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The Metro Arts Commission barely has enough members to make a quorum following a tumultuous few years for Metro Arts.
Allegations of racism within the department began popping up in 2021, spurring a period of leadership overhaul. At the end of 2022, current Metro Arts Director Daniel Singh started working toward a more equitable grant funding process. The well-intentioned plan ultimately ended with a return to the status quo and delays in the distribution of vital funding. And while funding might finally start going out within the next month, the road to get here had commission members dropping like flies.
“Right now, after multiple resignations across the past several months, [the Metro Arts Commission] can barely establish a quorum,” says Mayor Freddie O’Connell in a statement to the Banner. “We’ve identified several qualified nominees who share our goal of an orderly, efficient, and equitable grants process that honors commitments and funds artists.”
The commission has 15 positions in total, but only eight are currently filled. A simple majority is needed to reach a quorum, which means the appointment of John P. Nefflen on Dec. 19 was vital to the commission's continued operations in January. The mayor’s office confirmed that O’Connell has sent five more nominees to the Metro Council to be considered at the next meeting on Jan.16. If those nominees are confirmed, two more commission vacancies will remain.
Arts Commission members serve four-year terms. Typically, they roll off in intervals, avoiding a need for many nominees simultaneously. With the rapid departure of members over the past year, O’Connell has had to work quickly to fill seats over the past month at a time when Metro Arts is under intense scrutiny over $3.8 million in grant funding being delayed, a Metro Human Resources complaint over the grants process and a continued back-and-forth with Metro Legal.
The Metro Arts Commission is responsible for making decisions surrounding grant funding. Members are unpaid, and the past year's events proved to be too much for some members. Ellen Angelico, the recent chair of the body, told the Banner that the position of chair was “too emotionally intense” for her as a volunteer, leading to her resignation in November.
With all the rhetoric surrounding equitable grant funding, all eyes are on the mayor's nominee decisions. Artists, activists and organizations have made calls for more individual artists to be nominated to the body. Critics say lawyers and people with connections to some of the more prominent arts organizations in Nashville often fill seats, which over the past year has led many to accuse the commission of biases when making decisions on grant funding.
Nefflen, the latest nominee, is a litigation partner at a local law firm.
After 60 days, if the mayor has not chosen a nominee, that responsibility defaults to the vice mayor. But considering the intensity of the situation, that possibility seems unlikely.
“I fully support the arts as well as the many arts organizations and artists who rely on a functioning Arts Commission in order to access public funds that ensure equity,” reads O’Connell’s statement.
