What is Cost of Living TN? What's our Purpose?

We're working people who make things too—nurses who write, cooks who paint, drivers who act, and whoever else—coming together to make useful art: creative work that serves a purpose for the people. We make banners for picket lines, songs for the street, and zines for organizing. We print posters for tenants, tag walls when it counts, and make theater: short plays that let working people play out the problems we face and rehearse solutions together—a method groups like the Marias do Brasil used to build worker confidence and push for real labor protections. Whatever the moment calls for is what we seek to create.

Art by us, for us: working-class people.

Not a gallery or archive. Not a publication that needs you to fill pages. Cost of Living TN is a collective of people who share skills, make things together, and put those things to use in Chattanooga and beyond. We're pro-community, pro-democracy, pro-justice, and focused on the needs of everyday people. We stand against imperialism, corporate greed, and oppression in all its forms. We have an extra appreciation for the unpolished and handmade arts. You don't need a college degree to know what's going on here.

This site is our working document. It's where we track ideas, log activity, and leave a trail for anyone who wants to understand how a group like ours gets built—including people who might want to start their own.

Want to get involved? For info on when and where we meet and/or more about what we do, please reach out!

email: costoflivingtn@proton.me