Top Things to Do in Nashville for Designers
Nashville is one of the great American creative hubs, and while it’s best known for music, its creative energies extend to graphic design, art, food, and more! Here are some of the top things to do in Nashville for designers.
The Frist Art Museum, housed in a stunning Art Deco post office building on Broadway, is Nashville’s premier art destination, hosting art that spans everything from Impressionism to contemporary design. This summer the Frist is presenting two incredible exhibitions: a collection of surrealist work from England’s Tate Museum (including Dalí, Magritte, Miró, and many more); and the immersive light work of Anila Quayyum Agha—not to be missed!
Yes, the Country Music Hall of Fame is a music museum—but for designers, it’s a treasure trove of typography, iconography, poster art, costume design, and brand evolution.
Even better, the Hall of Fame also houses the internationally renowned Hatch Show Print—quite simply, one of the most important letterpress print shops in American history. Founded in 1879, Hatch has been hand-setting type and printing show posters for over 140 years, creating some of the most iconic concert and event art in the country.
For designers, it’s a pilgrimage site. You can browse and buy original prints in the shop, but the real highlight is booking a guided tour where you’ll learn the full history, see the vintage wood and metal type in action, and actually press your own poster to take home. It’s a deeply tactile, joyful experience that will make you fall in love with print all over again.
And while you’re thinking about print and design history, don’t overlook the Ryman Auditorium—sometimes called the “Mother Church of Country Music.” Not only is it one of the most acoustically perfect venues in the world, the Ryman’s walls are lined with decades of concert poster art and stage design history. They offer both guided and self-guided tours… and of course live concerts!
The Tennessee State Museum is completely free and wildly underrated. Its collection spans Native American art, quilts, folk crafts, and Tennessee’s cultural history, with a terrific exhibit on how Nashville became Music City.
Finally, make a detour to The Gulch—just a few blocks from the CreativePro Week conference venue—to see the “What Lifts You” wings mural by artist Kelsey Montague. It’s become one of Nashville’s most iconic pieces of street art. In fact, the whole neighborhood surrounding the JW Marriott is worth exploring!
Nashville is full of creative inspiration, and CreativePro Week is where that inspiration turns into real, practical skills you can use every day.
Join us June 29–July 3 in Nashville for five days of how-to training designed to help you work faster and get better results from the tools you use most.
We look forward to seeing you there!
