Since 2014 we’ve been building a plan…

Since 2014, Create Appalachia has worked hand-in-hand with the Johnson City Public Art Committee, Johnson City Development Authority (JCDA), the JC  Chamber of Commerce, the JC Downtown Merchants Association, East Tennessee State University (ETSU), and others to promote economic development through the arts by service on committees, delivery of arts entrepreneurship workshops, hosting listening sessions, gathering data for the Americans for the Arts “Arts & Economic Prosperity 5” study, and creating arts programming for local festivals.

In October, 2019, ETSU and Create Appalachia (CA) were awarded an Appalachia Regional Commission (ARC) POWER grant of $728,000 and a TN Digital Communities grant of $30,000 to establish the Create Appalachia Arts & Technology Center (the CAAT), a micro-enterprise incubator and professional development center in Johnson City, TN. In 2020, we received an additional $15,000 from South Arts.

Located in the Johnson City downtown redevelopment district within easy reach of the ETSU campus, the CAAT is tailored to support the launch and continued success of artists and makers working with digital technologies, particularly in the areas of animation, game design, 3D visualization, visual effects for cinema and video, virtual and augmented reality, web and interactive design, e-commerce and social media marketing. The Johnson City CAAT will provide entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofit organizations a state-of-the-art facility that includes professional work spaces, education spaces, and gathering spots supported by professional remote communication technology and hi-speed gigabyte internet. It will also offer access to production studios for podcasting, audio, photography and videography with green screens and motion capture (MoCap), and 3D photogrammetry. 

Two additional CAATS will also open in Kingsport, TN and Bristol, TN later in 2021. The Kingsport CAAT will focus on Manufacturing Design and Rapid Prototyping entrepreneurship, and the Bristol CAAT will focus on Music Technology entrepreneurship.