The Art Gallery at the Main library presents exhibitions that promote access to and stimulate interest in a wide variety of ideas. The gallery is open during the library’s regular hours. Admission to the gallery is free and the public is welcome to all events.

Art Matters Podcast

Tune in for conversations relating to gallery shows at the Library. Get a peek behind the scenes as gallery coordinator, Liz Coleman, talks about the artwork with visiting artists and other interesting individuals.

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Current Exhibitions

Beyond the Page: Carol Barton’s Art and Influence
July 13 – August 31, 2008
Main Library, First Floor Art Gallery

Carol Barton is a book artist, teacher, and curator whose work is exhibited internationally and is in numerous collections, including the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Beyond the Page is an exhibit showcasing Carol Barton’s beautiful books alongside books by local artists who have studied with her. Read more about Carol and view a preview of the exhibit.

Artists included in the exhibit are:
Virginia Allison
Sandy Conatser
Jenny Paris
Robin Paris
Elizabeth Sanford
Britt Stadig

Upcoming Exhibitions

Open to the Night: Drawings by Sue Mulcahy
September 27, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Art Gallery, first floor

Sue Mulcahy has taught art and exhibited her abstract drawings for more than 35 years, most recently as part of the Shades of Gray exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. This solo show of Mulcahy’s drawings explores a rich visual world rendered in black and white. Artist's reception: Saturday, September 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the gallery.

Past Exhibitions

Works with Words
March 15 – June 22, 2008
Art Gallery, first floor

A juried show of Tennessee artists incorporating text and image. Artworks chosen for the exhibition represent a broad range of ways that text can be used in works of art.

The Wilson Limited Editions Collection Purchase Award Winner is "Green X," by Claudia Lee.

Works with Words Artists
Slideshow of Exhibition
Font Walk Map

Funding for the Art Gallery made possible by generous gifts to the Nashville Public Library Foundation.

Exhibition Policy
As an institution that serves all of Davidson County in its branches and main library, the Library will focus on presenting exhibitions that are either, but not limited to:

• related to the particular focus of the Library by highlighting the library’s collections, programs, and services;
• drawn from the Library’s collections and resources;
• specific to the Nashville area including but not limited to exhibitions which would stimulate interest in some aspect of its history;
• co-curated with other institutions, museums, art galleries, libraries and agencies to provide a thematic examination of a particular area of interest to the Library as described in its Mission Statement;
• curated by other institutions, as described above, agencies or individuals and are of the highest quality and provide examination or viewing of a particular area of interest to the Library as described in its Mission Statement.