Nashville Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Nashville museums supplies classes your area

Hello folks! Thanks for joining us for this discussion about art in Nashville. Galleries, museums, supplies, schools, shows, events and more will be covered in detail throughout the post.

We know your time is important so we will try to keep this intro short and sweet. Starting right off with the best Nashville art galleries and museums seems like the most natural way to do this.

However they are only a small piece of this puzzle as there are many other topics we must get into like the best art stores in your area when you need to pick up new materials or supplies. And of course the best monthly or annual shows and events have to get a shout out.

Going on an art walking tour or taking a casual stroll around the right areas of town to see some of the most unique statues and sculptures near you is a great plan on a sunny day. There are also many group classes or private lessons available at art schools in the region if you want to improve your skills.

We will also mention where to rent art studio space, in addition to discussing dealers, appraisers, and framing services. As you might imagine both Murfreesboro and Franklin will come up often throughout, and you can also read some of our other posts on cities around the Southeast at that link.

Let’s begin with this Nashville art map that has all of the places we are about to discuss pinned on it. Scroll down to get links to their websites, their addresses, and to read a little business info too.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Nashville

For the best art galleries and museums in Nashville you can head to:

One of the coolest parts about The Frist Art Museum is that they have new exhibitions every month or two so each time you visit you will see something different. They have a great volunteer program the Teen Arts Action Group which is for teens aged 15 to 18 years old, they take part in fundraisers, and put on some great events like The First Gala which includes the Patron Party just be warned that The Frist is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday so plan accordingly.

In addition to displaying some great artwork Bennett Galleries is one of the best places to go for custom framing near you but they are on this list instead of the framing list because they have some really nice paintings and sculptures that have been created by emerging artists that you can check out from 9:30am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday and until 5pm on Saturday.

Another place that you can visit on an upcoming art crawl in your area that we will mention again soon is the Tinney Contemporary Gallery. They are open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday selling museum-quality art from their rotating exhibitions to private and corporate clients and can help you with every aspect of buying art like selecting, purchasing, framing, and installing the new pieces.

The David Lusk Gallery opened in the mid 1990’s with a focus on fine and contemporary works and they even have another location over in Memphis if you are ever heading that way. Check them out from 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday.

At The Center for the Arts in Nashville they do theater productions, exhibitions of visual arts, concerts, and dance performances in addition to providing educational classes with instructors that can teach kids all kinds of cool stuff like musical theater, aesthetic art, acting and more. If you need to rent costumes or props for your own performances they can provide them as well.

At The Todd Art Gallery you will find works from MTSU’s Art and Design Department which are exhibited for free from 8am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday and from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and some of the works are for sale.

Whether you are a fan of sculptures, representational painting, or abstract expressionism you will find something you like at Leiper’s Creek Gallery. You can even submit your own artwork to them plus they have various workshops and special events throughout the year and keep regular hours of 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Saturday and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.

Materials & Supplies Near You

The best places to buy art supplies and materials in your area are:

You can get a great price on all kinds of supplies and materials or try the local art classes for all ages at Smart Art + Craft Supplies.

The Clay Lady is a great place to go for clay and pottery supplies but they have other stuff too. Plus they have classes on how to make pottery, paintings, sculptures, and stained glass.

In addition to being a great supply shop Jerry’s Artarama is known to be very good at custom framing.

We doubt we need to mention what the Michaels and Hobby Lobby stores near you have to offer.

Shows & Events

Some of the best art shows and events held in your area would be:

We mentioned it before but the Nashville First Saturday Art Crawl that takes place downtown every first weekend of the month is a can’t miss as over a thousand people take advantage of this free event where the galleries offer new opportunities to see their latest exhibitions.

You can find live music, art demonstrations, and artworks for sale at the family friendly Greenway Art Festival at Old Fort Park along the Murfreesboro Greenway each September.

Five Points is where to go for the Tomato Art Fest in your area which usually brings in over 50,000 visitors over the 2 days the festival is going on. Nashville Scene Reader’s Polls voted it the best festival in the city eight years in a row because of the great music, tasty food, local themed art, costumes, unique contests, shopping, and fun activities that are available.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

When you need help with buying, selling, or valuing a piece contact these art dealers and appraisers:

O Gallery can provide art advisory for corporations, architectural firms, hospitality firms, and more plus they offer art classes, parties, and accept commissions.

