Winter Arts Guide 2026: What Nashville’s Tastemakers Are Excited About

Sai Clayton, Visual Artist and Independent Curator

I did lots of violin and ballet growing up, and my love of the classical arts never left. I need to get tickets to Nashville Ballet's Swan Lake at the end of February and the Nashville Symphony's performance of Holst's The Planets toward the end of March. They are both such iconic works — it would be a shame to miss.

I grew up watching 1939’s Wuthering Heights, and I’m excited to see the new version coming out in February. Equally excited for the soundtrack by Charli XCX. As a kid I would listen to Kate Bush's “Wuthering Heights” on the floor, smushed between my bed and the wall. The whole thing feels like a maybe more grown-up callback to some core childhood memories.

Lastly, I just got tickets to see Hiroaki Umeda's assimilating and Moving State 1 performances at OZ Arts at the end of March. I trust everything OZ brings to town, and I can't wait to support a Japanese artist here in Nashville.

Drkmttr co-owner Olive Scibelli photographed during Drkmttr Fest in 2024 — Olive Scibelli
Photo: Angelina Castillo

Olive Scibelli, Co-Executive Director at Drkmttr

I’m going to visit the Arcade downtown to check out the artists-in-residence, which include some of my favorite local artists — IMGRNT (Arash Shoushtari) and Lesley Patterson-Marx!

Clarence Edwards, Founder of Cë Gallery

I’m so excited for the upcoming Vanguard Art Show! Founded in Nashville in 2016, the show has since expanded to Texas, Georgia and Mexico City. It’s been inspiring to watch its growth, and I truly admire the mission of uplifting local Black and brown visual artists and musicians. It’s taking place Jan. 30-31 at White Hall Nashville (1034 W. Kirkland Ave.).

Celia Gregory, Morning Host and Special Programs Manager at WNXP

A bright (or should I say warm?) spot in the dead of our hazy winter is the second annual 615 Indie Live on Feb. 7 — a single-ticket venue-hopping opportunity to support dozens of local indie acts across 17 indie venues in Nashville. WNXP is co-curating the Drkmttr stage at the beloved all-ages venue on Dickerson Pike, and the four-act bill starts and ends by dinnertime — a real blessing to elder-millennial showgoers like me.

Maria Torres, Stylist and Founder of Torres Vintage

Yanira Vissepo is a Puerto Rican artist that I've known for some time now. Her textile paintings tell a beautiful story, and her dedication to her art has been beautiful to witness. Her exhibition Bioluminescence at Elephant Gallery was one of my favorite exhibitions I've been to. She has work in an upcoming exhibition at the Frist — In Her Place: Nashville Artists in the Twenty-First Century — from Jan. 29 through April 26.

Ciona Rouse, Poet

If you go to The Yellow Table Café in the next month, you can take in more than the feast of their irresistible crepes. Iris and the Shadow is a blackout poetry installation by Kenny Rae that brings delight and innovation to art and poetry living within a cafe. On Feb 19, doughjoe — another favorite artist — joins Rae in conversation about this immersive exhibition, which includes writing prompts to help you create alongside the work, and a special iris-colored latte to treat all of your senses. Get thee to the creperie!