Accessibility

The Frist Art Museum strives to make our historic building, exhibitions, galleries, and events accessible and welcoming to all our guests.

For visitors with mobility needs

Accessible Parking Spaces

The Frist Art Museum visitor parking lot is located on land adjacent to the building. The lot contains 90 parking spaces. The barrier-free distance from the accessible parking spaces (located in the northeast corner of the visitor parking lot) to the entryway in the Turner Courtyard is approximately 125 yards.

• The Frist Art Museum has five clearly marked accessible parking spaces (two of which are van accessible) available in our visitor parking lot for vehicles displaying the appropriate hang tags and license plates. The spaces are located in the northeast corner of the visitor parking lot, nearest the barrier-free crossing and entrance to the museum.
• Five clearly marked accessible parking spaces (two of which are van accessible) are also available during select events. They are located in the Frist Art Museum’s staff parking lot. When the second lot is opened to the public, those additional accessible parking spaces will be available for visitors to use. 
• A limited number of accessible public parking spaces are also available on 9th Avenue. (These spaces are designated by Metro Traffic and Parking, not specifically for the Frist Art Museum.)

Barrier-free entry

Enter the Frist Art Museum via the entrance to the Turner Courtyard on the southeast side of the building nearest the Federal Courthouse. The barrier-free entry to the Turner Courtyard is located near the museum’s large generator, which is clearly visible from the accessible parking spaces in the visitor parking lot. The barrier-free distance from these accessible parking spaces to the building entrance is approximately 125 yards.

There is an additional barrier-free entrance with a ramp on the corner of 9th Avenue and Broadway. The distance from the entrance to the Visitor Services Desk through the Grand Lobby is approximately 80 yards. 

Navigating our building

Please note: The Frist Art Museum occupies an entire city block. Moving from one side of the building to the other is a distance of approximately 80 yards. Because exhibitions change frequently and their contents vary widely, seating areas are not always located uniformly from one exhibition to the next. Seating is available in the Grand Lobby.

• Service Animals are welcome at the Frist Art Museum. 
• Accessible restrooms are located throughout the Frist Art Museum:
  • In the Conte Community Arts Gallery, there are two baby-changing stations in the wheelchair-accessible stalls of the women’s restroom and one in the men’s restroom. 
  • The restrooms inside the Auditorium doors near the water fountains each feature a large leather chair. The restroom on the right also has a baby-changing station.
  • The wheelchair-accessible stalls of the men’s and women’s restrooms in the Education Corridor on the Upper Level each have a baby-changing station.
  • The family restroom across the atrium bridge from Martin ArtQuest has a large leather chair and a baby-changing station.
  • The wheelchair accessible stall in the women’s restroom across the atrium bridge from the Upper-Level Galleries has a baby-changing station.
• Wheelchairs are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Speak with Membership or Visitor Services staff for assistance when you arrive. Borrowers will be asked to leave a driver’s license or other form of ID during the period the wheelchair is being used. Both 18-inch and 24-inch wheelchairs are available.
• There are two four-footed adjustable canes and a rolling walker available for check out through the Membership Desk.
• Café Cheeserie has tables to accommodate wheelchairs.

For visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing

• With advance notice, we will make every effort to arrange for American Sign Language interpreters at no additional charge; email learning@FristArtMuseum.org or call 615.244.3340 (voice only) during business hours. Because ASL interpreters maintain busy schedules, please contact us at least three weeks in advance to allow sufficient time to make arrangements.
• Assistive listening devices are available for visitors with hearing loss who are attending programs in the Auditorium.  Contact the staff member managing the event to obtain a headset that amplifies sound via an infrared transmission signal.

TOURS: On the first Saturday of each month, certified American Sign Language interpreters will be available for both the 1:30 p.m. Docent-Guided Walk-up Tour and the 3:30 p.m. Architecture Tour. Our Docent-Guided Walk-up Tours focus on one of the current exhibitions and require gallery admission. Our Architecture Tours explore the Frist Art Museum’s landmark art deco building and are free. No advance reservation for either tour is required. ASL interpretation is generously supported by Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a Middle Tennessee nonprofit serving the Deaf and hard of hearing community.

