Youth at the Global Education Center About Metro Arts Metro Nashville Arts Commission or “Metro Arts” is the office of Arts + Culture for Nashville and Davidson County. We believe that arts drive a more vibrant and equitable community. We strive to ensure that all Nashvillians have access to a creative life through community investments , artist and organizational training , public art and creative placemaking coordination and direct programs that involve residents in all forms of arts and culture. ​ ​Coffee/Talk with Metro Arts Wednesday, May 8, 9:30-11:30am Humphreys Street Coffee 424 Humphreys Street ​ Our monthly coffee gatherings are opportunities for artists and all Nashvillians to come together for meaningful conversations about the arts ecosystem in Nashville and how the arts impact everyone's lives in this city. ​ Info + RSVP ​Community Engagement with Creative Girls Rock Wednesday, May 8, 6:30-8pm Looby Community Center 2301 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. ​ ​We are excited to invite you to a community engagement event with Creative Girls Rock at the Looby Community Center! Creative Girls Rock, alongside lead muralist Elisheba Mrozik, will take input from the community into their design process as they create a new mural to honor the life and legacy of Civil Rights activist and attorney Z. Alexander Looby, for whom the community center is named. ​ Info + RSVP OUR IMPACT Learn more on how we are connecting the community with the arts. Read More ​ ​ Metro Arts Cultural Equity Statement Metro Arts Strategic Plan Comparison Study ​ NEWS AND UPDATES Metro Arts Awards Looby Community Center Public Art Project to Creative Girls Rock ® 1 0 Post not marked as liked Metro Arts Begins Installation of Monumental Sculpture At The Fairgrounds Nashville 120 0 Post not marked as liked An Update on Grant Payments 330 0 Post not marked as liked More from the Blog METRO ARTS IS FUNDED IN PART BY The arts are getting cut from state budgets across America. In Tennessee, we are fortunate to have an additional source of funding. The extra revenue we receive from specialty and personalized license plate sales has been key to funding the arts in Tennessee. More than 70% of the money used to fund the 800+ grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission last year was from the sale of these specialty license plates. Support the Arts with a Specialty License Plate

PUBLIC ART COLLECTION MAP Exploration and Discovery: The Scholar, Ken Rowe Map of Artworks in Metro Nashville's Percent for Public Art Collection

FOR MEDIA Edmondson Park: Supported by the Ancestors, Lonnie Holle y Metro Arts Logo Use and Brand Standards Metro Arts Logos Hover over preferred logo and click the arrow to download. Need a different format, black-and-white, etc.? Email us to request .

Art WORKS Historic Metro Courthouse Domestic Relations: Daddy , Samuel L. Dunson Part of our Metro Public Art Collection , the Art WORKS Collection is comprised of wall-hung works by Nashville artists, permanently displayed in Metro public buildings. In 2018, Metro Arts' "40 for 40" project marked the agency's 40th anniversary with the purchase of artworks by 40 artists for the Historic Metro Courthouse and the Metro Office Building. ​ Click on the gallery images below for information about each artwork and artist.

