Nashville arts: 7 of the best culture events beginning May 4
These are the top culture events in Nashville, starting May 4.
1. Closing ceremony of the sand mandala at the Frist
The Tibetan monks of Drepung Loseling Monestery return to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts on Sunday to destroy the intricate sand mandala they created in February with millions of grains of colored sand. In conjunction with Free Family Festival Day and to punctuate the closing of the exhibition, “Secrets of Buddhist Art: Tibet, Japan, and Korea,” the monks will chant and sweep up the sand in a ritual closing ceremony.
Guests are then invited to follow the monks in a procession down Broadway from the Frist Center to the Amphitheater in Riverside Park on the Cumberland River, where the monks will perform multiphonic chanting and pour half of the sand into the water to disperse the healing energies of the mandala throughout the world. Eastbound lanes of traffic will be shut down and there will be safety barricades for guests to walk behind. The remaining sand will be given to the Frist Center Sustaining Community Partners to spread blessings throughout the city. Traditionally, the destruction of a sand mandala is performed as a metaphor for the impermanence of life, and depositing the sand into a nearby body of water fulfills a function of healing.
The Frist is at 919 Broadway. Regular Sunday hours are 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. and the closing ceremony will be from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
— Melinda Baker, for The Tennessean
2. Harding Art Show
The Harding Art Show is the longest running school-sponsored fine art show in Middle Tennessee and returns this weekend for its 42nd annual exhibition and fundraiser. Running May 4-6, this three-day celebration of art and community features paintings, sculpture, woodwork, photography, and more from 70 artists. A portion of proceeds benefits Harding Academy, a co-educational day school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. This year, the featured artist is local abstract artist, Ed Nash. On Thursday and Friday evening, there will be receptions for guests ages 21 and up with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Tune, Entrekin & White host the reception on Thursday and CapWealth host on Friday. Parking for both evening events is free with a shuttle service running from the Immanuel Baptist Church on Belle Meade Boulevard from 5:15 p.m.-9:30 p.m. During the day on Friday from 1 p.m.-5 p.m., the show is open to all ages, and on Saturday from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., Infinity Group hosts Family Day at The Harding Art Show with food, treats, and hands-on art activities for guests of all ages. Parking is in the Harding Place parking lot just west of campus during the daytime events. The show is free and open to the public, though a $10 donation is suggested at all events.
— Melinda Baker, for The Tennessean
3. Nashville Ballet presents world premiere of 'Seven Deadly Sins' at TPAC
Nashville Ballet explores two contemporary dance styles in one performance this weekend — a ballet set to brand-new music by acclaimed singer-songwriter collective Ten Out of Tenn and another featuring an iconic Aaron Copland score — at the world premiere of “Seven Deadly Sins” with “Appalachian Spring.”
Choreographed by Nashville Ballet Company dancer Christopher Stuart, “Seven Deadly Sins” features a unique collaboration between Ten Out of Tenn and Nashville Symphony — with all-new, original music inspired by the concept of one of the seven deadly sins.
The performance opens with “Appalachian Spring,” Nashville Ballet Artistic Director & CEO Paul Vasterling’s abstract interpretation of Copland’s iconic masterwork, with a quintessential Americana score performed live by the full Nashville Symphony orchestra.
May 5-7 at TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville. Performances at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m., Sunday. Tickets start at $28, available at www.nashvilleballet.com or by calling the TPAC Box Office at 615-782-4040.
— Amy Stumpfl, for The Tennessean
4. TWTP’s 11th Annual Women’s Work Festival
Tennessee Women’s Theater Project opens its 11th Annual Women’s Work Festival this weekend, with an exciting mix of performing and visual arts — all created by women.
Opening weekend highlights include the Music City-inspired musical “Another Round,” with music/lyrics by Julie Forester and Kirsti Manna; book by Bill Feehely; a staged reading of Kari Floren’s new play, “Revisiting Wildfire,” featuring Aleta Myles and Tamara Scott, directed by Carolyn German; and the Nashville-made (and soon-to-be cult favorite) horror/comedy film “Black Holler,” written by Heidi Ervin, Rachel Ward Heggen and Jason Berg, and starring TWTP favorite Tamiko Robinson Steele.
May 5-21 at Looby Theater, 2301 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville. Performances at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m., Sundays. For complete schedule of performers, show dates/times, reservations and information, visit twtp.org or call 615-681-7220.
— Amy Stumpfl, for The Tennessean
5. ALIAS spring concert at Vanderbilt’s Turner Hall
ALIAS Chamber Ensemble will present its spring concert on Tuesday at Vanderbilt’s beautiful Turner Recital Hall. The concert will explore “a world of musical contrasts” — including works by Georg Philipp Telemann, Mason Bates and Sarah Kirkland Snider — along with Trey Anastasio’s “Divided Sky,” featuring the renowned electric violinist Tracy Silverman as guest artist.
May 9 at Turner Hall, Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, 2400 Blakemore Ave., Nashville. Performance at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday. Tickets $20, available at aliasmusic.org.
— Amy Stumpfl, for The Tennessean
6. Nashville Opera and abrasiveMedia present ' Move Closer' at Houston Station Art Crawl
Nashville Opera and abrasiveMedia team up this weekend for “Move Closer,” a creative blend of music, aerial dance and visual art — all inspired by the sensual art of the tango.
Aerial dance company Suspended Gravity will perform, with music by Nashville Opera. Yuri Figueroa, a native of Mexico, will display his original art. This interactive and immersive movement installation invites audiences to experience art in a new way.
May 6 at abrasiveMedia, 438 Houston St., #257, Nashville (inside Houston Station, second floor). Drop in between 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Saturday. Free. Visit abrasivemedia.org for details.
— Amy Stumpfl, for The Tennessean
7. 46th Annual Spring Tennessee Craft Fair
Returning to Centennial Park this weekend for its 46th annual event is The Spring Tennessee Craft Fair. This juried craft exhibition and sale brings together hundreds of talented craft artists with regional and national reputations and draws 45,000 visitors. Seventy-five percent of the selected artists are native to Tennessee and many will be in attendance to answer questions and discuss their work as you shop for memorable, locally-made gifts for others or (unabashedly) yourself.
Featured artists include Kristi Hyde (Atlanta), Tom Turnbull (Nashville), Vickie Vipperman (Kingston Springs, Tenn.), and Daniel Corban (Orlinda, Tenn.). Don’t forget to visit the "Emerging Makers" tent and see the work of talented up-and-coming craft artists, and bring the little ones to the Publix Kids’ Tent for community and culture-themed hands-on activities and a chance to contribute to the creation of a collaborative mural.
The fair will be open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The event and parking is free, and on Saturday and Sunday, there will be a free shuttle service running in 15-minute loops from the HCA Parking Lots located on Park Plaza to the fair.
— Melinda Baker, for The Tennessean
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