April 5–September 2, 2024
Conte Community Arts Gallery
Through a selection of historical imagery paired with contemporary art, guest curator Brigette Janea Jones will offer a more three-dimensional picture of the Black American experience by focusing on moments of joy despite a history of pain and struggle. “This pain has sustained Black people, in some ways, by making us resilient or seem even ‘superhuman’ in the face of injustices. However, these ‘superhuman’ people were and still are worthy of being humanized in our collective memory,” says Jones.
This exhibition will showcase existing photographs of the enslaved and their descendants made throughout the three geographical regions of Tennessee from various time periods, including enslavement, Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, the crack era, and more. Jones invites students and recent graduates from Tennessee’s HBCUs and public universities to respond to themes evoked through the historic images with their own artistic interpretations of Black people resisting harm and embarking on the eternal journey to Black joy. Working with a community jury, Jones will select ten works for the exhibition. Black Joy, in spite of... will show Black Tennesseans having the audacity to be happy amid and in the aftermath of an institution that was designed to break them.
Historical topics to respond to are:
- Black joy, in spite of enslavement.
- Black joy, in spite of subjugation.
- Black joy, in spite of injustice.
- Black joy, in spite of inequality.
- Black joy, in spite of forced dependence.
- Black joy, in spite of neglect.
- Black joy, in spite of hate.
- Black joy, is resilient.
Organized by the Frist Art Museum with guest curator Brigette Janea Jones.
Monday, September 11, 2023
Submission period opens at FristArtMuseum.org
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Submission period closed
Monday, December 4 through Thursday, December 7, 2023
Submissions juried
Friday, December 8, 2023
Selected artists notified via email; artists may begin delivering artwork to the Frist
Friday, January 5, 2024
Deadline to deliver artwork (please contact kdelmez@FristArtMuseum.org if work needs to be shipped)
Friday, April 5, 2024
Exhibition opens in the Frist’s Conte Community Arts Gallery
Monday, September 2, 2024
Exhibition closes
Dates subject to change without notice.
Eligibility: Current and recent Tennessee HBCU and public university students may apply.
Submission process: All entries must be submitted to ArtCall.org by December 3, 2023 (no later than 11:59 p.m. CDT). There is no submission fee. You may submit digital files of up to three artworks. Only two-dimensional and low-relief works are eligible for submission. No three-dimensional works will be considered for inclusion because of gallery space limitations. Each submission must be under 25MB. The maximum physical size of each work is 6 x 4 ft.
A confirmation email will be sent upon receipt of each submission. By submitting work for consideration, the artist warrants and represents to the Frist Art Museum that the work is an original creation of the artist and does not infringe upon a third party’s copyright or other intellectual property or other rights.
Questions? Contact Brigette Jones at BrigetteJones60@yahoo.com or Katie Delmez at kdelmez@FristArtMuseum.org
Selected works must be received by the museum between December 8, 2023, and January 5, 2024. If you live more than 50 miles from the museum, we can facilitate shipment. The exhibition will be on view from April 5 through September 2, 2024 (dates subject to change). Selected artists and their families will be invited to a reception (date TBD) to celebrate the exhibition.
Artist honorarium: Each artist whose work is selected will receive $500.
Permissions granted to the Frist Art Museum: By submitting artwork for consideration, the artist certifies that they own the copyright to their work, and they are entitled to license the rights herein on a nonexclusive and gratis basis to the museum. The artist grants permission for any of their exhibition artwork to be photographed by the public for personal use and to be photographed, filmed, or telecast for promotional and documentation purposes by the museum or the media while on display. The artist grants the museum permission to use any submitted materials in its promotional and educational efforts in support of this exhibition, including but not limited to release of images and media files to the press for editorial review, publication on the Frist’s website and social media pages (at 72 ppi), promotional and marketing endeavors of the museum, publication in print and digital formats in support of the exhibition in components like the exhibition gallery guide or invitation, and any other noncommercial use. The artist also understands that the museum will make an effort to include a credit line acknowledging the artist and their work whenever the work is published but that space and other factors are sometimes constraints to this recognition.
About the Frist: Located in downtown Nashville, the Frist Art Museum is a nonprofit art institution, with approximately 24,000 square feet of gallery space. It presents the finest visual art from local, state, and regional artists, as well as major US and international exhibitions.
About the exhibition space: Dedicated to our mission of finding and making connections with local artists, the Conte Community Arts Gallery is the major entryway into the Frist Art Museum and is free to all visitors.
