf & Root & Berry Appalachian Highlands Botanical Art Exhibition! It’s on display in the shop windows of charming downtown Erwin, Tennessee Enjoy a drive...

“My Gardens are My Studio; My Studio’s a Garden” : Meet Becky Mallory, Leaf & Root & Berry Juror

Indigo-dyed scarf Becky Mallory’s beautifully dyed scarves and garments are a pleasing place to rest your eyes—probably because they draw their colors from the natural world around them. In Becky’s fiber art, her love of both her artistry and nature comes to life. So...

Creativity and Inspiration: A Profile of Michelle Bouton, Lead Juror for Leaf & Root & Berry

We’re honored to have Michelle Bouton serve as the Lead Juror for our First Annual leaf & root & berry Appalachian Highlands Botanical Art Exhibit and Competition. Her legendary organizational skills—the ones that brought to life the HERBalachia School of...

Upcoming Events

There are some exciting opportunities coming up soon, from professional education workshops to artistic experiences. Check out our Events page for a complete list of scheduled events.

Next up:

leaf&root&berry: An Appalachian Highlands Botanical Art Exhibition

Creating a Podcast with Amy Campbell

Sausage Making and Whole Muscle Meat Curing with Meredith Leigh

See what's next

Featured

Our Feature Story this month is about one of our region’s most notable photographers, Tom Raymond of Fresh Air Photography. Tom has recently joined the Create Appalachia Board of Directors, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge about running a successful photography studio in the mountains of northeast Tennessee.

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Accelerate your business at Create Appalachia

Coming in 2021! We are recruiting new businesses to become members of our entrepreneurship community, particularly those in digital media and related fields such as Animation, Game Design, Interactive Media, 3D Visualization, Visual Effects, Cinema, and Virtual and Augmented Reality production.

Please contact us to see if your business qualifies and to find out how we may be able to help you grow or accelerate your business.

Incubation and Co-working

The Create Appalachia Center for Arts & Technology (the CAAT) offers entrepreneurs access to private offices, professional work spaces and temporary co-working desks, with access to media production studios, conference rooms and hi-speed internet, for less than the cost of a traditional office. No lease commitment, no utilities.

Production Studios

Do you need access to a video studio with green screen, or motion-capture equipment? How about a fully-equipped photography studio, webcasting suite, Giclee’ printing lab, or photogrammetry studio? The CAAT studios will be available at day rates for companies or entrepreneurs at hourly rates.

Business Start-up Services

From entrepreneurship training, business plan evaluation and mentoring, to technical and design consulting and artist representation, we can help your new business get off on the right foot.