Frist Center For the Visual Arts

The Frist Center for the Arts is a lovely museum and dates well amongst medium size city museums. Generally, there exhibits work well, e.g., Sensuous Steel, a couple of years back. Currently, they are featuring there exhibits; Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane, which is a lovely small exhibit of some odd the artist’s few surviving drawings. A second, larger, exhibit titled, Ink, Silk & Gold is a fine visual representation of the art of Islam through the present age. The third, however, titled Phantom Bodies, for me, fell flat. The words used to describe the general exhibit were powerful and increased my interest. The artwork, itself, for me, fell flat. These works barely allowed me to understand what the artist was trying to cover. I could not connect with the artist’s sincere desire to present what remains of

We spent the first weekend of the New Year at the Frist. We primarily went to see the Michelangelo exhibit before it left our fine city this week and it was totally worth it. We also enjoyed the other exhibits as well and ended up spending about three hours here. There were five separate exhibits but two were pretty small.
Some people are not happy with the price, but they offer senior and military discounts, plus kids get under 18 get in free. I’m sure the adult price helps subsidize letting the kiddies in free, so I think it is worth it for that reason. They also have a family festival day in April where EVERYONE gets in FREE.
The museum parking lots were full but we found a relatively cheap place to park very close by ($ 9 for three hours).
The museum is a work of art in its own right and the fact that they rotate a variety of exhibits through mean that there is sure to be something for everyone. I know I never dreamed I’d be standing in the presence of some of the works of Michelangelo and I sure can’t wait to see what else the Frist brings to Nashville.

I admit it’s a little small for the admission price, only has a couple of exhibits. We saw the michalengelo one which was meh, and the Islamic art one which was great. Be sure to check out the interactive part at the top, it was fun making my own art with different styles. My daughter is more of the discerning art critic and enjoyed the modern art exhibit.
Be sure to get a discounted parking ticket and park in the lot
Take note of discounted and free days for students, tn residents etc.
Check out the building itself, amazing

They saved me! I was going all around town looking for postcards to send and came to the rescue. I called ahead and John in the gift shop was really nice. He even remembered me when I checked out.
This is one of my favorite places in the world! The exhibitions are always wonderful and piqué your curiousity– from fashion to sculptures to glass blown artworks to CARS– yes, amazing art deco cars that I still dream about… there’s something for everyone.
I hope that everyone makes a stop by the Frist while they are in Nashville and especially if you live here. Come every time a new exhibit is in town. It’s amazing how many countries you can visit and explore just by visiting your local museum.
I like the gift shop. They always have things you can purchase that are connected to the exhibitions. Great staff. Everyone is friendly and I love where it’s a place where you can think and experience in a calm and quiet fashion.

Great center for exhibits. Informational, well put together & something for a variety of tastes. Great hours which is open longer than most touristy things to do in the area. I just wish there would have been a few more exhibits & not just two featured. The Italian Fashion exhibit was 5 star & the postcard was 4. I felt that they could have had an additional artists or something more in the upstairs (what was done was well presented), I personally wasn’t quite as interested in that as the Italian fashion exhibit.

Spent $ 12/​person for 2 SMALL exhibits. The Italian clothes exhibit wasn’t impressive at all. By technicality, I could’ve taken off my Franco Sarto thong sandals & put them in the display window next to the other ones there made just last year! Some of I t was like they went shopping and put stuff on display.
The post card collection was smaller and didn’t have any connection to the textiles hanging from the wall, except that they, too, were around the same time period. Very odd.
1 additional exhibit they identified was 12 high school art projects in a hallway. Do NOT spend your $$ here. Best part of the visit, the shirtless college guys running up the museum steps on the way out –which cost me $ 0.

As a museum worker, I can get a bit snooty when I go to other museums, but I’m happy to report that Frist Center was actually fairly interesting.
1. The Staff — everyone was so kind and helpful. I happened to be there on a free day while things were a bit hectic and I got turned around a few times, but they helped me find my way.
2. The Exhibitions — shrug. They were definitely not bad, but there wasn’t anything major to note. But that’s how it is sometimes… I’m sure they have exhibitions that cater to a large variety of people.
3. NO CAMERAS — GUHHHHHHHHHHHH. :(Why you gotta do this? Makes it hard for me to do a blog post on the museum. Frustrating.
4. Architecture — Some of the best I’ve seen in an American museum. Truly gorgeous.

