New Murals in the Edgehill Neighborhood!

In partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Frist Art Museum unveiled new outdoor mural works by Houston-based artist Tay Butler in the Edgehill neighborhood on Friday, October 3. During one of several off-site public art initiatives related to our 2023 exhibition Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage, Butler, one of the artists featured in that exhibition, and Nashville-based artists DaShawn Lewis and Joseph Love led student participants of the Edgehill United Methodist Church’s Brighter Days After School Tutoring program in art-making projects. Drawn from those projects, the resulting three collage murals feature members of the Edgehill community and are now installed on the MNPS Visual and Performing Arts Building in William Edmondson Homesite Park & Gardens and inside the Edgehill Branch Library.

Speaking at the opening event were Brighter Days instructors Ms. Nancy Crutcher and DaShawn Lewis with student participants; Tay Butler; Franklin Willis, director of visual and performing arts, Metro Nashville Public Schools; Mark Schlicher, Vice President, Friends of William Edmondson Homesite Park & Gardens board of directors; and Katie Delmez, senior curator, Frist Art Museum.

In his introductory remarks, Willis said, “Tay Butler along with Joseph Love and DaShawn Lewis didn’t just make art for this community, they made art with this community. They walked the neighborhood with the children of Edgehill, listened to their stories, and created something lasting together…May this mural be more than a work we admire today, it should be a daily reminder of the creativity, the brilliance, and the resilience of our students and the community.”

This project is supported by HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health, the Henry Luce Foundation, Drs. Turner and Phylanice Nashe, the Nissan Foundation, and Ameriprise Financial.

Group of adults and children pose for a photo in front of two new murals.

Artist Tay Butler speaks at a podium in front of a school.

Two children dance in front of two murals on a school building.

Three men and one woman pose for a photo in front of two new murals at a school.

A group of people gather for refreshments in front of a school.

A woman speaks at a podium surrounded by children.

Artist Tay Butler poses in front of two murals on a school.

A group of people sit and listen to speakers at a school.

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