The Chattanooga Festivals of Black Arts & Ideas (CFBA&I) are ongoing, multi-day, and multi-disciplinary festivals celebrating Black arts throughout year.
Wielding the transformative powers of the arts, our festivals are revolutionary acts of sankofa-- retrieving that which was ours and had been forgotten. The arts delight, instruct, console, awaken, and refine us and if we let them, they restore our humanity. Our mission is to showcase emerging and established local artists of African descent who are creating, innovating and producing extraordinary work in the disciplines of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film and literature.
CFBA&I provides audiences with artistic experiences created by Black artists that are phenomenal and enriching, creates opportunities for discussions and lectures on a variety of topics that connect Black arts to other important areas in our society, and awakens the Greater Chattanooga community to the broad spectrum of exemplary work by Black artists in our own backyard.
This celebration allows others to better understand and embrace the concept that while these works of art may be created by Black people and reflective of the Black condition, they more importantly speak to the human condition in ways that only the arts can do.
Our vision for CFBA&I extends beyond the Chattanooga area and we are determined to become a hub for Black arts celebration internationally. Our programming is low-cost or no cost in order to be accessible to all members of our community.
"All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story; to vomit the anguish up."
-James Baldwin
CFBA&I Founder & CEO, Founder of ChattaNAP
CFBA&I Board VP, Fund Development Committee
Creator of the CFBA&I logo and hieroglyphics
Board Member and Production Coordinator
Board Member, James Baldwin Festival of Words Coordinator
Co-Director of Scratching Your Roots Black Genealogy Society
Co-Director of Scratching Your Roots Black Genealogy Society
Coming from out of town? Save on your stay during our festivals when you book with our partner Hotel Holiday Inn.
Our Strategic Plan Playbook is a comprehensive guide that outlines CFBA&I's vision, goals, and strategies for the future. By providing access to download our playbook, we aim to foster transparency, showcase our commitment to long-term planning, and demonstrate our shared vision with donors and community partners, inviting you to understand how your support can make a tangible difference in our community.
Download our annual reports to get a comprehensive overview of our organization's achievements and impact.