Jump to content

Nashville Public Art

markhollin

By markhollin
in Nashville

 Share

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 2.4k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

donNdonelson2
donNdonelson2

From Nashville Walls Project Facebook page-Elliston Place neighborhood parking structure 

markhollin
markhollin

Zanies at 8th Ave. South and Douglas Ave. has completed their comedian hall of fame of those who have performed there over the years.   I've already seen folks getting photos taken with their favorite

markhollin
markhollin

House of Blues Studio Complex in Berry Hill:  

Posted Images

markhollin Galactalopolis

markhollin

Posted
  • Author
Posted

From yesterday's Nashville Post, this feature on Nashville Public Art by William Williams:

It is not particularly easy to conceptualize public art as an investment.

But doing so is important. And Metro understands that.

In May, the Metro Arts Commission unveiled a comprehensive plan that positions public art as an investment tool for neighborhood transformation, creative workforce development and equitable practices. Of note, the private sector will be involved.

Jennifer Cole, MAC executive director, said the plan looked at how public art can have a city-wide impact.

“That means we must look at what Metro Arts can do directly, but we must also support efforts in the private sector,” Cole says. “If you look at the success of efforts like those of the Nashville Walls project, the East Nashville Chamber and others, it is easy to see that the private sector is interested in and sees value in public art. That is why our plan calls for us to create some core resources like a Mural Assistance Center and eventually a private developer hub so that Metro Arts can support, with information and technical assistance, direct action in the private sector.”

Cole would like to see that effort move beyond murals and toward having more developers integrating public art into design, more hiring of local artists and fabricators, and an overall commitment to art integration similar to Metro’s focus on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for both public and private buildings.

“The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture is actually advocating for the national development of LEED-type standards for public art, cultural space and artist studio space,” she explains. “If Nashville continues to evolve as a [potentially] world-class city, then the private sector will respond and organically develop more arts integration. I hope that we focus on how that builds jobs and wages for the local creative sector. Because in that nexus, we can both activate a more dynamic public realm and energize the public art field.”

Cole’s views are bolstered by the fact that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates approximately $429.3 million in annual economic activity in Davidson County, according to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study released earlier this year.

Relatedly, the sector supports about 14,277 full-time equivalent jobs and generates roughly $51.1 million in local and state government revenues, according to the study, which the Tennessee Arts Commission commissioned.

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 is billed as the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever undertaken in the United States. It was conducted by Americans for the Arts, in partnership with TAC and Metro Arts.

On this theme, Metro Arts in June announced it had approved about $2.47 million in community arts investments for the 2018 fiscal year, providing 62 grants to 48 nonprofit organizations. Both Mayor Megan Barry’s proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Metro budget and the Metro Council substitute budget offered $500,000 in funding for Metro Arts programs and public investments. About $275,000 of an approved increase was targeted toward grants funding for 2018, a 12.5 percent increase in available funding for grants compared to the 2017 number.

“The grants funding is so,” Cole says. “Our population is growing and, as such, cultural organizations are pressed to provide content — film, dance, music, theater, visual art — to a wider range of residents. Grants help our organizations meet the demand of a changing community and serve more neighborhoods with culturally diverse and quality content.”

Cole says the commission has seen a 20 percent increase in requests during the last few years. This year alone, 11 new nonprofits qualified for grants and were awarded investments.

Despite the progress, Cole says many mid-sized peer cities are investing nearly two to three times what Nashville is in cultural grants and programs.

“The cultural community isn’t stagnant and so we must continue to grow resources,” she notes. “We are working with the Nashville Arts Coalition to explore more ways to increase cultural funding over time.

“The remaining $225,000 that was not targeted to our public grant investments will be aimed at more temporary public art and creative placemaking projects as outlined in our Public Art Plan,” Cole adds. “Diversifying the sources of revenue for public art will allow us to support more local artists with projects and move public art into neighborhoods more quickly. We will increase the budget for the THRIVE microfund (which funds neighborhood placemaking efforts) and lead a second class of the Civic Practice Learning Lab (a program that trains local artists on public art and community art engagement practices).”

Cole says Metro Arts also will likely begin planning for the first citywide temporary art installation and will support various temporary initiatives related to transit planning in both Madison and South Nashville (along the Nolensville Road corridor).

Cole says public art can spur private development of buildings, lure restaurants and bars and add to the overall economic vibrancy of Nashville.

“Art contributes to aesthetics and vibe and sense of place and individuality,” she explains. “That is important. If artists are more involved with developers in not just the ‘making things pretty’ discussion but in the relevance of culture to community discussion, we will have a more vibrant and equitable city.”

Coles says she is encouraged that developers are increasingly hiring muralists.

