This week I gave a PechaKucha talk in Nashville, hosted by the Civic Design Center. You get 20 slides. 20 Seconds per slide. This was my talk.
The theme was “Hot Takes.”
The prompt was “Nashville ain’t that Country.”
And my take was simple. You’re right. It’s not just Country.
So what are we going to be?
I started imagining what it would look like if an artist wrote the rules for public art in Nashville. Here’s what I came up with.
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NEW ART RULE #1: NO MORE GUITARS
We got it. Yall like country music, but there are other instruments. Also other music. Also other people.
NEW ART RULE #2: PUBLIC ART SHOULD BE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE
Not just the tourists. The people who actually have to dodge tornadoes and KKK rallies downtown. Our stories matter.
NEW ART RULE #3: SHOW US ALL THE PEOPLE (not just old European men)
All of them. Because the art in your city should look like all of us.
NEW ART RULE #4: LET MURALS DIE
Everything doesn’t have to last forever. Cities change.Art can too.
NEW ART RULE #5: STOP ART DIRECTING THE ARTISTS
If you already know what it should look like…why hire an artist? Give the artists trust. Give them intention. Give them your problem or your dream - but don’t tell them what to do.
NEW ART RULE #6: NO GENERIC, COPY-PASTE, AI, PHOTOSHOP PRINT OUT ART
If it could live anywhere…it doesn’t belong here. Let’s make stuff that feels like it can only be spit out of the mouthes of a Nashvillian.
NEW ART RULE #7: DON’T BE AFRAID OF A POINT OF VIEW
Everything doesn’t have to be for everybody.
Sometimes it’s for somebody. And that’s enough.
That’s what makes art feel special.
NEW ART RULE #8: BELIEVE IN MYSTERY
Leave room for something you don’t fully understand. That’s where the magic is.
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And here’s the truth. Nashville is full of dope artists.
Megpie.
Lance Scruggs.
Dylan Camp.
Reggie Wayne.
Elishiba Mrozic.
Dylan Camp.
Doughjo.
Sensai.
Omari Booker.
Reggie Wayne.
And so many more.
People making real work.
Work with presence.
Work that actually feels like something.
We’re not missing talent.
We’re just not choosing it.
So if Nashville ain’t just country…
then what is it?
That’s not a branding question.
That’s an artistic one.
And the people best equipped to answer it
are the artists who live here.
We should be writing the rules.
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If you’ve got a wall, a building, or a space and you’re trying to tell a bigger story (or if you know someone that does)…
I want to make some art with you.
Take a look at my work at www.shabazzlarkin.com
Email me: studio@shabazzlarkin.co
