Music City is Alive with Art This Friday Night

There are a few things you need to know about for Friday night.  Go ahead: book your sitters, grab your friends or make a date.  Friday is art night.  Here’s what’s up:

Chilhuly at Cheekwood

My kids with a friend at Cheekwood

You live under a rock if you have not seen the advertising blitz for Chihuly at Cheekwood.  For Thursday and Friday nights through August, you can visit Cheekwood until 10:00 PM to experience Chihuly under the magic of the night sky.  In September and October, you can visit until 9:00PM those nights.  I did just that this past Friday night and WOW -  do not miss this incredible opportunity.

I didn't have a tripod, so forgive the not-so-crisp images!

I had four kids with me ages 6 – 11 and we saw plenty of couples, groups picnicking and little babies all being wowed by the same exhibit.   At one point, with four kids chasing fireflies, Chihuly glass art all lit up surrounding us and stars twinkling in the gorgeous summer night sky above us, I knew this was a pretty incredible experience.

To know: the Pineapple Room has food and drinks and is open late on these nights.  Admission is $15 or just $5 with a Cheekwood membership.  17 and under is free.  – Liza

Now onto another great exhibit:

While the Chihuly exhibit has graced the pages of every publication in Nashville, there is a show you may not have heard of and it is spectacular.

Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery

The Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery is opening its summer show this Friday evening.  There are actually two exhibits on display: Five Centuries of Drawing and American Art.

The exhibit includes works, many of which have never been exhibited from the extensive collection of over 6,000 objects that are from the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Galley.

The Gallery is in Cohen Memorial Hall, located on the Peabody campus at Vanderbilt, which is notable as it was designed at the beginning of the 20^th century by the prestigious New York architectural firm of  McKim, Mead and White (as in Stanford White).  With its simplicity and use of natural light, it is a gorgeous structure.  The building was made possible through a gift by Ms. George Cohen to Peabody College.  Her intent was to foster art education through first hand access to great works of art.

Cohen Memorial Hall

A couple of things appeal to me about this show: it is not overwhelming in size and the art selection is diverse.  In one evening, you can see a retrospective of drawings from the late Renaissance to present day featuring lesser known artists; then stroll into the adjacent room and view works from highly acclaimed American artists like Mary Cassatt, Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.  The combination creates a nice synergy.

If you are planning to go out this Friday, take a slight detour from your dinner plans to see this wonderful show.  The reception takes place Friday from 5PM – 7PM with wine and cheese being served.  You will leave with a genuine sense of satisfaction that you have just graced one of Nashville’s jewels.  For directions, click here.

Fundraiser

And, there is fundraiser hosted at The Arts Company on 5th Avenue Friday night to raise money to help rebuild Finer Arts Gallery which was badly damaged in the flood.  Click here for more details.

Art Crawl

If you are still hungering for still more art, Saturday from 6-9 is the monthly Art Crawl downtown.

- Elizabeth

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