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FRIST CENTER RECEIVES NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS GRANT TO SUPPORT VISHNU: HINDUISM’S BLUE-SKINNED SAVIOR
$20,000 Grant Will Support Exhibition-Related Programs
NASHVILLE, TENN. — (November 23, 2010) — Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, today announced that the Frist Center for the Visual Arts has been approved for a grant of $20,000 to support the exhibition Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior, and its accompanying education programs. The Frist Center is one of 1,057 not-for-profit organizations recommended for a grant as part of the federal agency’s first round of fiscal year 2011 grants. In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.
The Frist Center-organized exhibition Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior, opening Feb. 20, 2011, is the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu, one of Hindu’s three major deities. It will remain on view at the Frist Center through May 29, 2011. The exhibition presents approximately 150 paintings and sculptures made in India between the fourth and twentieth centuries. The goal of the exhibition is to introduce non-Hindu audiences to the beauty and cultural meaning contained in works of art relating to the Vaishnava tradition, while helping the Hindu audience celebrate the traditional expressions of their spiritual beliefs. The exhibition will travel to the Brooklyn Museum of Art where it will be on view from June 24–Oct. 2, 2011.
An independent agency of the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts advances artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, “I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative, and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country. Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable, and fun.”
About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., is an art exhibition center dedicated to presenting the finest visual art from local, regional, U.S. and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions. The Frist Center’s Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Gallery admission to the Frist Center is free for visitors 18 and younger and to Frist Center members. Frist Center admission for The Birth of Impressionism, currently on view, is $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. During The Birth of Impressionism, college students are admitted for $5.00 Thursday and Friday evenings, 5–9 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservations by calling (615) 744-3246. The Frist Center is open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sundays, 1–5:30 p.m., with the Frist Center Café opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling (615) 244-3340 or by visiting our Web site at http://www.fristcenter.org.
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government that has awarded more than $4 billion on projects of artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the National Endowment for the Arts at arts.gov.
