The Beckett Arts Project was born out of the need to support our local Chattanooga storytellers specifically focusing on the medium of the film, tv and streaming industry. Chattanooga is a proud leader of the Tennessee arts through both its creative arts schools and universities as well as its artistic community. Dagan Beckett, a native of Chattanooga, grew up attending school and graduating from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduating with his BA in Music and Mass Communications. Dagan spent several years as a professional musician, but always had his roots firmly planted in his local Chattanooga music community. In 2016, several years after retiring from the music scene, Dagan found a new passion in the arts through documentary storytelling and in 2020, Dagan directed his first feature-length documentary film, Songbirds, which awarded him an Emmy® from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Songbirds was both filmed and produced in Chattanooga and in New York.  Dagan prides himself on keeping his production local to Chattanooga or using Chattanooga professionals when shooting around the country. This led him to create the Beckett Arts Project. His desire to foster a healthy film economy in his community and help give opportunities back to students just as others did for him.  The Beckett Arts Project does just that. It recognizes talented Chattanooga artists and storytellers and gives them a platform to use their skills to tell inspiring stories. 

Most film students who graduate from either Chattanooga State, UTC, Lee University, end up working in the film industry in Atlanta, Georgia. The endeavors of the Beckett Arts Project, aspire to keep the work local to Chattanooga to continue to highlight our beautiful scenic city and talent.