Tennessee Association of Museums News

ExhibitsUSA has a variety of five and seven-week exhibitions available in 2006-2007 at reduced rental fees. Please contact Exhibitor Relations at 816/421-1388 for more details.

Molly E. Alspaugh

Exhibitor Relations Coordinator

Mid-America Arts Alliance/ExhibitsUSA

2018 Baltimore Avenue

Kansas City, MO 64108

(p) 816.421.1388 x209

(f) 816.421.3918

molly@maaa.org

Casey Jones Village has a New Website

After many months of planning and preparation we are happy to announce that we have a whole new design to our website www.caseyjones.com . We launched it a few days ago and invite you to explore our beautiful new site. It was created by web designer, Drew Winter, of winterstudios,ink. of Nashville and is a real work of art. His website is www.winterstudiosink.com Drew spent countless hours crafting a site we are truly proud of. We met Drew when he was a student at Union University. He has since graduated and moved back to Nashville. Drew has incorporated the latest technology and it has a lot of cool features. It's been a pleasure working with this talented young man on this project and we think you'll love it. Have fun exploring the new site and be sure to check out the photo galleries too. Enjoy!

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 4, 2008 – Business leader and cultural arts activist Steve Turner, the founder of the Nashville-based investment firm Marketstreet Equities Company, was recently elected as the new chairman of the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s Board of Officers and Trustees. Singer-songwriter-guitar-chieftain Vince Gill was voted president for a seventh consecutive one-year term.

Retired Gaylord Entertainment CEO E. W. “Bud” Wendell, who has served seven consecutive terms as the Museum’s chairman, and Brookside Properties founder and chairman Nelson Andrews, a trustee since 1997, were honored as trustees emeriti.

Turner joined the Museum’s board in 1997 and has served as a trustee since 2000. Widely known for his philanthropy and civic leadership, he is a member of the board of trustees of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, which opened in a new downtown facility a few weeks prior to the Museum’s nearby opening in 2001. As a member of the Nashville Symphony Association board, he chaired the building committee for the multi-million dollar Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which opened one block from the Museum in September 2006. He also serves on the board of trustees of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D. C.

Nashville, Tenn., February 14, 2008—In an emotional ceremony rich in music and memorable stories, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith donated a treasure trove of country music artifacts to the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum on February 13.

A renowned collector and country music star, Stuart’s endowment includes personal items that once belonged to Johnny Cash, Lester Flatt, Roy Nichols of Merle Haggard’s Strangers band and Hank Williams; he also donated several items from his own career. His wife, famed country singer Connie Smith, presented several artifacts of her own, including a stage outfit, a guitar and a studio acetate of her signature hit, “Once a Day,” which she received the day she recorded it in 1964.

“Marty Stuart and Connie Smith are here to celebrate love—their love for each other, their love for country music and all of its cherished traditions, their love for country music fans,” said Kyle Young, director of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in his welcoming remarks. “They come bearing gifts for the Museum’s collection. I can’t tell you how meaningful and how important this is.”

The late-morning ceremony took place in front of a packed crowd in the Museum’s Ford Theater. Stuart and Smith performed with their bands, then shared the stage with performers Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs and Eddie Stubbs.

With an exclusive audience of actors, artists, musicians and business leaders listening, cheering and socializing at a star-studded after-party, the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s inaugural All for the Hall New York fundraiser at the Nokia Theatre Times Square (October 10, 2007) was deemed by all involved an overwhelming success—financially and creatively.

“We had high hopes for the event, and it topped all expectations,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “We reached out to New York, to let them know about our great Museum and the special work we do in preserving musical and cultural history, and they embraced us with love and enthusiasm.”

Hosted by actor-director Ethan Hawke, the music ranged from Country Music Hall of Fame member-elect Vince Gill singing a touching tribute to his father to hot country newcomer Taylor Swift introducing a song about having her heart broken at age 15. Staged as an old-fashioned Nashville “guitar pull”—artists and songwriters sharing songs backed with an acoustic guitar—the concert featured Patty Griffin, Jewel, John Rich, and Trisha Yearwood lined up with Gill in a row of straight chairs across the Nokia stage. In addition to Swift, guests who joined the five artists onstage included Shawn Colvin and Raul Malo.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson, called out of the audience without warning by Gill, sang “Give It Away,” a recent #1 hit for George Strait that Anderson co-wrote. The veteran singer-songwriter received a rousing standing ovation for his impromptu performance. Current CMA Musician of the Year nominee Randy Scruggs also performed, opening with an acoustic guitar performance of his Grammy Award-winning “Amazing Grace,” and playing guitar again as all of the evening’s performers joined together for a closing serenade, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”

All for the Hall New York drew a strong representation of nationally known artists, athletes and business leaders. Among those in attendance were actors Griffin Dunne, Gina Gershon and Greg Kinnear; Tony Award-winning producer Dasha Epstein; award-winning filmmaker Andrew Jarecki; champion bull rider Ty Murray; legendary songwriters and performers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson; rocker Jon Bon Jovi; singer Heidi Newfield; singer-songwriter and actress Alana Grace; lifestyle expert Moll Anderson; and hot comedian and TV star Jeff Ross.

