Frist Art Museum facts for kids
Nashville's Art Deco-style Frist Art Museum
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| Established | 2001 |
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| Location | 919 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203 (United States) |
| Type | Art Center, Art museum |
| Visitors | 200,000 |
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US Post Office
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 Location in Tennessee
Location in the United States
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| Location | 901 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Built | 1932 |
| Architect | Marr & Holman |
| Architectural style | Moderne, Art Deco |
| MPS | Marr and Holman Buildings in Downtown Nashville TR (AD) |
| NRHP reference No. | 84000580 |
| Added to NRHP | November 15, 1984 |
The Frist Art Museum is a cool place in Nashville, Tennessee. It used to be called the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. This museum is inside a really old building that was once the main U.S. Post Office for the city. This historic building is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History of the Museum Building
The museum is in a beautiful white marble building. It was built in the 1930s to be Nashville's main post office. Architects named Marr & Holman Architects designed it. The building was finished in 1934 and cost about $1.5 million.
Its spot near Union Station was perfect. Most mail back then traveled by train. This made it easy to send and receive mail.
By the 1980s, the downtown area was not the best place for a big mail center. So, a new main post office was built near the airport in 1986. The old building became a smaller downtown post office branch. It used only a tiny part of one floor.
In the early 1990s, a family named Frist had an idea. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. and his family thought the old post office building would be a great spot for an art museum. The building itself is a cool example of Art Deco and Stripped Classicism styles.
The Frist Foundation worked with the U.S. Postal Service and the city of Nashville. In 1999, the city bought the building for $4.4 million. The goal was to create the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
The city spent $15 million to fix up the building. The Frist family and their foundation gave $25 million. This money helped with renovations and started a fund for the museum. The city owns the building, but the Frist has a 99-year lease for only $1 a year. A small post office branch still operates in the basement. It opened there in 1999.
The art center opened its doors in April 2001. It has about 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) of space for art. It shows art from local, state, and regional artists. It also hosts big art shows from all over the U.S. and the world.
On April 2, 2018, the museum changed its name. It went from The Frist Center for the Visual Arts to The Frist Art Museum. This change became official on April 1, 2018. The post office branch is still open today. It has its own entrance on the west side of the building.
Exhibitions and Programs
The Frist Art Museum is a "non-collecting" museum. This means it doesn't own a permanent collection of art. Instead, it focuses on creating new art shows. It also brings in traveling exhibitions from other museums. These shows come from all over the country and the world.
You can find out about past, current, and future art shows on the Frist's website. Each exhibition page has lots of details. It tells you about special programs related to the show. You can also find guides, audio tours, videos, and more information.
Martin ArtQuest (MAQ) Interactive Gallery
Martin ArtQuest (MAQ) is a special, hands-on art space at the Frist Art Museum. It's always there for visitors to enjoy. The MAQ space has many fun activities:
- A drawing station where you can create your own art.
- A painting station to explore colors and brushes.
- A printmaking station to make unique prints.
- A zoetrope station, which is an early animation device.
- A shadow theater for playing with light and shadows.
- A stop-motion animation tool to make your own short films.
- An interactive Everbright wall with dials that change colors.
- A collaborative textile-weaving project on a large art deco grid.
- A full-body digital painting experience.
- A sound pattern station where you can change sounds with sand.
The Frist's Education department runs MAQ. Anne Henderson is the Director of Education and Community Engagement. She leads the team that makes MAQ so much fun.
