One of my favorite cultural landmarks is the Nashville Parthenon and so I am so excited to announce that prints of my work will be available at their gift shop! This includes three possible images that the staff may rotate in and out of the display area. Let’s take a look at how we got here and a little bit of Parthenon history while we’re at it.
A Chance Encounter
I met the event manager of the Centennial Park Conservancy this year in the summer while vending at GalaxyCon Nashville and that led to a great conversation about a place we both love: the Parthenon. One of my favorite prints from my collection of work is the graphite rendering of the south-facing exterior caught their eye, which I usually sell at my Etsy store:
Since then, I’ve had the privilege to chat with the merchandising team and prepared a set of matted prints for sale at the shop for $25 each (subject to change). A portion of the proceeds goes back to the Centennial Park Conservancy so it’s great to be able to give back to a stellar non-profit. With the HVAC and other renovation work underway during the early part of the year, there was time to get everything ready for a relaunch of the shop and gallery space.
Landmark History
The Parthenon itself has had quite a history of builds and rebuilds before it became a permanent fixture here in Nashville. It was not meant to last longer than the the 1897 Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition but demand for it to remain was strong so architects got to work on restoring the aging infrastructure in the early 20th century. Sculptors Belle Kinney and Leopold Scholz took on the commission to create new pediment sculptures, closely mirroring the figures seen at the original Parthenon and using clay to create molds of missing parts.
It’s hard not to talk about the enormous Athena statue that resides in the center of the Parthenon! Commissioned in 1982, artist Alan LeQuire started working and was able to finally unveil it to the public in the summer of 1990. $120,000 in donated materials and labor, including the steel armature inside the statue, were given to help make LeQuire’s vision a reality. Over 6 million visitors have seen Athena – quite a testament to her grandeur and popularity.
The park outside the museum is also a beautiful place to wander through and enjoy. Over time, other fantastic sculptures were added to the grounds detailing the women’s suffrage movement here in Nashville. I know most folks consider Nashville as the place for music but there is plenty of great visual art destinations that showcase the talent, dedication, and commitment of the communities here.
The Parthenon is open from 9am to 4:30pm Monday through Saturday and open from 12:30pm to 4:30pm on Sundays. The museum store closes at 4pm. Please note that holidays can impact the schedule. I hope you’ll check it out!
Keep telling stories,
Jeremy