Connecting Real People in Meaningful Ways, One Sister City to Another.
Barking Legs Theater presents Cultural Cross Ties, an international project that encourages conversations that build personal relationships between Chattanooga’s community members and its Sister Cities.
Cultural Cross Ties is an experimental partnership between Chattanooga-based artists and artists in each of Chattanooga’s sister cities, matching new pairs from a different location each year.
Supporting the mission statement of Sister Cities International, our aim is to promote peace and strengthen personal connections that develop meaningful connections.
The inaugural cohort with four artists from Giv’atayim, Israel came to a close with the unveiling of an installation at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. Barking Legs just completed the second year of Cultural Cross Ties partnering a police officer, librarian, firefighter, visual artist, and performing artist from Chattanooga and Hamm, Germany.
See the Documentaries:
2021 / Year 1: Giv'atayim, Israel (Links)
2024 / Year 2: Hamm, Germany (Link)
2025 / Year 3: Tono, Japan (in-process)
2026 / Year 4: Wolfsburg, Germany (pre-production)
2027 / Year 5: Accra, Ghana (pre-production)
Cultural Cross Ties
Cultural Cross Ties
Creating a Global Arts Community
In November 2020, after a long period of isolation and uncertainty still ahead, artists were ready to engage in cultural conversations that would stimulate a global understanding, challenge us artistically, build cultural relationships, and inspire artistic collaborations.
We turned to our branch of Sister Cities International and decided to pair four artists from Chattanooga with four artists from our Sister City of Giva’tayim, Israel to create a documentary of their journeys.
Every year, we are continuing the conversation and art-making with Chattanooga’s Sister Cities. This project is inspired by President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vision of creating partnerships with foreign cities to develop friendships, deepen cultural understanding, and encourage world peace.
We believe in the Sister Cities International mission to create global relationships based on cultural, educational, informational, and trade exchanges. We want to encourage innovation, prosperity, and the creative process throughout Chattanooga by strengthening relationships built upon this framework that began in 1956.
Trailers from Cultural Cross Ties I & II
Barking Legs is grateful to have the support of the City of Chattanooga, the Tennessee Arts Commission, Sister Cities Association of Chattanooga, The Osborne Foundation, Humanities Tennessee, ArtsBuild, CoPAC, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, and private donors for Cultural Cross Ties. Through the arts, we are able to communicate the difficult, important, and beautiful things in life.