EQUITY Great Beginnings , Beverly Stucker Precious ​ METRO ARTS CULTURAL EQUITY STATEMENT Metro Arts believes ALL Nashvillians should be able to participate in a creative life; and that the arts drive a vibrant and equitable community. Cultural Equity embodies the values, beliefs, policies and practices that ensure that all people can fulfill their rights of cultural expression and belonging, participation, learning, and livelihood within the arts ecosystem. This includes specific commitment to people who have been historically underrepresented in mainstream arts funding, discourse, leadership and resource allocation; including, but not limited to, people of color, people of all ages, differently abled people, LGBTQ people, women, and the socio-economically disadvantaged. ​ Metro Arts believes: The ability to express, celebrate and champion cultural tradition and heritage is elemental to honest civic discourse and the well-being of democratic society. Artists and cultural creators have a unique role in challenging inequity and imagining new and more just realities. The health of the future cultural ecosystem is contingent on dynamic inclusionary practices that move towards cultural plurality. ​ Metro Arts acknowledges: Inequity is pervasive and historic. Disparities and discrimination are daily occurrences that are rooted in long-standing majority privilege and power inside and outside of the cultural arts. Inequity occurs within systems at all levels within the cultural/creative ecosystem. Equity moves past inclusion and representation; accepting that power has created uneven starting points for some communities and individuals. Simple diverse representation does not dismantle the unequal nature of voice, resource allocation and visibility that exist in the arts and cultural ecosystem. We hold ourselves accountable by acknowledging that equity does not currently exist in the arts. We commit to exposing and unraveling it through our own leadership, practices and policies. We commit to holding up examples and practices that facilitate equity and those artists and creators who are equity champions. ​ Specifically Metro Arts will: Commit to frequent and on-going, agency-wide honest conversations about race, class, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and income status. Pursue formal and regular cultural competence training and discussions with staff, board, and volunteers. Expand leadership and employment positions wherever possible with under-invested and under-represented communities. Continually review and edit our grant and public art practices and policies to ensure that more under-invested and under-represented communities can compete equitably for artist commissions, grants and other financial investments. This will be ongoing with a view towards transformation of our programs and larger community systems. Encourage the broader development of policies and practices that drive equity in Nashville. ​ COMMITTEE FOR ANTI-RACISM AND EQUITY (CARE) ​ The Metro Arts Board of Commissioners established the Committee for Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE), comprised of community members of the Antiracist Transformation team (ARTt) and Commission members, as a standing committee to support Metro Arts in keeping the promise of its mission to drive an equitable and vibrant community through the arts. CARE is committed to holding Metro Arts accountable in becoming fully antiracist in its identity and working for equity in all policies and practices with the goal of dismantling all systems of oppression within the arts ecosystem. ​ CARE Members CARE Guidelines Apply to be a CARE Community Member ​ ​ RACIAL EQUITY IN ARTS LEADERSHIP (REAL) ​ In partnership with Curb Center for Arts, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, REAL is a platform that engages artists, organizational leaders, and arts administrators in teaching and learning opportunities about race, equity practices, and ways in which to enact change within their personal practice, organizational structure and the larger arts ecosystem. Participants engage in seminars, lunch and learn sessions for self/peer critique, and organizational workshops and public lectures with the goal to illuminate, interrupt and transform conditions that perpetuate racism. ​ Metro Arts is also currently in consultation with Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training to help us think through dismantling racism and creating content, workshops and discussions for our agency and the arts ecosystem we serve. ​ For more information about REAL, including program dates and application information or assistance, please email arts@nashville.gov .

PUBLIC ART COLLECTION Stix, Christian Moeller Art WORKS Historic Metro Courthouse Metro's Fulton Campus Lending Library Partnership with Nashville Public Library: 60 original artworks to check out and take home Bike Racks Artist-Designed, Various Locations

VIRTUAL SESSION FOR FUNDING APPLICANTS Green Turquoise Gold, Anna Claire Wert July 7th Virtual Session for Operating Grant & Thrive Applicants Metro Arts is preparing to allocate funding awards for Fiscal Year 2024. Thank you, again, for your patience as we work towards an equitable solution for the funding allocations. In alignment with a commitment to transparency, we're sharing all of the information surrounding possible grants allocations being brought to the Grants and Funding Committee and the Metro Arts Commission. Resources: PDF document with multiple scenarios for funding allocations. A video recap of the document and next steps with the Grants & Funding Committee and Metro Arts Commission. Register here to attend a virtual session on Friday, July 7, 11:30AM-12:30PM to (1) answer any clarifying questions, and (2) receive requests for other scenarios not listed in the document that will be prepared for the Grants Committee and Full Commission. The 7/7 virtual session will be recorded and shared for anyone unable to attend. If you have ideas for additional scenarios and cannot attend on the 7th, please complete this form by July 7 at 12:30PM. ​ ​

LENDING LIBRARY Out There, Ashley Mintz Metro Arts Lending Library: Southeast Artworks 5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy, #201 Antioch, TN 37013 More about Southeast Branch Library Metro Arts’ vision is that every Nashvillian should have access to a creative life, and few places are more accessible than our city’s public libraries. The Metro Arts Lending Library is a partnership with Nashville Public Library, established with the goals of expanding access to arts for all Nashvillians while providing direct support to local artists. ​ Sixty original artworks from Nashville-area artists are available for anyone with a Nashville Public Library card to check out at NPL’s Madison and Southeast branches. Learn about the collection and artists in our gallery below or on the Nashville Public Library website . Check out or place a hold on an artwork Get a library card Read the Metro Arts Lending Library FAQ View only the Madison Branch Library's collection Return to the full Metro Arts Lending Library gallery