Whether you are an individual or business who needs help with art acquisition, collections management, or exhibition and curatorial services Liles McBurney Fine Art Consultants can help you out with turnkey services that include shipping, insuring, and installations.

There are over 6,000 pieces of original art, lithographs, and prints at Emery’s Fine Art that were created by more than 2,000 emerging artists near you.

Stonebridge Art Gallery collects, curates, frames, and sells local and international art plus they are specialists at canvas stretching and custom framing for fine arts.

Walking Tours

What is better than walking around outside on a beautiful day and seeing some cool art:

The Off the Wagon Building is where you will find Nashville Murals and they have tours that will take you around midtown, the gulch, and of course downtown but be warned, this tour is only for adults 21 and over.

Downtown Nashville is just loaded with all kinds of cool things to see and do while walking around on your own or we highly suggest you join the Art Crawl on the First Saturday of each month.

Every September you can check out the Greenway Art Festival where local and regional artists display their latest works along the Greenway Trail at Old Fort Park.

On each First Friday of the month you can visit the Franklin Art Scene located in historic downtown Franklin. Expect to find 20 or more galleries and other venues throughout the downtown area and around The Factory.

Another monthly event that makes for a great walk is the Weho Art Crawl which takes place on the first Saturday of each month as more than ten art galleries that are within walking distance in the Wedgewood-Houston area open their doors to the public for free.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Nashville lessons near you studios

There are some really nice sculptures and statues around town like:

  • Citizen at Public Square Park
  • Corn & Tomato Sculpture at The Farmers’ Market
  • Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument at Centennial Park
  • Musica Statue at 1600 Division St
  • Chet Atkins Statue at 254-268 Rep. John Lewis Way N

Thomas Sayre created Citizen which was installed in 2010 and you can find at Public Square Park.

Paige Easter & Dan Goostree made the Corn and Tomato Sculpture which sits at the Farmers’ Market today after also being installed in 2010.

Centennial Park is the home of Alan LeQuire’s Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument which has been up since 2012.

The Musica Statue was unveiled nearly two decades ago in the Music Row District across from Owen Bradley Park and it is another masterpiece made by Alan LeQuire.

The Chet Atkins Statue was a creation of Russell Faxon and you can check it out at Fifth Avenue and Union Street.

Nashville Art Classes

At the best Nashville art schools you can usually take private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, and adults:

There are nine unique arts conservatories that students can audition for at the Nashville School of the Arts which is a specialty high school that has courses in visual arts and literary arts along with music and theatre.

Nossi College of Art has fall, spring, and summer classes in both the day and night while offering bachelor degree programs in graphic design, photography, video, and film plus associate degrees in culinary arts and photography.

There are classes for children and open painting sessions available at Paint + Canvas whose instructors also give private lessons for watercolors, pastels, and acrylic painting. Parents might also be interested in their summer camps for children ages 7 and up.

Golden House Studios has all kinds of classes available including weekly or bi-monthly classes as well as private one-on-one lessons.

Smart Art + Craft Supplies, The Clay Lady’s from art supplies list also offer classes.

Studios For Rent Near You

You can rent art studio space in your area at:

Framing

A frame can transform a regular looking piece or picture to that next level and some of the best places for art framing in Nashville are:

Belle Meade Framers does everything from selling frames and shadow boxes to providing restoration services, acquisition services, canvas stretching, and installation.

In addition to being experts in custom framing, canvas stretching, and shadowbox framing Robin’s Gallery & Create It sells oil paintings, photographs, limited prints, and artistic gifts plus their corporate accounts get free pickup and delivery.

Décor Magazine voted Frames Unlimited as one of the Top 100 Framers in America 5 times and you can select from their more than 1,000 moulding choices and ready-made frames. They will provide installations for homes and offices plus they sell original fine art, portraits, and commissions by their staff artists.

Bennett Galleries from our main list and Jerry’s Artarama, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby from our supplies list also offer custom framing in your area.

We have also written posts about:

Have Fun Enjoying The Nashville Art Scene

That is currently all we have to share about the full art scene near you so it is time for us to say lets go folks. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers that you may want to check out.

Anyone who stuck around this long might just know quite a bit about the local art scene. We and our readers would both really appreciate it if you could let us know if you noticed anything incorrect or if you shared your own tips in the comments.

We hope you enjoy your time at the best Nashville Art Galleries, Museums, Supply Stores or doing whatever else you plan to do with the info.

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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