About
SPLASH Youth Arts Workshop is a Chattanooga, Tennessee nonprofit committed to transforming lives through access to quality, no-cost arts education. Founded and directed by professional artists Charlie and Iantha Newton, SPLASH brings free visual arts programs to urban youth, families, and seniors in high-crime neighborhoods, working through schools, daycare centers, libraries, shelters, and community centers across the city.
Mission
To ensure that underserved youth and their families have equitable access to meaningful arts experiences, offering high-quality, free arts programs built around visual arts disciplines such as painting, drawing, and collage.
What they do
- Free year-round visual arts workshops in painting, drawing, and collage
- Weekly guided art sessions at the Hamilton County Juvenile Center
- Friday night art classes and meals at the McClelland Shelter for Families
- Free weekly pop-up art classes at the downtown Chattanooga Main Library
- Programs delivered in partnership with schools, daycare centers, recreation centers, and community organizations
- Student art exhibits, including a Memorial Art Exhibit and a City Hall Art Exhibit, plus student awards and recognition
- An annual summer youth arts festival
Scale and impact
SPLASH operates consistently in juvenile justice and family shelter settings and serves urban children, families, and seniors across Chattanooga. Its students have earned international recognition, including awards at an exhibition in Wuxi, China, and student artists have been profiled in local media such as City Scope magazine.
Financials
According to ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Splash (EIN 90-0824026) is a 501(c)(3) public charity whose IRS tax exemption was issued in April 2014. For fiscal year 2023 (ending December 31), it reported total revenue of 249,448 dollars and total expenses of 207,979 dollars; the most recent IRS records list total assets of 223,489 dollars. IRS records list Charlie Newton as Executive Director, at the organization's Wheeler Avenue address in Chattanooga.
Governance
The organization is led by its founders, Charlie and Iantha Newton, with Charlie Newton listed as Executive Director in IRS records.