News Archive

MNAC announces semifinalists for East Bank Greenway public art project

17 February 2005

For Immediate Release

Contact: Norree Boyd, Executive Director,
Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission
(615) 862-6720
norree.boyd@nashville.gov

NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 17, 2005 - As a crucial step in the citizen-guided process of selecting an artist to create a large scale work of public art for the East Bank Greenway, the Metro Nashville Arts Commission's Public Art Committee has announced the names of six artists chosen as semi-finalists from a field of more than 150. The commission for the project, which is funded by 1 percent of general obligation bond sales for new Metro building projects and significant renovations, is $250,000.

The six artists selected are:

Ean Eldred, Portland, OR
Alice Aycock, New York, NY
Ed Carpenter, Portland, OR
Christopher Janney, Lexington, MA
Dennis Oppenheim, New York, NY
Thomas H. Sayre, Raleigh, NC

The six artists will visit Nashville in early March to gather research and tour the site. Following this visit, the semi-finalists will develop a model/concept of their proposed artwork for the site, as well as a timeline for the work's creation and completion. The final awarding of the commission is scheduled for late spring.

Site creates unique opportunities

The site for the project is the East Bank Greenway along the Cumberland River between the Shelby Street Pedestrian and Woodland Street bridges.

"It's a unique site for any artist to work with," said Public Art Committee Chair and Metro Nashville Arts Commissioner Jeff Ockerman. "It's visible day and night from the office buildings downtown and Riverfront Park. Pedestrians using the Shelby Street Bridge will experience it from a different perspective, drivers on the Woodland Street Bridge still another perspective and so on.

"At this point, we have no idea how our six semi-finalists will work with the space," Ockerman said. "What we do know is that every one of them has a track record of creating artistically excellent, site-specific works on a large scale."

"We were amazed at the level of regional and national attention this project generated among the professional artist community," said Norree Boyd, executive director for the Metro Nashville Arts Commission. "It was clear to everyone on the selection panel that these six artists in particular could create great art that's not only unique to Nashville, but would also create a sense of connection between both sides of the river and celebrate the history of Nashville.

"It's a pretty tall order to fill," Boyd added. "But these six semi-finalists are up to it as evidenced by their prior work."

About the selection process

One hundred and fifty-five artists from across the Middle Tennessee area and the nation responded to Metro Nashville's nationwide Call to Artists issued in early November. From that initial pool, a selection panel of nine men and women representing Nashville's business, art, neighborhood and non-profit communities evaluated each of the responses, including more than 3,000 slides of the artists' work. Members spent extended personal time preparing for a two-day jurying process that took place earlier this month.

The same selection panel will evaluate the semi-finalists' work and make a final selection by late spring.

Nashville's public art initiative has been underway since 2000, when Mayor Bill Purcell and the Metro Council approved the "Percent for the Arts" program (Ordinance BL2000-250).

About the Metro Nashville Arts Commission

The Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission is a commission of the Metro Nashville Government. The MNAC exists to provide leadership that stimulates and advances the arts to enrich the human experience for the community. The MNAC administers a sizable city grants program that has grown significantly in recent years.

Over $2 million was awarded in FY'05. In addition, the MNAC seeks and oversees public funding of the arts in Metro Nashville, such as the Tennessee Arts Commission's Arts Build Communities grants in Middle Tennessee. Since the passage of a public art ordinance in May 2000, the MNAC manages Metro's public art program.

The Commission is chaired by Nancy Saturn; members include: Colleen E. Dowd, Vice-chair; Steve Sirls, Secretary; Don A. Shriver, Treasurer; Judy Liff Barker; Barbara Chazen; Will Cheek III; Dr. Paulette Coleman; Edwina Hefner; Andrée LeQuire; Michael McBride; Jefferson H. Ockerman; Molly Leach Pratt; Walter Schatz and Cindy Steine.

More information on the Metro Nashville Arts Commission is available at www.artsnashville.org.

-end-

Note to Editors:
For interviews with Public Art Committee Chair Jeff Ockerman or any of the artists selected as semi-finalists, please contact Web Webster, (615) 969-4555.

© 2009 Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission
800 2nd Avenue South, 4th Floor
P.O. Box 196300
Nashville TN 37219-6300 		arts@nashville.gov
(615) 862-6720
fax (615) 862-6731