Enough to Go Around
Food and Community in Nashville
Frist Art Museum, Nashville
March 21 – June 29, 2025
Cut it For Me, 2024
Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 in.
Courtesy of the artist © Jocelyn Ni
Tomato Harvest at Wonderful MicroFarm, 2024
Digital print, 16 x 20 in.
Courtesy of the artist © Mariam Speyer
Still Life in Need, 2024
Mixed media, 36 x 30 in.
Courtesy of the artist © Lee Colvin
EXHIBITION ARTISTS: Alayna Catacombs, Lee Colvin, Leroy Dawson, Stacy Dorris, Rocio Eckhoff, Asif ElAmri-Brantley, Annie Freeman, Kelly Ann Graff, Megan Jordan, DaShawn Lewis, Lulu Marin, Jocelyn Ni, Morgan Ogilvie, Jessica Peoples, Sandy Rochelle, Nadine Shillingford, Miriam Speyer, Sarah Spillers, Bryan Struble, Aurora Tower, Nathaniel Wheeler, Ashleigh York
The Frist Art Museum presents Enough to Go Around: Food and Community in Nashville, an exhibition that addresses topics of food production, food insecurity and food’s role in bringing people together. The juried exhibition of paintings, photography, and more serves as a companion exhibition to Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism and Tennessee Harvest, 1870s–1920s and will be on view in the Conte Community Arts Gallery.
Organized by the Frist Art Museum, Enough to Go Around features 25 works that focus on food systems and challenges around food security. The idea for the exhibition originated from conversations about these subjects between Frist Art Museum Community Engagement Director Shaun Giles and staff members of the nonprofit organizations Nashville Food Project and Tennessee Justice Center, whose missions are to support increased food access for people who are under-resourced in a variety of ways. To organize the exhibition, the Frist also partnered with Buchanan Arts and Unearthing Joy, nonprofits that also recognize the importance of the availability of nutritious, affordable food and offer educational gardening and farming programs for teachers, organizations, and people of all ages.
The open call for Nashville-based artists to submit artwork garnered 90 works from 45 artists. Jurors selected 25 works created by 22 artists, ranging from photographs and paintings to ceramics and textile works. The jury consisted of Buchanan Arts’ Executive Director Virginia Griswold, Frist Art Museum’s Chief Curator Mark Scala, the Nashville Food Project’s Director of Community Engagement Allison Thayer, Tennessee Justice Center’s Anti-Hunger Advocate Crys Riles, and Unearthing Joy’s founder Ashley Brailsford.
According to an estimate by the United States Department of Agriculture, 30 to 40 percent of the nation’s food supply goes to waste, while millions experience food insecurity across the country.
“I want this exhibition to help people think about how much food is wasted and what they can do as individuals to change that, as well as think about how to decrease some of the barriers that keep food from certain communities and certain people,” says Giles.
Organized into five thematic sections, the exhibition seeks to share stories that together offer a well-rounded view of various food experiences and encourage viewers to consider ways they can enact change. The first section “Community Gardens” focuses on the practices of gardening and farming, exploring themes of self-sufficiency and stewardship of the earth’s resources. Home Grown (Napier Gardens), a black-and-white photograph by DaShawn Lewis, demonstrates the careful attention that is required to produce a crop from small seeds. Exploring the opposite end of the food production cycle, the section Food Waste examines the use of expiration dates and attitudes around shelf lives and waste, as seen in Leroy Dawson’s black-and-white painting Best if Viewed By.
Works in the grouping “Food Deserts and Food Swamps” highlight the lack of nutritional food sources available in lower-income communities. Sarah Spillers’ giclée print Gas Station Chips prompts reflection on the nature of mass-produced consumer goods by elevating the everyday packaging through the lens of her handmade artwork. “The term ‘food swamp’ refers to an area where there are only unhealthy options,” says Giles. “That might be a convenience store, gas station, or fast food—all of them less than ideal when you’re looking for nutritious options.”
EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), 2023
High fire clay with underglaze, gloss glaze,
and gold luster; 17 1/2 x 30 1/2 in.
Courtesy of the artist © Lulu Marin
The fourth section, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance,” highlights the important work that SNAP does to ensure that food needs are met. Lulu Marin’s work EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) is an image of an American flag comprised of 42 ceramic replica electronic benefit transfer cards, which represents the 42 million Americans that rely on the system.
“Shared Dining Experiences,” the final section, celebrates how meals can bring people together and strengthen bonds. In her acrylic painting Injera and Ethiopian Hospitality, Nadine Shillingford celebrates the intimacy and ritual of Ethiopian culinary traditions. Injera, a flat bread made from tef grain and served with savory stews and curries is intended to be shared by a group or family. Nadine Shillingford explains in her artist statement: “The mother may feed the other members of the family by offering gosha, or a handful of food, to them.”
“The second part of this exhibition’s title, Food and Community in Nashville, should really be emphasized,” says Giles. “This show tells a story of Nashville and our experience around food, our experience around scarcity and abundance, and how artists see these issues in ways that are specific and personal to us.”
FRIST ART MUSEUM
Conte Community Arts Gallery
919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203