CHEEKWOOD ANNOUNCES FREE ADMISSION

NASHVILLE, TN - Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art will open its gates free to the public for the remainder of this work week, Wednesday May 5 through Friday May 7 in order to help give flood victims, volunteers and the entire community somewhere to come and escape, work (there is wifi in all buildings), entertain kids out of school, have a good lunch and much more.

We are delighted to be able to provide a place of retreat amidst such disaster in Nashville, said Allison Reid, Vice President, Exhibitions and Programs. Cheekwood survived the storm with minimal damage and we invite people to enjoy our grounds and Museum for free.

Guests are invited to explore Cheekwood indoors and out. Exhibitions and events include:

• The American Impressionists in the Garden, a stunning exhibition exploring the tended and natural garden settings that inspired many artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring forty paintings and four sculptures, this is the perfect exhibition to celebrate the botanical splendor of Cheekwood.

• Temporary Contemporary, Virginia Overton sculpts space using found, forgotten and overlooked materials. By highlighting “unskilled skills, like driving a truck or stacking chairs, Overton rearranges our environment so that we might see it with more poetic eyes.

• Video Installation Galleries, Soaps, Flukes & Follies. Generationally, nationally, and culturally diverse, this disparate group of artists all share a love of humor as a means of teasing out the absurdities of social convention, the need for love and comfort, daily rituals and contemporary communication.

• William Edmondson: The Hand and the Spirit, This outstanding exhibition features selections from Cheekwood's collection, the largest public collection of William Edmondson's work. Born to former slaves on a plantation south of Nashville, Edmondson (1874-1951) taught himself to carve tombstones and became one of the most celebrated African-American sculptors of the 20th Century.

• The Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection of Fabergé, Among the world’s most significant compilation of Fabergé pieces, the Collection includes over 50 rare pieces highlighted by three Russian Imperial Easter eggs, and a number of important functional items, fantasy items and floral works.

• The Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail, a unique attraction among American art museums – the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail is a place where contemporary sculpture by internationally recognized artists is integrated into reclaimed woodland. Its paths are rugged and stretch more than one mile.