Nashville Youth Campus Wall Sculpture Commission
Open national call for artists to create a $400,000 wall sculpture for Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment. Deadline June 23, 2025.
Metro Arts is announcing an open, national public-art commission for a wall sculpture at the new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a significant single-work public-art investment intended to enhance a city youth services site.
The wall sculpture commission offers a $400,000 budget and is open to artists across the United States. According to Atelio Merga of the Public Art Committee, many qualified applicants have already submitted since the initial announcement two weeks prior.
The commission is part of a larger public-art initiative for the campus. In addition to the wall sculpture call, Metro Arts will be issuing a second separate call for an "empowerment collection" featuring hung artworks. This collection is expected to involve approximately 15 to 20 artists and will be brought to the Arts Commission for approval within approximately one month.
The selection process will include a citizen selection panel, for which Metro Arts will soon release a separate call for community members to serve. The panel will help select the artist for the wall commission, and recommendations will be brought back to the Arts Commission for final review.
Metro Arts staff are encouraging commissioners to help spread the call through personal networks and community channels to reach qualified artists nationwide. The project will go through community selection and vendor contracting processes upon artist selection.
This opportunity represents a major investment in public art and youth community services, combining artistic excellence with civic engagement.