Past Exhibitions

close up of hands working on a quilted square

Vitality Arts Project:
Art Making with FiftyForward

Sep 25–Oct 20, 2025
Celebrating the conclusion of the Vitality Arts Project, held from October 2024 through September 2025, this exhibition showcases artwork created during these workshops for participants ages 55 and older. The program was presented in partnership with FiftyForward and was supported by a Vitality Arts grant from E. A. Michelson Philanthropy… Read More
Two women looking at quilts

Fabric of a Nation:
American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Jun 27–Oct 12, 2025
Seen by many as a timeless, democratic art form, the quilt has evolved throughout United States history and continues to develop today. Made by a broadly under-recognized diversity of artistic hands and minds, the medium offers an opportunity to tell a rich and complicated story of our shared and contested… Read More
Two textile artworks

Art in the Atrium:
Ashley Larkin and Shabazz Larkin

Jun 27–Oct 12, 2025
Featuring work by Ashley Larkin and Shabazz Larkin This year’s Art in the Atrium project was selected to complement the exhibition Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Featuring a selection of textile works made by Nashville-based artists Ashley Larkin and Shabazz Larkin, the… Read More
Couple looking at a large painting

Venice and the Ottoman Empire

May 31–Sep 1, 2025
Venice and the Ottoman Empire invites us on a journey to the Mediterranean Sea between 1400 and 1800. During this period, Venice—an astonishing city built on hundreds of small islands off the coast of northeast Italy—stood at the crossroads of a vast trade network connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. To… Read More
Close up of a group of gourds of varying shapes and sizes

Ellen Altfest: Forever

May 31–Sep 1, 2025
With their scrupulously rendered detail, unlikely juxtapositions, and tightly woven compositions, Ellen Altfest’s paintings comprise an intimate poetry of the everyday. This exhibition’s title is inspired by Emily Dickinson’s line “Forever – is composed of Nows,” an encouragement to live fully in the present. Turning inward, away from the noise,… Read More
A mixed media painting of two children smiling titled Distance Bond

Teens Take the Frist!
Breaking Barriers

Jul 19–Aug 18, 2025
Prompted by our vision of inspiring people through art to look at their world in new ways, the Frist Art Museum invited teens to submit their artwork for this seventh edition of Teens Take the Frist! The resulting selection features artworks that explore what it means to break barriers in… Read More
Man holding harvest of cherry tomatoes

Enough to Go Around: Food and Community in Nashville

Mar 21–Jun 29, 2025
The USDA estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the food supply in the United States is wasted, but changes can be made to decrease waste and make nutritious food available for everyone. Nashville-area artists were invited to submit for consideration art that explores topics of food justice, food production,… Read More
Abstract painting with vertical bars and paint strokes in a variety of colors on a dark background

David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship

Mar 14–Jun 1, 2025
David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship highlights the artistic legacy of David C. Driskell and the importance of his relationships with fellow artists—many of whom hold a significant place in the 20th-century art canon. In 1976, Driskell curated the groundbreaking exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750–1950, which… Read More
African American boy sitting in front of a large tree with sunflowers blooming all around him.

Kindred Spirits: Intergenerational Forms of Expression, 1966–1999

Mar 14–Jun 1, 2025
1966 marked the centennial year of Fisk University, the oldest institution for higher learning in Nashville, Tennessee. It also represented a moment of transition after the retirement of Aaron Douglas, founder and chair of Fisk’s Art Department and a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. The appointment of David C. Read More
People milling about buying and selling vegetables and tables set up in a park like setting in a city

Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism

Jan 31–May 4, 2025
Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism explores the intersections of art, gastronomy, and national identity in late 19th-century France. Beginning with the 1870 Prussian siege of Paris and the resultant food crisis and continuing through the 1890s, Farm to Table showcases the work of… Read More