The Watkins College of Art invites the public to enjoy gallery exhibitions and related programming. A current list of Events & Exhibitions can be found here, and admission is always free.
Upcoming Events
Exhibition Schedule
Obscuring, Revealing | Contemporary Photography in Nashville
October 19 – December 04
Reception: October 22 from 4-6pm
Leu Gallery in the Lila D. Bunch Library
Obscuring, Revealing brings together a varied group of Nashville-based photographers who are testing the boundaries of documentary practice. Through personal narrative, formal experimentation, historical allusion, alternative processes, and even the blurring of fact and fiction, these artists offer complex and provocative pictures of contemporary life, ones that prompt reflection on what photography makes visible and what it obscures. In doing so, the exhibition highlights the vital work being made by photographers in and around Nashville while also inviting visitors to rethink the possibilities of documentary photography.
Exhibiting artists include Caroline Allison, Sam Angel, Carolyn Benedict Fraser, Arielle Gray, Allie Horick, Stacey Kranitz, Jack Latham, Armon Means, Vesna Pavlović, Kristine Potter, Tamara Reynolds, and Christine Rogers.
Year of the Fallen Oak | Rachel Boillot
November 02 – December 04
Reception: November 05 from 4:30-6pm
Gallery 121 in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts
The photographs in Year of the Fallen Oak were made in the Cumberland Plateau during a time of grief and transition: the unexpected death of my father-in-law Doug, the birth of Derrick’s first grandchildren, and our move to Arkansas. The making of this work has been a process of saying goodbye to what was, a series of unresolved gestures echoing through time. Loss and vulnerability are topics we explore together as I ask my family members to photograph with me in a spirit of reciprocity and exchange, collaborating in a shared exploration of place and memory.
Upcoming Exhibitions
January 04 – February 26
Reception: January 28 from 4-6pm
Leu Gallery in the Lila D. Bunch Library
In the Studio is a faculty exhibition that celebrates the diverse and exceptional talent within the Watkins College of Art at Belmont University. It features a variety of artistic expression and process, reflecting the unique perspectives, passions, and expertise of our esteemed faculty. In this context, each artist’s work reads as a study of sorts. The variety of work, from technique to stylistic approach, mirrors and complements the rich variety of teaching offered.
Exhibiting faculty include Dale Addy, Meaghan Brady Nelson, Dan Brawner, Lauren Crownover, Benjy Davies, Allie Horick, Kristi Hargrove, Mandy Rogers Horton, Dan Johnson, Ron Lambert, Jack Latham, LaKesha Lee, Lauren Lowen, Armon Means, Tamara Reynolds, Christine Rogers, Emmanuel Saka, Robert Scobey, Thomas Sturgill, Natalie Thedford, Ripley Whiteside, Brandon Williams, Moses Williams, and Barbara Yontz.
January 04 – February 11
Closing Reception: February 11 from 4:30-6pm
Leu Center for the Visual Arts Lobby
Discover the transformative potential of art! Power in Art is an inspiring exhibit featuring the works of artists from Daybreak Arts, Friends Life Community, and HAPI, Inc. These inspiring organizations elevate the diverse talents and personal stories of artists who use their creativity to overcome challenges, foster community, and advocate for social change. Join us in celebrating the resilience, innovation, and boundless spirit of these incredible artists, and witness firsthand how art can inspire, empower, and connect us all.
March 08 – April 01
Reception & Awards Gala: April 1 from 4-6pm
Gallery 121 & Leu Center for the Visual Arts Lobby
The Watkins College of Art and Kappa Pi student organization presents the professionally juried Annual Student Exhibition. Join us in celebrating student success with a vibrant showcase of outstanding work from across all programs and levels of study!
March 15 – May 28
Reception: March 18 from 4-6pm
Leu Gallery in the Lila D. Bunch Library
Terry Thacker’s paintings explore the unstable relationship between language, meaning, and memory. Moving between the framing gesture of an epigraph and the memorializing function of an epitaph, the work embraces art’s allegorical impulse to borrow, fragment, erase, and reassemble existing forms and languages. Language emerges as beautiful yet unreliable, irreverent yet religious, deliberate yet absurd. Through contradictions, hybrid forms, and productive imperfections, Thacker treats meaning as an open-ended game in which interpretation, memory, and reinvention remain in constant negotiation.
April 12 – May 06
Design & Art Crawl: April 20 from 5-7pm
Gallery 121 & Leu Center for the Visual Arts Lobby
The Watkins College of Art at Belmont University proudly presents its annual exhibition of Fine Art senior thesis projects, celebrating the creative achievements of graduating students. The exhibition culminates in a reception featuring the presentation of senior design portfolios.
The Watkins College of Art invites the community to enjoy exhibitions and related programming. All galleries are free and open to the public. Sign up to receive the monthly WCA Gallery Newsletter and stay up to date on the latest open programming. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Do you have questions about our galleries? Please reach out via email to Katie Mitchell, Director of Galleries & Programming.
Galleries
The Watkins College of Art operates four art galleries in Nashville that promote the exhibition of current student, faculty, alumni, and contemporary artists.