The Metro Arts Commission is announcing an award to artist Gordon Huether to design, fabricate and install an interior suspended permanent public artwork for the new Old Hickory Community Center in Council District 11. The new regional community center will replace the existing center located at 1050 Donelson Avenue.
Huether is an award-winning international artist and was selected out of a strong pool of applicants. Huether has extensive experience working with a variety of media including glass, steel, salvaged materials, resins, and composite materials. His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries, and collected across the United States, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.
“I am thrilled to have been selected to creatively engage with the community of Old Hickory,” said Huether. “There are so many talented artists out there, so I am especially humbled to have been awarded this project.”
Metro Arts received 61 total submissions, including 16 regionally and 11 locally. Following interviews with semi-finalists and further discussion and scoring, a community selection panel recommended Huether to the Public Art Committee and Arts Commission. The citizen selection panel scores are based on multiple categories, including experience as a professional artist, community engagement, and understanding the scope of work. Huether scored high in each category.
“It was important to the panel to pick the artist whose artistic creativity could best reflect the Old Hickory community, its history and unique culture,” said Public Art Committee Vice Chair, Paul Polycarpou. “The quality of submitted work presented by all artists was of a very high level, and narrowing the field of applicants was challenging. Ultimately, after a lot of discussion and deliberation, the panel felt that Gordon Huether showed a deep understanding and sensitivity to the Old Hickory community. I am delighted with their selection.”
Later this year, Huether will lead at two community engagements with local residents and stakeholders. Community input will inform the artist’s proposed design for the public art. The artwork will be an interior suspended piece in an area approximately 1050 square feet and will be very visible from the main entrance. After the design is approved, Huether will develop drawings, fabricate, and install the permanent public artwork at the Old Hickory Community Center prior to its targeted opening in Summer of 2024.
"Public art shines a light on the many dimensions of a vibrant community: shared history, values, diversity, and expression,” said Councilmember Larry Hagar. “I look forward to seeing Gordon and the Old Hickory community come together in the upcoming months to create a collaborative vision for this interior artwork.
This award is funded through Metro Nashville’s Percent for Public Art Fund, established in 2000 under Mayor Bill Purcell. This fund allocates one percent of funding for designated projects in the Metro Capital Improvements Budget toward the commission of artworks in the Metro Public Art Collection.