Cheekwood Museum and Gardens Residency Year

My year-long Residency project with Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, Tennessee, has provided an in-depth glimpse into the inner workings of a complex historic institution. Cheekwood, established as an art museum in 1960, was initially built as a private residence for the Cheek family in 1929-32. American architect and landscape architect Bryant Fleming worked closely with the Cheeks to procure land and antiques to establish a notable Country Place Era Estate in Nashville. Originally over 100 acres, the estate now sits on fifty-five historic acres in the heart of Belle Meade. After the donation of the property by the Cheek’s daughter and son-in-law, the institution combined art and horticulture to create an important cultural site in Nashville.

Despite an institutional history of more than sixty years, several important documents remain underdeveloped or have been recently written and adopted. An Interpretive Plan is one such document, and that is the basis of my Residency project. Interpretation on the property exists, but without a cohesive discussion of the art, grounds, and historic mansion. Several attempts have been made in-house over the lifetime of the institution to draft an interpretive plan, but without success. This document is vital to creating a cohesive narrative throughout the site to tell the complete story of Cheekwood.