Metro Arts public-art call opens for Nashville Youth Campus wall sculpture; $400,000 commission cited

Atelio Merga, presenting for the Public Art Committee, announced an open, national call to artists for a major public-art commission for the new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment.

Atelio Merga said, “it's going to be closing on June 23,” and described “key highlights that's 400,000 for a wall, sculpture, for the new, Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment.” The call is open to artists in the United States; staff said many qualified applicants had already applied since the announcement two weeks earlier.

Why it matters: The commission is a large single-work public-art investment intended for a city youth services site. Staff said the wall sculpture commission is complemented by a second call — an “empowerment collection” of hung artworks — expected to involve about 15 to 20 artists and to be brought to the commission for approval in roughly a month.

Public-art committee staff asked commissioners to help spread the call through personal networks and community channels. Atelio Merga said he would soon release a separate call for community members to serve on a citizen selection panel that will help select the artist for the wall commission.

Timeline and scope: The call closes June 23. The wall commission budget was stated as $400,000; the subsequent empowerment collection will be for multiple hung pieces and staffed as a separate call with details to follow. Staff described the wall call as an open national call (artists from across the U.S. may apply).

Next steps: Staff will convene a citizen selection panel and bring recommendation(s) back to the commission for review. Commissioners asked staff to circulate the call widely through their networks.

Context: The announcement ties to the city’s broader public-art work; staff said the project sits alongside other Metro Arts public-art initiatives and will go through community selection and vendor contracting processes if an artist is selected.