Nashville Art Schools

Every year thousands of people find their way to Music City, USA to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, enjoy intimate concerts at Tootsies Orchid Lounge or one of the many local music clubs, or attend the famous Grand Ole Opry. It seems just as many people also venture to Nashville in hopes of being discovered as the next country music sensation. Though the chances of the latter occurring are not great, the culmination of all of this validates the city’s nickname and its reputation as the music capital of the South. Proof of this is evident in fact that the Country Music Awards take place here each year, the city’s Music Row is home to over twenty music studios, and even President Andrew Jackson’s home, the Hermitage, offers a swimming pool in the shape of a guitar. There is no question the city’s music scene is its main attraction and, as a result, the art scene remains somewhat overshadowed. That is not, however, an indictment of the arts community as there are many museums, galleries, and public art programs, as well as an overabundance of schools offering art programs. Among the many museums, the Frisk Center for the Visual Arts offers a wonderful museum that maintains a diverse permanent collection and hosts a number of popular events, including Friday Night Artini and the Late Night Torchlight Tour (complete with flashlights and a post-tour screening of the 1932 movie, The Mummy). Additionally, The Parthenon, a museum settled in Nashville’s Centennial Park, offers a 30,000 sq ft. Georgian mansion and reminds residents of the city’s other nickname, “Athens of the South”. The Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum is another great point of interest, as well as one of the many galleries, including Plowhaus (a gallery and artist cooperative), The Lowe Gallery, Tag Art Gallery, and Outside the Lines. For a prospective art student considering school in Nashville, there is plenty to do and see, though, if you’re not a fan of country music already, you’re almost guaranteed to leave as one.