Website: https://metroartsnashville.com/
Metro Arts, formally the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, is the office of Arts + Culture for Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. The organization works to support and expand access to the arts across the community, stating its belief that “arts drive a more vibrant and equitable community” and its aim to ensure that “all Nashvillians have access to a creative life through community investments, artist and organizational training, public art and creative placemaking coordination and direct programs that involve residents in all forms of arts and culture.”
Services
Metro Arts carries out its mission through community investments, training, public art coordination, and direct programs. Its areas of work include:
- Grants and funding: General Operating Grants and Thrive Grants supporting artists and organizations
- Public Art: Coordination of Nashville’s public art collection, calls to artists, the Metro Public Art Collection, Witness Walls, a public art map, and creative placemaking
- Lending Library: A collection of artwork available to the community, with works exhibited at the Nashville Public Library
- Youth and Interns programs
- Artist and organizational training
- Community programs such as Community Arts Leaders of Nashville
The organization describes its public art collection as found “all over the city,” ranging from “imaginative outdoor seating to playful bike racks, from skyscraping sculptures to vibrant library walls,” stating that “Metro Arts is on a mission to bring art to all the spaces Nashvillians live, work, and play.” The website notes that the organization is “adding even more artwork to the city collection” and offers an “Arts Alert” email sign-up to keep the community informed of opportunities and events.
About
Metro Arts is a public agency serving Nashville and Davidson County. The organization publishes a Cultural Equity Statement and a Strategic Plan, and maintains resources on racial equity in arts leadership. Its website notes that Metro Council approved the FY25 Grant and Funding Policies on January 21, 2025, and addresses prior grant funding delays.
Location & Contact
Metro Arts serves Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, as the city and county’s office of Arts + Culture. Contact information and a Contact Us form are available on the organization’s website, along with a Media section and an FAQ page. The organization also lists Opportunities with Metro Arts for those interested in working with or applying to the office.
Additional Information
According to the website, Metro Arts is “funded in part by” revenue from specialty and personalized license plate sales in Tennessee, which support grants administered through the Tennessee Arts Commission. The site notes that “more than 70% of the money used to fund the 800+ grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission last year was from the sale of these specialty license plates.” The organization also maintains a blog covering its programs and announcements, with recent posts referencing a Lending Library collection on exhibit at the Nashville Public Library, a commissioned installation by artist Omari Booker for the Strobel House, and a Looby Community Center public art project awarded to Creative Girls Rock. Website sections include Public Art, Grants + Thrive, Youth+Interns, Events, Blog, Impact, Equity, and About. The organization is active on social media as @MetroArtsNash and encourages residents to follow it and sign up for its Arts Alert to stay informed.
Profile compiled from the company’s official website (metroartsnashville.com).