The art journal Number was founded at the University of Memphis in 1987. It’s the oldest art journal in the state, and when the pandemic hit in 2020, it was a double whammy. Not only had the nonprofit publication struggled to remain solvent, the era’s social-distancing concerns shut down Art of the South — a celebrated annual juried regional exhibition and a Number fundraiser. In 2022, The Packing Plant owner and local music historian Jon Sewell became interim editor of the publication, successfully transitioning its coverage to a mostly online model. Art of the South also made a big comeback with its Nashville debut at Zeitgeist Gallery in October 2022. (Full disclosure: I’m a longtime Number contributor and I had a painting in this show.) The journal and the annual exhibition have been important Southern art touchstones for decades, and it’s remarkable to see them still thriving in their new home right here in Nashville.
