Join us for a day of indoor activities including performances, art making, music, and more celebrating our newest exhibitions, Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman, Robin Vuchnich: In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers—The Memory of a Season, and Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York, and the current Art in the Atrium installation, Plexus No. 47.
Schedule of Events
1:00–5:00 p.m.
Challah-Day Market • Rechter Room
Shop for the upcoming holidays and support local artists and vendors! Featuring goods from Nova Market and Café, Chef Louisa Shafia, and more.
Community organizations • Grand Lobby
Visit the community organization tables to discover programs, resources, and upcoming events happening throughout Nashville. Featuring Friends of Shelby Park, Belmont’s Jewish Student Association, and the Chabad of Vanderbilt.
Photo booth • Grand Lobby
Cheese! Stop by the Hi-Fi photo booth to get your photo snapped!
Community organizations and activities • Auditorium
Stop by the Auditorium to learn about the Cumberland River Compact, the Porch, Belmont College of Sciences and Mathematics, and Turnip Green Creative Reuse, and enjoy hands-on activities and interactive experiences along the way!
Shimmer Glam Up • Auditorium
Inspired by Shimmer, get glammed up by Glam Up Nashville with vibrant disco hair strands and sparkling rhinestones!
Multisensory Cart • Upper-Level Galleries
Engage your senses through touch and smell at our Multisensory Cart, featuring highlights from Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum. Get up close and hands-on with the artwork through this interactive experience.
Scavenger hunt • Upper-Level Galleries
Keep your eyes peeled as you explore the galleries! Complete a scavenger hunt featuring works from Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum and claim a prize.
Jewish paper art demonstration • Upper-Level East Foyer
Engage with artist Kim Phillips as she demonstrates her paper creations inspired by Jewish culture and sacred texts.
Kehilla Upper School Menorah Competition • Upper-Level East Foyer
View student-designed chanukiot created as part of Kehilla Upper School’s annual Menorah Design Project. Students combine Jewish tradition, creativity, and hands-on design while following the guidelines for a kosher menorah.
Paper pixel art • Studio A
Technology plays a huge part in shaping the world we live in, whether it’s how we go to work, how we learn at school, or how we play. The exhibition Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman features many artists who even use new technology when they make art. How might technology inspire the art we make? Join us to make your very own tech-inspired pixel-art collage.
Holiday ornament scratch art • Studio B
Get into the holiday spirit and create your own scratch-art ornament!
Kaleidoscope creations • Studio C
Inspired by Shimmer artist Saya Woolfalk’s Floating World of the Cloud Quilt, dive into a world of color, pattern, and optical wonder as you create and decorate your own kaleidoscope!
1:30–2:00 p.m.
Theremin performance with Rafael Merino • Ingram Gallery
Experience the otherworldly sounds of the theremin in a special performance by Rafael Merino, inspired by Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman. With its ethereal tones and shimmering textures, the theremin creates music through movement—no physical touch required!
Bug bingo • Upper-Level West Foyer
Buzz on by and join us for bug-themed bingo. Winners will receive a prize!
2:00–2:30 p.m.
Bug and Tell • Auditorium
Is Middle Tennessee a hotspot for insect diversity? Find out during Belmont University entomologist Dr. Steve Murphree’s Bug and Tell program—like show and tell, but with bugs! Get up close with fascinating insects and discover what makes Middle Tennessee such a buzzing biodiversity hotspot.
Docent-guided tour • Upper-Level Galleries
Join a museum docent for a guided tour of Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York.
2:30–3:00 p.m.
Artist Chat: Chalet Comellas • Ingram Gallery
Meet Shimmer artist Chalet Comellas and chat about her work featured in the exhibition.
3:00–3:30 p.m.
Orchestra Tikvah performance • Auditorium
Enjoy a performance featuring Orchestra Tikvah, a youth chamber orchestra led by Zachary Ebin of the Blair School of Music. Orchestra Tikvah is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of Jewish musicians by affirming that Jewish identity is not a limitation, but a powerful source of artistic strength and inspiration.
3:30–4:00 p.m.
Architecture tour • Grand Lobby
Join a museum docent for a guided tour focusing on the architecture and history of our building.
Theremin performance with Rafael Merino • Ingram Gallery
Experience the otherworldly sounds of the theremin in a special performance by Rafael Merino, inspired by Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman. With its ethereal tones and shimmering textures, the theremin creates music through movement—no physical touch required!
Bug bingo • Upper-Level West Foyer
Buzz on by and join us for bug-themed bingo. Winners will receive a prize!
4:00–4:30 p.m.
Working Lands, Wild Futures • Auditorium
Join Jack Barganier of Cumberland River Compact to explore how climate, water, and wildlife are connected across our working lands. Discover the challenges facing farms and formerly mined lands in southern Appalachia—from erosion and pollution to invasive species—and learn about efforts to protect these important landscapes.
Docent-guided tour • Upper-Level Galleries
Join a museum docent for a guided tour of Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York.
4:30–5:00 p.m.
Artist Chat: Robin Vuchnich • Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
Meet artist Robin Vuchnich and chat about her work featured in the Gordon CAP Gallery exhibition In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers—The Memory of a Season.
Admission
- Free for members and guests ages 18 and younger
- $20 for adults*
Tickets may be purchased on site on the day of the event. Advance tickets are not required.
*Military, senior, and student discounts are not available during Frist Arts Fest.
Parking
Discounted parking is available in the Frist Art Museum lots on a first-come, first-served basis.
Parking is at a premium in our area, but there are many lots close by. There is a parking lot on Tenth Avenue directly across the street from Cummins Station. There is also parking available in the Gateway Parking Lot behind Union Station, accessible from an entrance just past the Finch restaurant on Tenth Avenue.
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