GALLATIN, TN – The City of Gallatin has installed art displays along the Town Creek Greenway as part of the Arts Build Communities (ABC) Grant, a yearly grant given by the Tennessee Arts Commission. The $7,000 matching grant (50% funded by Arts Council & City of Gallatin) has provided ten 24 x 18 displays along the greenway (near College Street) that will be changed each quarter to feature different local collections of art.
“Public art is a unique way to engage our community who use our Greenways,” said Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown. “We hope that the buzz surrounding these displays will inspire the next public-art project.”
This project is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Arts Commission. As stated in the Grant application, the City will produce four collections of art before June 2023. The city is now reaching out to art classes in Gallatin schools for additional exhibits. While there is not a set criteria for what can be displayed, the City is hoping to find collections from a wide range of age groups and demographics. The first four collections will be transferred to metal before being installed in the displays.
The first collection will feature historic photos provided by the Sumner County Archives. Gallatin Studio Photographer Ernest Stark’s collection of more than 7,000 photographs was taken between 1905 and 1935. Last year, Stark’s glass negatives were restored by the General Jethro Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The city brought members of that restoration team back to the Archive to help pick the photos they liked the most from their restoration efforts.
“Preserving history is our mission and restoring these photos was a labor of love,” said Jane Wright of the DAR. “When we were asked to help pick photos for this display, the hardest part was selecting nine photos that represent the brilliance of Stark’s work.”
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