Moving Up
Scholarship benefit, new temporary home signify Watkins Institute's rapid growth
by Angela Wibking
For the Sake of Art: Watkins Art Scholarship Benefit
6-9 p.m. July 31
Watkins Institute College of Art and Design, 100 Powell Place
For information, call 383-4848
Nashville’s gallery community is far-flung geographically, with dozens of miles separating downtown and Green Hills art venues from Bellevue and South Nashville galleries. Imagine, then, seeing art from 19 different galleries from all over Nashville, all in the space of a few hours—and making only one stop in your car to do so. Not even Artrageous, the annual fall gallery tour/fundraiser, can promise that much art on so little gas.
One-stop art shopping is part of the appeal of “For the Sake of Art,” an annual exhibit and sale sponsored by the Nashville Association of Art Dealers, benefiting the art scholarship fund at Watkins Institute College of Art and Design. “It’s a gallery tour under one roof,” says Ron York, artist and owner of Local Color Gallery, who is coordinating the benefit. The event, which last year drew over 300 people, also includes a lavish hors d’oeuvres spread (with each gallery providing a different variety) as well as wine and soft drinks. A $10 donation is suggested for attendees, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
York’s gallery is one of six member galleries in the art dealers’ association. Other members are Collegtor’s Gallery, Cumberland Gallery, In the Gallery, Midtown Gallery, and Zeitgeist. Associate members include American Artisan, Ambiance, The Arts Company, Auld Alliance, Finer Things, Helios Artglassworks, Lyzon, Outside the Lines, Prestige Fine Art, Prism Glass, Stanford Fine Arts, Ultimate Art, and White Tiger galleries. Each gallery, according to York, is displaying six pieces of art representative of its style and scope, for a total of 114 works of art on view. “At least one piece from each gallery must be priced under $250, so there will be some very affordable things,” he adds. “And, of course, 20 percent of the sale price goes to Watkins scholarships.”
But there will be even more art on view at Watkins during the event. “The art dealers will display works upstairs, art by Watkins faculty members will hang downstairs, and the Brownlee O. Currey student art exhibit will be on view in the gallery,” says Joy McKenzie, chair of Watkins’ fine art department. The Currey exhibit features top work in all media by Watkins students; some of these pieces will also be available for sale.
The open design of Watkins’ new home on Powell Place makes art viewing—and art study—a very different experience than that afforded in the cramped quarters of the school’s old home on Church Street. The entrance area, main-floor halls, and wide second-level halls encircle a grand central staircase and offer lots of art display possibilities. The formal gallery, on the main level, is also more functional than the old building’s auditorium that doubled as an art gallery.
Watkins moved into the new space this past spring and will occupy the building until spring 2002, when the school will move into the completely remodeled former Ben West Public Library building across from the State Capitol building downtown. The old Watkins building, where the school had been for 114 years, was purchased by the city from Watkins for $5.4 million and has been demolished to make way for the new main city library, which broke ground July 24.
The school spent $500,000 renovating the Powell Place building, which was once home to a retail furniture business. “The difference is almost like night and day,” McKenzie says of the new space. “The old Watkins building downtown was never intended as an art space, so when we came into the new building, we had the luxury of designing the space as we needed it. The studios and rooms are more open, and there’s a real creative spirit to the space.”
That spirit is reflected in the enrollment. According to Kim Hutto, director of admissions at Watkins, there has been a 45-percent increase in applicants for the fall 1999 term compared to last year. “We’ve been inundated with applications,” Hutto says. “The visibility [of the new location] has really helped, and I’ve been amazed at the number of people who drop by to request information. I guess being next to Home Depot is more of a draw than I thought!” Besides being adjacent to the mega-store and across the street from 100 Oaks Mall, the new building offers the appeal of on-site parking and good interstate access. And at 60,000 square feet, it also offers 20,000 square feet more space than the school’s previous location.
“The biggest change for the fine art department is in the photography area,” McKenzie says. “We had a very small space for that in the previous building. The graphic design program has also benefited. That has a little less space here, but it isn’t shared, as it was downtown, with the screenwriting classes.” The Watkins Film School is also one of the big beneficiaries of the move, with expanded classroom, editing, set-building, and soundstage space. “The nicest thing about this transition space is that we can live in it for three years and find out what works,” McKenzie says. “Then, before we move into the new building downtown, we’ll know what we need to change and how we can improve on things in that space.”
In the meantime, with admissions up and the halls filled with art and students, Watkins’ temporary space has turned out to be something of a dream home itself.
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