Meet the Semifinalists: Exterior Public Art at the New Donelson Library

At their December board meeting, the Metro Nashville Arts Commission approved five artist semifinalists for public art projects at the forthcoming Donelson branch of the Nashville Public Library. The Donelson Library will have two public artworks, one exterior and one interior. Today, we're taking a look at the semifinalists for the exterior artwork.

Above: artworks from the five selected semifinalists for exterior public art at the Donelson Library. Clockwise from top left: Migrations from Andy Dufford; Nautical Swing from Matthew Geller; Wellspring from Wowhaus; Campfire by Joshua Wiener; and Cliff Garten's I AM A MAN.

Rendering from Hastings Architecture.

Donelson's new library will be constructed in the middle of Donelson Plaza, a mid-century strip mall currently being updated by a private developer. Renderings from Hastings Architects show the new two-story, free-standing building atop a parking garage. Its design pays homage to the mid-century modern feel of the surrounding plaza and the development of the Donelson community.

Rendering from Hastings Architecture.

For the Donelson Library project, Nashville Public Library and Metro Arts identified two ideal sites for public artwork: the exterior plaza, dubbed the "town center," and a location inside the two-story north window. Metro Arts issued two separate calls: a national call--including local artists--for the plaza, and a call for a suspended, interior artwork reserved exclusively for artists in Nashville-Davidson County and the surrounding counties. Metro Arts then convened a citizen selection panel of Donelson residents, business owners and community stakeholders.

Metro Arts' national public Call for Artist Submissions for a large iconic artwork closed October 17 and received a total of 93 eligible submissions. The citizen selection panel used online scoring, followed by a full day of in-person review to narrow the field to five (four individual artists and one artist team). After interviewing the semifinalists in January 2022, the panel will present a finalist for approval by the Metro Arts Public Art Committee and Board of Commissioners.

The Donelson Library Exterior Public Artwork semifinalists are listed below in alphabetical order. Click through each slideshow and visit their linked websites for examples of each artist's works.

Andy Dufford

Above: Migrations, Centennial, CO; Strange, Strange Sam, Kansas City, MO; Equilibrium, Raleigh, NC.

Cliff Garten

Above: I AM A MAN, Memphis, TN; Ethereal Bodies, San Francisco, CA; Receptor, Springfield, VA.

Matthew Geller

Above: Nautical Swing, San Francisco, CA; As Rose as Rain, Colorado Springs, CO; Upper Blush, Norfolk, VA.

Joshua Wiener

Above: Campfire, Frederick, MD; Connectedness, Norfolk, VA. Steward's Ship, Commerce City, CO.

Wowhaus

Above: Wellspring, Santa Rosa, CA; Golden Spiral, Ewing, NJ; Spinradl, Cincinnati, OH

View public artworks within Nashville libraries and parks in our Public Art Collection.