Connecting Cultures: Children’s Stories from Across the World

In 2010, the Frist Art Museum partnered with ten Nashville organizations that represent cultures from around the world. The goal was to create an exhibition of artworks depicting the children’s stories of different traditions. Ten artists and the Frist Art Museum’s community outreach team led workshops in which the artworks on view in this gallery were created. Connecting Cultures: Children’s Stories from Across the World begins with the premise that the stories of children simultaneously reflect unique cultural values as well as perspectives that are shared by people worldwide.

All the artworks were created by an intergenerational group of more than two hundred participants. With the guidance of the lead artists, participants acquired and developed skills relating to composition, visual storytelling, and ways of using visual art techniques as a way of reflecting and interpreting narrative stories. It was interesting to discover that even within the same culture there were often diverse interpretations of a single story, often leading to strong discussions amongst the participants. The artworks created for this exhibition are as diverse as the communities, participants, and stories themselves.

Our purpose in partnering with cultural organizations in Nashville was to give voice to the city’s growing and diverse population with the strong belief that we can, through art, look at our world in new ways.