Supported in part by

For visitors who are blind or have low vision

• Large-print and braille gallery guides are available for most exhibitions and can be checked out from Visitor Services.
• Large magnifiers to facilitate looking at artwork details may be borrowed from the Guest Services and Member desks and from the Information Desk just inside the galleries.
• Audio tours are available for select exhibitions and can be accessed from your smartphone by scanning a QR code at the gallery entrance.
• Docent-guided exhibition tours are available daily at 1:30 p.m.

Take-a-Break sensory kits

In an effort to make visiting the Frist Art Museum a more comfortable and welcoming experience for all of our guests, we are pleased to offer our Take-a-Break sensory kits. These kits are available to anyone who needs a little help calming and focusing while visiting the museum. You are welcome to take the kit anywhere inside the museum—the foyers on the Upper Level are a great option for a quiet spot.

Each kit includes a weighted lap pad, noise-cancelling headphones, disposable headphone covers, a timer, tangle and sensory tube fidgets, and sanitizing wipes. The kits are available to check out in Martin ArtQuest on the Upper Level.

Social story

Social stories are social learning tools that support the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. A social story has been created for the Frist Art Museum that can be printed out or viewed directly from the website on a computer or mobile device to help visitors with autism know what to expect when coming to the museum. 

Multisensory carts

Through docent-guided experiences that engage multiple senses, visitors are invited to explore many of our exhibitions in new ways at these interactive stations in the galleries.

For visitors who speak a language other than English

The Frist Art Museum can provide a language interpreter if needed. Please email learning@FristArtMuseum.org or call 615.244.3340 at least three weeks in advance to allow sufficient time to make arrangements.

If you have any questions or needs not specified here, please contact learning@FristArtMuseum.org or call 615.244.3340 for assistance.

The Frist Art Museum website

FristArtMuseum.org conforms to W3C Best Practices and those Web Accessibility Guidelines that apply to our site. The website is audited annually to assess accessibility. In summary:

• Images on the site include “alt” text which explains the content of the image. There is also contextual information included around each image to explain why it is included where it is.
• Information conveyed by color (such as sidebar navigation) is also structured by the markup in a way consistent to conveying the same information.
• Foreground, background, and text color combinations provide sufficient contrast to be viewed by people with color deficits.
• Style sheets are used to control layout and presentation, removing them from the content of the page itself and thus allowing screen readers to function correctly without including this additional, unnecessary, and non-contextual information.
• Relative units of position are used throughout the HTML/CSS markup, meaning the structure of the HTML is consistent with its visual layout, allowing screen readers to properly read elements on the screen in the correct order.
• Header HTML elements are used to convey document structure and importance, allowing screen readers to correctly determine the actual content of the page.
• Lists and list items are marked up properly.
• HTML markup is used in accordance with their intended use and W3C best practices. No HTML elements are used improperly, and no special characters are used to affect the visual layout of a page.
• Documents are organized so that they may be read without style sheets.
• There are no pop-ups or other windows that appear, and the current window’s content does not change without informing the user.
• Audio/Visual content such as videos have text descriptions associated with them to provide context and information about the content of the video.
• Exhibition entries may be accompanied by in-depth, text-based articles and headlines and sub-headlines are descriptive and refer to the entry in closest proximity.

The Frist Art Museum gratefully acknowledges the guidance and assistance of the Tennessee Disability Coalition and Empower Tennessee (formerly, the Center for Independent Living). Since prior to the opening of the Frist Art Museum in 2001, the staffs of these organizations have supported and inspired our efforts.

We also acknowledge the ADA National Network for their valuable resources and invaluable wisdom.

The Frist Art Museum is the 2019 recipient of Empower Tennessee’s first Access Music City Business Champion Award.

Read article about accessibility at the Frist Art Museum

Sadly, on July 21, 2025, our dear friend and member of the Frist Art Museum’s Marketing Council, Alicia Searcy, passed away. The video above was the result of Alicia’s request of us: “What can I do to support the museum? What can we do to help?” It was at Alicia and her husband, Clint’s suggestion that we produced this video as we documented one of their typical visits to the museum.

A powerhouse couple who, together over more than a decade, were strong advocates for accessibility. Just four days before she died, Alicia participated in a Marketing Council on Zoom offering suggestions to enhance our accessibility. Together, Alicia and Clint created a legacy that continues to bolster our awareness.  We are proud to say Clint Searcy continues to be a strong voice and, most important, a friend to the museum.