MEET & GREETS Citizen, Thomas Sayre ​Coffee/Talk with Metro Arts Wednesday, May 8th from 9:30-11:30am Humphreys Street Coffee, 424 Humphreys Street ​ Our monthly coffee gatherings are opportunities for artists and all Nashvillians to come together for meaningful conversat ions about the arts ecosystem in Nashville and h ow the arts impact everyone's lives in this city. ​ Come meet other artists, share your projects and ideas, and find ways to engage with the Nashville arts scene. We look forward to connecting with you! ​ Please RSVP at artsrsvp@nashville.gov !

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS IN PROGRESS The Sum and the Parts Mandy Rogers Horton Public Art Projects Currently in Progress Metro Arts 15 minutes ago 3 min Metro Arts Awards Looby Community Center Public Art Project to Creative Girls Rock ® The Metro Nashville Arts Commission is proud to announce the award to design and install a mural at the Looby Community Center to Creative.. 1 view 0 comments Post not marked as liked Metro Arts Mar 14 2 min Metro Arts Begins Installation of Monumental Sculpture At The Fairgrounds Nashville Metro Arts began installation of a bold, community-focused addition to Nashville’s Public Art Collection on Thursday, March 7. Located at... 120 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked Metro Arts Aug 1, 2023 2 min Artist Gordon Huether Receives National Award from Metro Arts Huether selected by a community panel for artwork at Old Hickory Community Center The Metro Arts Commission is announcing an award to... 163 views 0 comments 2 likes. Post not marked as liked 2 Metro Arts Nov 28, 2022 2 min Metro Arts Unveils the Design for Exterior Public Art at the New Donelson Branch Library "Reverie" Reflects the Spirit of Creativity Embodied in the Vibrant Donelson Community NASHVILLE, Tenn. – At their November 17th meeting,... 461 views 0 comments 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 Metro Arts Apr 19, 2022 2 min Meet the Artist Team: Wowhaus Artist team to create exterior sculpture at the new Donelson Library; invites community to give input and insights. Wowhaus (pronounced... 268 views 0 comments 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 Metro Arts Mar 23, 2022 2 min Meet the Artist: Amber Lelli Local Interdisciplinary Artist Selected to Create Suspended Interior Artwork at the New Donelson Library Above: Lelli with her sculpture,... 762 views 1 comment 6 likes. Post not marked as liked 6 Metro Arts Dec 21, 2021 3 min Meet the Nashville Semifinalists: Interior Public Art at the New Donelson Library Nashville artists selected as semifinalists for public artwork on the Donelson Public Library 727 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Metro Arts Dec 20, 2021 2 min Meet the Semifinalists: Exterior Public Art at the New Donelson Library Five semifinalists for exterior public artwork at Nashville Public Library's new Donelson Branch: Dufford, Garten, Geller, Wiener, Wowhaus. 557 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Metro Arts Oct 1, 2021 3 min The Fairgrounds Nashville: Public Artwork from Blessing Hancock Public Art Projects in Progress Now through Feb. 28, 2022: Submit your feedback and thoughts to have your words included in the final... 375 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Metro Arts Nov 27, 2019 2 min The Road to Creating Public Art on Nolensville Pike See the newly-approved concept designs for artist-designed transit shelters and utility boxes Metro Arts is committed to a “vital public... 416 views 0 comments 7 likes. Post not marked as liked 7

Art WORKS Metro Office Building Mill Creek Near Demonbreun's Cave, John Guider Part of our Metro Public Art Collection , the Art WORKS Collection is comprised of wall-hung works by Nashville artists, permanently displayed in Metro public buildings. In 2018, Metro Arts' "40 for 40" project marked the agency's 40th anniversary with the purchase of artworks by 40 artists for the Historic Metro Courthouse and the Metro Office Building. ​ Click on the gallery images below for information about each artwork and artist.

Donating Artwork to Metro Metro Nashville government has an ordinance and guidelines for the purpose of evaluating potential donated artworks. This policy plans for the fact that there are limited suitable sites on public property for placement of donated artworks and limited public funds for maintenance and conservation of donated artworks. Each artwork will be evaluated by the Public Art Committee and the Metro Arts Commission in addition to the Metro Department accepting the donation. ​ Learn more.