“However, I’m more excited about what would happen if developers and the city could work together with neighborhoods to ask: How does culture happen here? What could we do in this plaza/mixed-used development/affordable housing development/shopping center to support the cultural life that is happening here? How could this development provide studio or production space that is affordable for local artists/makers? How does this development activate retail earning potential of artists and other local small-business owners? What activities could happen in this space that could support the larger cultural fabric of this community?  How could hiring local artists, fabricators and makers help build wealth locally while also building social capital?”

On the mural theme, Ashley Segroves, a Nashville-based photographer and owner of art gallery Studio 208, says the #muralseast project started when Chamber East, affiliated with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, sought to serve businesses throughout East Nashville. Since then, murals citywide have become an accessible option for wayfinding, while adding beauty, she says.

“The Nashville Walls Project has elevated the mural scene in Nashville by engaging local and international artists to critical acclaim and worldwide publicity,” Segroves notes.

In fact, Nashville has the potential to be recognized as a strong art city, she says.

“Cities such as Philadelphia (known as the City of Murals), Miami and St. Petersburg, Florida, are leading the public art movement,” Segroves says. “Nashville deserves art everywhere; think piano key crosswalks, bus stop collaborative art installations, brightly colored geometric underpasses and themed electrical boxes.”

When the public and private sector meet (or even when not), positive things happen. Local artist Brian Greif teams with Eva Boros to oversee the Nashville Walls Project, a privately funded entity.

“Building owners and local businesses pay for the murals,” says Greif, who was a key factor along with Southeast Venture in luring Australia-based Guido Van Helton to town to pain a massive mural on an ex-grain silo in Silo Bend in The Nations.

“We receive no tax payer funding for our projects,” he says, adding that Nashville Walls Project would not have evolved without help from private-sector people such as Dan Maddox, Jody Moody, Susan Tinney and companies including Gibson Custom Division, Market Street Enterprises and Southeast Venture.


Cole understands the public-private dynamic. Locally, Metro Arts worked with more than 80 nonprofit arts partners to collect data on their economic activities at more than 920 events, exhibits, shows and festivals. And the aforementioned Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study showed that, on average, Nashvillians who attend arts events spend an additional $38.11 on ancillary items like restaurants, transportation and parking. Non-Davidson County residents, including regional visitors and out-of-state tourists, spend on average $55.97. Both figures top the national averages.

“[Nashville has] emerged as a global arts powerhouse,” Cole says. “As more private developers reach out to art/artists, it creates demand.”

Cole recalls the time that the city’s public art fund (1 percent of the price tag of a Metro-funded project is devoted to art) was threatened, with many questioning its public value.

“Now, we see private developers and other organizations leading high-quality public art,” she says. “And it [motivates] community leaders and elected officials to think about ensuring more public art for more residents in more places. We now have more requests from neighborhoods and council districts than we have staff to manage.”

Such a “climate of positivity” bolsters the case that Nashville needs to both continue the 1 percent for art effort as well as deeper investments in neighborhood-scale projects and artist training.

“You see that borne out in our Fiscal Year 2018 budget allocation,” she says, “which was widely supported by the mayor and the Metro Council."

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BnaBreaker City

BnaBreaker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, SOS said:

Can wait to tag this one.

 

I'm developing proposed legislation to regulate murals in Nashville.  Has anyone done any research on this topic?  I'm looking for the most anti-graffitti "art" metro councilmember I can find to sponsor the bill?  Any suggestions?

So you're against murals?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MidTenn1 Town

MidTenn1

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, SOS said:

Can wait to tag this one.

 

I'm developing proposed legislation to regulate murals in Nashville.  Has anyone done any research on this topic?  I'm looking for the most anti-graffitti "art" metro councilmember I can find to sponsor the bill?  Any suggestions?

You want to 'Tag' someone's art?  You can't be serious.

Edited by PHofKS
Link to comment
Share on other sites
smeagolsfree Gigalopolis

smeagolsfree

Posted
Posted

Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier, SOS. I hope you got my email. Again very tired and the post were a little vague and could be misconstrued. 

As far as murals go, there is some regulation as far as building signage goes. It depends on where it is. The problem is property rights. You get into a situation where you are dictating what a property owner can do with his property. This is regulated some in Historic overlays, but the rest of Nashville I am not so sure.

 

I would be opposed to a tight restraint  of the murals as they add to the character of a neighborhood, where as tagging is downright illegal. Dmills may be able to help further here as he is an artist as well.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MidTenn1 Town

MidTenn1

Posted
Posted (edited)

There is a wonderful mural on the west side of town that represents a group effort of people joining together for a great altruistic cause. My daughter, Son-in-law and even my Grandchild were deeply involved. It may not be the most appealing work of art at first glance, but it is the beauty of people coming together to create a visual statement of what they feel is important that makes it great art. And it was done by invitation of the building owners and with their complete cooperation.

I'm not going to give the location due to the obvious and appalling threats made in this forum toward other similar artistic efforts. And I'm taking those comments very personally.

Edited by PHofKS
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.