Nancy Jarecki, owner of bettybeauty inc. and self-proclaimed country music ambassador of New York, co-chaired the event with AEG Live Chairman Tim Leiweke. Among the business leaders dining and listening to the songs were Academy of Country Music Executive Director Bob Romeo; AEG Live Senior Vice President for National Booking Larry Vallon; American Airlines Executive Vice President Joann Camuti; Anderson News President and CEO Charlie Anderson; BMI President and CEO Del Bryant; Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta; Borghese President and CEO Georgette Mosbacher; Cosmo Girl Editor-in-Chief Susan Schulz; Country Music Association COO Tammy Genovese; ESPN Operations Manager Ken Boudreau; the Food Network’s Suzanne Cornelius; Ford Motor Co. Vice President Al Giombetti; Fortress Investments President Michael Novogratz; Gaylord Entertainment Chairman and CEO Colin Reed; international law firm Greenberg Traurig partner David Greenberg; accounting firm Haber Corporation’s founder and principal Gary Haber; gallery owner Michael Haber; Hard Rock International Director of Marketing Annie Balliro; Hearst Magazines Editorial Director Ellen Levine; Leverage Group Vice President Randy Penn; Loeb & Loeb Partner and Co-Chairman John Frankenheimer; Merrill Lynch’s Scott Swift; People magazine Associate Publisher Susan Parkes; Premiere Radio Executive Vice President Julie Talbott; Random House Editor Pam Krauss; Red Light Management’s Will Botwin; philanthropist Sylvia Roberts; Robin Hood Foundation Executive Director David Saltzman; Sirius Satellite Radio’s Al Skop; SunTrust Bank Managing Director Thomas Carroll; Vector Management Partner Jack Rovner; Connecticut-based accounting firm Vogel & Company President George Vogel; Westwood One Senior Director of Artist Relations Pam Green; the William Morris Agency’s Rick Shipp; and Zenith Optimedia Senior Vice President Robin Rifkin.

The evening was filled with passionate music—and equally passionate stories about the power of country music and its cultural importance to America and the world. ‘I’m so happy to bring a guitar pull to New York City,” said Jarecki. “I’m glad to be able to bring a little bit of Nashville to New York.” Jarecki later added, “Anybody from New York, I urge you to go see the Museum, it’s really amazing. You’ll see things you didn’t know about it, and you start to realize there’s not that much difference between the interests you have and what the museum has to offer.”

Nine months in planning, the evening’s three-hour concert was co-produced by CAA’s Rod Essig and Vector Management’s Ken Levitan. “It was an amazing, historic night for our museum, but more than that, it was also an important night for us and for country music,” Young said. “We found we have some great friends and supporters in New York, and they walked away knowing more about the work we do. We plan to use these relationships as a foundation to build more national support and to continue to show people how special our Museum is and how special the country music community is.”

In addition to Essig and Levitan, Museum board members in attendance included David Conrad; Gill, who is president of the Museum’s Board of Officers and Trustees; Giombetti; John Grady; Steve Turner; Chairman E.W. “Bud” Wendell; trustee emeritus Janice Wendell; Jody Williams; Yearwood; and ex-officio member Genovese.

In the end, the New York event will rank as one of the biggest moneymaking events in the history of the Museum. The donations will support the preservation of the Museum’s unduplicated collection, which is considered the finest of its kind in the world, as well as the educational organization’s effort to make the collection available to the largest possible audience through exhibits, school and family programs, books, and recordings.

“This is a red-letter day in our 40-year history,” Young said. “Walking past the Nokia Theatre marquee, it really felt like time travel into the future. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum belongs to a national and international community of museums that collectively safeguard our nation’s memory and the world’s heritage. Over four decades, we’ve come a long, long way. Now, tonight, here are a lot of old friends and many generous new friends, friends who are stepping up to help us preserve the evolving history and traditions of country music.

“In doing so,” he said, “you are helping us to save our national memories, precious memories that we have in common with one another, memories that are imbedded within the songs and the stories that constitute country music history.”

An auction hosted by Jarecki, artist Greta Gaines and music industry executives Anastasia Brown and Laura Stroud raised $117,000, including a $65,000 bid for a 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT. Other donated items auctioned for the fundraiser included a weekend at a private island resort, a meeting with and signed Gibson guitar from famed instrumental pioneer Les Paul; a songwriters cruise and a Lynyrd Skynyrd cruise; and tickets with special arrangements for a Bon Jovi concert, the ACM Awards, the CMA Awards and the CMT Giants special in Los Angeles honoring Hank Williams Jr.

