Nashville’s Public Art Community Investment Plan, developed by Via working collaboratively with Todd W. Bressi, answers the unique challenge posed by the city-county Metro Arts Commission: What would a public art program look like if its resources were organized to address issues of equity in the community, to achieve the vision that everyone in Nashville participates in a creative life?

The plan establishes new goals for a strengthened public art ecosystem, cultural participation, vibrant neighborhoods, and vital public places and outlines strategies and tactics to unlock and support the creative forces in Nashville’s communities.  It also charts fruitful new partnerships for Metro Arts with Metro agencies focused on providing services to Nashville’s underserved communities. 

In developing the plan, Via co-facilitated two topic-specific advisory groups focusing on the public art ecosystem and access and participation and co-facilitated roundtable discussions with regional artists and on the topic of public art in private development. We conducted stakeholder interviews, developed and analyzed data from an online community survey, and led a benchmarking study.

Through grant funding and new Metro Arts funding added after the plan was completed, Metro Public Art has been able to undertake a number of new projects that demonstrate the strategies recommended in the plan. Via and Bressi were also subsequently hired to develop two community guides: Art for (W)all, a mural guide, and Art+, a guide for developers.

Learn more about the plan.