The staff at the ticket booth were very friendly and helpful, and the italian dress showcase was somewhat interesting, but the staff inside the exhibit was particularly rude. I am a student at Vandy, and I was showing a friend from Russia (who can speak no English) around the exhibit. I instructed her that she could not take pictures, so she turned her camera off and had it hung around her arm. Inside the exhibit, an older, white, male staffer with grey hair stopped her, and he was very rude about her even having a camera on her. She could not understand a word he said, but his rude attitude toward her alone ruined her visit. I will not be returning.

Interesting museum in nicely repurposed art-​deco post office building. There were three exhibits during our visit, Italian fashion, Plensa sculpture, & 19^th Century American Art. It seems instead of any permanent collection, the Frist specializes in traveling exhibitions or creating their own. Each exhibit had some merit. I was surprised at the high price of admission for a family of four, even with free admission under 18 & discounted admission for college student. Even taking it slow, we saw it all in less than 2 hours.

I visited the Frist with my sister and two younger cousins, ages 9 and 6, because the older one loves art. We were going mainly for the Martin ArtQuest gallery, which is marketed as being for kids, but proved to be fun for all four of us. There were a number of exhibits designed to teach children about different styles of painting, drawing, stamp-​making, découpage, and even stop-​motion videos. I had expected it to entertain the girls for a few hours, but I practically had to drag them out when it was time for the exhibit to close as they were still having fun making art. Not only was a it a fun way to spend the day, but it was inexpensive as guests under eighteen get in free, so we only had to pay for my admission.

I’m going to start by saying I love this place. My experience yesterday for the free family day was a huge let down. I know they’re crazy busy but all of the staff (except the staff in children craft rooms) looked so unhappy and like we were such an inconvenience to be there. Like really, it blew my mind. Rude rude rude. I’m still shaking my head about it. So hopefully I’ll fall back in love with this place but it’s going to take a long break to get that nasty experience out of my head.
Oh and also about 5:15 the staff was basically pushing us out of the portraits of an English country house exhibit. One gentleman told us to take our time and we were fine and then we walk into another room and the a lady was like we’re shutting it down I told her what the gentleman just told us and she’s like who told you that? Who told you that? Who told you that? Where he at? I pointed him out and she started arguing and fussing at him. Rude!!! It was mind blowing but not in a good way.

I’m not a fan of regular museums, so when I saw there was a «Visual Arts» museum, I was hooked. The gigantic flower sculptures out front were also a plus.
It cost $ 12 to get in, which in hindsight is a little steep considering there wasn’t too much to see. But hey, the less time I spend in a museum, the better.
When I was there, they had the following available for viewing:
–Tina Barney’s The Europeans — a cool large format slice-​of-​life type of photography exhibit
–Houghton Hall — English history and paintings, including pieces around the life of Robert Walpole
–High school photo contest winners — a lot of cool photos from local area kids
–Martin Artquest — an interactive learning center for kid, including painting, matting, etc. Super cool.
It was a fun time. I was done in a little less than an hour, which is probably the maximum amount of time I’d want to be in a museum.

Santity Pictued Symposium is so well organized and presented. Great information. Congratulations and let’s have more of this!

We went to see the Kandinsky exhibit. The museum costs $ 10.00 per adult, however, they are currently offering no cost admission if you donate a canned good; kiddos are free. I was happy to find a free coat check (it’s the small things in life, people).
The layout of the exhibit was engaging and well done. The personnel was friendly, I saw one guard gently rebuke someone that got too close to a painting.
Upstairs you will find a kid activity center– my little brother got to create some cool artwork.
The museum isn’t very big. My guess is that they rotate exhibitions every couple of months. If I lived in Nashville, I would become a member.
Tip: the Flying Saucer is right next door :) no harm in grabbing a beer after some cultural enlightening. ;)

