'Art After Hours' Celebrates Holiday Season with Citywide Slate of Events

The Nashville Associaton of Art Dealers (NAAD), an art gallery membership located in neighborhoods all over Music City, will continue its citywide gallery alliance with Art After Hours on Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. December's event offers an array of special holdiay offerings, art openings and art talks - and an art book signing - providing art lovers and patrons an opportunity to explore Nashville's visual art scene.

A partial list of December highlights for Art After Hours includes:

--The Arts Company, downtown, will welcome Brother Mel for a special one-night-only book signing of the new art book, Brother Mel: A Lifetime of Making Art, written by Anne Brown and published by The Arts Company Press;

--Cumberland Gallery. in Green Hills. heralds in the gift giving season with its signature "Small Packages" show of works by gallery, as well as invited artists. Dimensions this year are restricted to 6" x 8" with the majority of works in the 5" x 5" category. This is a show that has attracted national attention;

--Finer Things Gallery, near the Fairgrounds, presents Elder Jones showcasing his cast concrete sculptures and discussing his cross-country teaching tour which kept him on the road for much of 2009;

--Gallery One, in the Belle Meade Galleria, opens "A River," a special all-media exhibition aimed at raising awareness of our precious rivers in Tennessee. A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit the Harpeth River Watershed Association (HRWA), with an additional direct contribution made to HRWA by the gallery. This will be a juried show. Recipient of the People's Choice Award will be offered participation in a future, two-person exhibition at Gallery One;

--LeQuire Gallery, near Sylvan Park, presents "The Nature of Wood," an exhibition of sculpture, turnings, and woodcuts by Olen Bryant, William Kooienga, Alan LeQuire, Jim Sherraden and Brenda Stein. MIEL Restaurant will provide guests with special organic treats from freshly picked Tennessee products;

--Local Color, on Broadway, presents "Small Treasures," an annual event featuring small works from over 30 local and regional artists. These are items that will fit nicely under any tree.

--Midtown, on Broadway, features their Annual Holiday Open House highlighted by artists Anne Smaldone and Barbara Coon, along with works from other gallery permanent stable of artists;

--Zeitgeist in Hillsboro Village continues its discussion series Oblique Strategies with archeologist John Janusek.

Other galleries participating in Art After Hours include Bennett Galleries, Hiram Van Gordon Memorial Gallery at Tennessee State University, The Parthenon, Richland Fine Art, among others. Frist Center for the Visual Arts and the Parthenon at Centennial Park present exhibitions with a fee to non-members. Frist Center participates in Art After Hours with free music and lectures.

For more information, visit http://www.nashvilleartdealers.net/ArtAfterHours

Photo: Christmas Tree Forest by Brother Mel at The Arts Company