“Metro Arts” is the office of Arts & Culture for the city of Nashville and Davidson County. We believe that arts drive a more vibrant and equitable community. We strive 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.
Metro recently adopted an ordinance and guidelines for the purpose of evaluating potential donated artworks. This policy plans for the fact that there are limited suitable sites on public property for placement of donated artworks and limited public funds for maintenance and conservation of donated artworks. Each artwork will be evaluated by the Public Art Committee and the Metro Arts Commission in addition to the Metro Department accepting the donation.
In order for Metro to evaluate donations, donors are required to provide information about the artwork donation via Submittable at least six (6) months prior to the anticipated donation acceptance date. You may also download the donor checklist/worksheet to assist in the process of gathering information about your artwork.
***PLEASE NOTE** Donations of artwork that require the city to pay for costs such as installation, transportation, site preparation or repair are not encouraged. Artwork requiring high or excessive maintenance may be declined.
Ordinance No. BL2015-1277 "D. Unless the metropolitan council has appropriated funding specifically for the installation and maintenance costs for the donated artwork, a donor’s proposal shall include funding adequate to cover all costs for the design, fabrication, insurance, transportation, storage, installation, and maintenance of the proposed artwork for a period of ten years from the date of acceptance, plus contingency funds for reasonable unforeseen circumstances."
Thank you for your interest in submitting a proposal for Temporary Art on Metro Property in Nashville-Davidson County, TN. To ensure your project is eligible, please read the complete guidelines before proceeding to the application.
Please note that this is not a call to artists and there is no funding associated with this review and approval process. Artists and applicant organizations must work primarily in Davidson County to be eligible to apply.
In order for Metro to evaluate proposals, applicants are required to provide information about the temporary artwork proposal via Submittable at least three (3) months prior to the anticipated installation date. Metro Arts will be reviewing proposals with the Metro department managing the proposed artwork site.
If you experience any technical difficulties submitting your proposal, please contact Submittable's Customer Support team.
For questions regarding the content of the application or the guidelines, please contact Anne-Leslie Owens, Public Art Collections Manager, at Anne-Leslie.Owens@nashville.gov.