My five year old daughter and I spent the afternoon at Frist with hopes of finding engaging activities for her. We made the treck on foot (almost too far for her, from 4^th street, but she made it.)
We paid our admission fee of a whopping $ 10 (she was free) to the less than enthusiastic staff member. I assumed, being with a 5 year old, that we would’ve been directed towards the kids are. My bad; you know what they say when you assume!
So, we roamed the gallery. It was cool. I was pleased that my daughter was enjoying the artwork as much as an adult would! Until one associate quite literally jumped my little girl for ALMOST getting too close to a painting. She was actually only almost too close to the wall, but ok. He grabbed at her and fussed at her, using terminology she couldn’t possibly understand. He scared the daylights out of her, resulting in tears and a very not fun time… And a very angry mother!
So, we left the gallery and hunted down some folks to ask for directions. We asked the people running the membership table and they were very nice.
The kids department is actually upstairs. Once you find it (there isn’t any signage), its pretty neat. She was able to do lots of activities; portrait drawing, block building, movie making, people/​character building, water color painting, print setting, kaleidoscope making and more. It was awesome and good for a couple of hours of entertaining her.
So, I’m glad we found it. The folks working with the kids are awesome! But that gallery guy that clearly has no idea how to interact with people… That definitely put a damper on the day.

Housed in an old Art Deco Post Office, the building alone is worth the trip if you appreciate amazing architecture. The Frist has no permanent collection, but instead focuses on a fantastic rotation of traveling exhibits. I have seen MANY great shows here and have been introduced to many fantastic artists & designers through the varied exhibits. It doesn’t matter what is showing, GO!
The first floor has a great gift shop. The second floor has an interactive exhibit for the kids. I haven’t tried the café, but there is even food if you want to stay a little longer but need a snack.

So glad to be able to visit FRIST and see the «Real/​Surreal» exhibit with many of my favorite American artists from the 1930’s ~ 1950’s.
This artistic movement started at a time when Sigmund Freud’s theorized that the human unconscious stems from disruptions of conscious states of mind, thus explains how imagination and reality are intertwined.
The exhibit included many masterpieces from the NY Whitney Museum with works by Henry Koerner, George Tooker, Edward Hopper, Yves Tanguy, Jared French, the list goes on.
Seeing Henry Koerner’s «Mirror of Life» and «Barber Shop» in person was mesmerizing. One depicts varying scenes on one landscape from a nude man murders his brother in a field on the top left of this world — reminiscent of Cain and Abel, mirrored by topless farmers on the right. The depth of the Barber Shop’s composition, color combination and patterns is just breathtaking.
The other exhibit at the moment is the «Watch Me Move» on the history of film animation. It’s also quite intriguing.

I went to the Frist for Frist Friday. I didn’t get to do the whole concert part of the night but we got to go in the Animation and the Surreal exhibits. Both were so good! We walked in to snacks, bars set up to get wine and other drinks and people mingling in the lobby. Fun experience!
I think we spent the most time in the Animation exhibit. It was so interesting to see all the different types of animation and animation from different movies. I can’t wait to go back and see more of the museum. We got there pretty late so we didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked to.

The Frist Center’s objective is to present and originate high quality exhibitions and inspire people to look at their world in new ways through art. I was glad to get in there free with a student ID. The museum itself is quite beautiful, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I enjoyed seeing one of the current exhibits, Marty Stuart’s ‘American Ballads’ photographs. Rachel Owens’ ‘Inveterate Composition for Clare’ is situated outside by the steps of the Frist, which is composed of dismantled sections of two replica military Humvee shells in a quasi-​cubist, monumental form. It’s a reflection of the horror of war and a memorial for those who have scarified their lives in its conduct. I am glad I was able to check this place out while in town! :D
+free with a student ID: D

Step away from your computers, put down your smartphones and go to The Frist right away. It’s beautiful. And the staff is friendly and knowledgable!
The art I saw here today was awesome. Thoughtfully curated, and well displayed. Every single piece I saw made me think, which is a welcomed change from some museums that just display famous art for their popularity. Not this place! The Goya exhibit going on now (May 2014) was beautiful and haunting at the same time.
If you have time, make sure you take the docent tour. It’s free with admission an well worth it.
This is the best $ 10 you’ll spend at a museum so go there now!