The gala was part of an ongoing outreach program, All for the Hall, the Museum’s first non-bricks-and-mortar fundraising campaign. Launched in 2005, the campaign addresses the Museum’s need for long-term financial security and will provide a safety net for the institution and its work. Gill leads the All for the Hall effort in the artist community.

As usual, the guitar pull combined emotionally touching songs with upbeat celebrations of life, and plenty of off-the-cuff stories and humor. Yearwood told of how she found her first hit, “She’s in Love with the Boy,” and that after performing it in a Nashville nightclub, producer and record executive Tony Brown (who attended the New York event) came up to her and said, “Let’s make a record.”

Song topics ran the gamut, from Gill introducing a new song about child abuse and loss of innocence to Rich premiering one about drinking whiskey. Rich also spoke of meeting Quincy Jones and talking to him about coming to Nashville to produce a big-band album of original country swing songs.

The storytelling covered a similar wide range. Colvin spoke of being of a generation of women who waited until later in life to have children and how becoming a mother changed her life. “I kind of like being dug in,” she said. Seventeen-year-old Swift, calling the event “the coolest thing ever,” told of how she loved the Museum “because a lot of life milestones have happened for me there.” She signed her recording contract with Big Machine Records at the Museum, and she received her first traffic ticket in front of the building. “It was not my fault by the way,” she said. “It was completely unfair.”

All for the Hall New York is the Museum’s first attempt at creating an annual fundraising event outside the Nashville area. “Our story is simple,” Young said. “But our challenge here and in New York is facilitating understanding of the important collection, research and scholarship that are the essence of our great music Museum.”

The Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN is hosting it's second Biennial Arts & Craft Juried Exhibition January 19 - April 11, 2008. It is an exhibition of both visual and artisan crafts together. Entries due October 30, 2007. Open to all artists, 18 years and older, residing in Tennessee. Cash awards include a $1000 Best in Show. Prospectus available at www.customshousemuseum.org, and at the museum, 200 S. Second St, Clarksville, TN 37040. Contact Terri Jordan, Community Relations Director, for information at 931-648-5780.

Museum of Appalachia shows life in the Valley before TVA

NORRIS -- When a New York film producer wanted to document how the Tennessee Valley Authority changed lives in our region, he turned to the Museum of Appalachia.

Producer Sean Fine and his crew are collecting stories -- like the tale of how Gene Brewer's great-grandmother refused to leave her ancestral home and was carried away by boat as the waters of newly impounded Norris Lake swirled around her porch.

There's the story of how Museum founder John Rice Irwin's family was moved from their Big Valley property that had been in the family since the late 1700s -- only to be moved again 10 years later when Oak Ridge became a center of atomic research.

They're collecting history captured in song -- like "Working on the TVA" and "She Sleeps Beneath the Norris Dam," sung by the Museum's Tony Thomas who wrote the first song. The second is by an unknown songwriter.

In family lore, in song, in prose, in photographs, and in writings, people expressed their feelings. Fine noted that those who lived through the era are passing on, and one purpose of the film is to give younger generations a better understanding of the hardships and sacrifices made in the name of progress.

Fine Films, an award-winning production company, has visited the Museum several times in the past few weeks and plans to return. They're also filming at other locations around the Valley.

The film, tentatively titled "Built for the People," will profile people who lived here before the TVA was created in the early 1930s, and explore how their lives were affected by the economic and lifestyle changes that electricity brought to the region.

It's expected to be released next May 18, in time for the TVA's 75th anniversary. The 90-minute film will be shown in some 40 movie theaters around the TVA region. Fine said it's also slated to air on the Documentary Channel, a new cable channel headquartered in Nashville.

The Museum of Appalachia is an extensive farm-village complex showing how people of the Southern Appalachia region lived in pre-industrial times. It encompasses some 35 historic log structures, display buildings containing tens of thousands of authentic Appalachian artifacts, gardens surrounded by split rail fences, and a variety of farm animals in a traditional farm setting.

Arts & Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition 2007 - Call for Entries

The Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville announces a call for entries for its National Juried Exhibition of 2007. The Arts & Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition was developed to provide a forum for artists to compete and display their work on a national scale. The selected art features both traditional and non-traditional work and will be exhibited at the Emporium Center in Knoxville from December 14, 2007 - January 11, 2008. The deadline for entries to be postmarked is September 29, 2007.

The call for entries is open to all artists 18 years and older living within the continental United States. Entries must be original works completed within the last two years in the following categories: Painting, Graphic Arts, 3-D, and Photography. Download a prospectus and application at www.knoxalliance.com. Juror: Nandini Makrandi Jestice, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, TN and Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Prizes include $1,400 in cash awards as well as future exhibition opportunities.

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