Clarksville, TN – Produced by The Downtown Clarksville Association, the First Thursday Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour spanning a 5-block radius that combines visual art, live music, engaging events, and more in the heart of Downtown Clarksville.
The First Thursday Art Walk in Clarksville is the ultimate opportunity to savor and support local creative talent.
The August Art Walk will be held on September 1st from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the shops and galleries on Public Square, Franklin Street, and Strawberry Alley. The participating businesses are listed below as well as a description of the work they will be exhibiting and services they will be offering during the event.
The Customs House Museum (200 South Second Street)
The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is Tennessee’s second largest general interest museum. It features fine art, history, and children’s exhibits.
Museum Exhibitions
Peripheries: New Work by Laurén Brady
September 9th – October 30th | Bruner & Orgain Galleries
Laurén Brady is a visual artist living in Charlotte, Michigan whose paintings explore landscape, memory and responding to current environments through expressive mark-making and bold use of color.
The Art of Clarksville
September 10th – October 26th | Crouch Gallery
This impressive collection of original artworks representing the expansive story of our community is on display together for the first time. From picture-perfect downtown views to charming watercolors of peaceful riverside scenes, the collection contains over 60 works of art that depict a historic Clarksville scene, were created by a Clarksville resident or both.
Spookies from the Collection
September 22nd – November 6th | Lobby
From a Victorian wreath made of human hair to mysterious portraits and dolls, get in the Halloween spirit with this selection of spooky artifacts from the Museum’s permanent collection.
The Nature of Olen Bryant
Through September 5th| Crouch Gallery
In collaboration with the LeQuire Gallery & Studio in Nashville, this retrospective exhibit features a wide array of works by Tennessee treasure Olen Bryant. A revered professor of art at Austin Peay State University, Bryant’s sculptures have graced the inside of the Governor’s Mansion, prominent Tennessee museums and art collections across the country.
Annual Staff Art Exhibit
Through September 18th | Lobby
The annual staff art exhibit showcases the creative work of those who work behind-the-scenes at the Museum. Each piece reveals the unique personalities of the artists, special moments in their lives and their inspirations.
4th Annual Cohen Clinic at Centerstone Community Art Show
Through September 22nd | Kimbrough Gallery
This annual exhibit from the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Centerstone showcases local artists, both amateur and professional, who are also veterans and military family members. The Cohen Clinic provides accessible mental health care to veterans and their loved ones.
Illumination: The Art of Dr. John Stanton
Through October 16th | Jostens Gallery
A variety of subjects come to life in the illuminated glasswork and engravings of Dr. John Stanton.
Thomas Adams: Pen & Inks from the Collection
Through October 19 | Harvill Gallery
Local artist Thomas Adams captured iconic Clarksville sites in pen and ink with these drawings from 1973 and 1974. Experience these landmarks – some no longer standing – with this collection of delicate illustrations.
Exploring Our Town: An Adventure for All Ages
Explorers Landing
New Memories, New Adventures, New Explorers Landing! Explore our town with timeless favorites like the Bubble Cave and McGregor’s Market, or go fishing at The Landing and put on a show in the Puppet Theatre.
Edward’s Steakhouse (107 Franklin Street)
Come enjoy the best steaks in Clarksville in a relaxed atmosphere with live piano on Friday and Saturday night. We also offer Clarksville’s largest wine selection in town from around the world. 10% Military and APSU discount daily
Artist Information
Edward’s Steakhouse is proud to support the September 2022 First Thursday Art Walkand will feature local artist Tracy Bettencourt this month.
Tracy Bettencourt, owner/artist of Bettencourt Originals, advocate for persons with disabilities, former fitness competitor, motivational speaker and APSU alumni, began to lose her eyesight in her early 30s from an eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Although the disease has left her blind, the hardships she experienced have not prevented her from living her life to the best of her abilities. She brings new insight to how art is viewed.
Artist statement:
I am blind. I lost my eyesight over twelve years ago and within the past five years began painting using my hands. My life is very structured and I use assistive technology on my IPhone and IPad to identify colors.
My paintings reflect hope, adversity, love, positivity, strength and determination. I put my heart, soul and insight into every piece of artwork. Each piece of artwork is a Bettencourt Original. There will always be a mountain to climb yet I strongly feel that no matter what the obstacle, there is light within darkness and therefore there is hope.
Stop in, see the art, listen to Jackson Miller on the piano, and enjoy the Thursday night special, 1/2 priced $7.00 appetizers and 2 for 1 draft drink specials.
Roxy Regional Theatre (110 Franklin Street)
For those who enjoy the visual arts, the Peg Harvill Gallery, located just beyond the lobby, hosts twelve shows annually featuring locally and nationally known artisans. Shows generally open the first Thursday of each month for our First Thursday Art Walk.
Artist Information
During the month of September, the Peg Harvill Gallery at the Roxy Regional Theatre will feature artwork by D.C. Thomas to complement the Roxy’s upcoming production of INTO THE WOODS, playing September 8th – September 24th.
Artist’s statement for Lands of Lore
I feel very content for having the opportunity of showing my ink-wash scrolls I haven’t yet exhibited anywhere else; most of these artworks are meant to complement the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Brothers Grimm inspired musical, INTO THE WOODS, at the Roxy Regional Theatre.
Lands of Lore will feature monochrome art alongside colorful mixed media compositions, one of which I had the delight of presenting during my first solo exhibit entitled MA+VE, in 2018.
I love to bounce from colorful palettes to monochrome ranges, and then back again. Every time I do it, I feel that I am taking a productive step back to see the whole picture and that it helps me to adjust my compositions to my emotional intentions.
Artist’s Bio
D.C. Thomas was born in Bucharest, Romania.
Growing in Romania, the artist’s life has been imbued with history and fairytales, which are woven in the tapestry of her childhood.
Both, history and myth, have been providing nourishment throughout the course of her life for art creation and shaping new channels for manifesting one’s consciousness.
She studied Journalism in Bucharest, where she completed an editorial internship and another in radio broadcasting. It was in the capital that the artist began to cultivate her sensitivity for photography.
Now, a Naturalized citizen of the United States of America, D.C. is the author of a volume of poems titled Her Suns and Their Daughters: Daughters Of The Universe Seen (also known as DOTUS).
Her current projects include painting, writing poetry and prose, creating audio content, and analog and digital photography.
Trazo Meadery (116 Franklin Street)
Artist Information:
Trazo Meadery is proud to support the September 2022 First Thursday Art Walk and host Jennifer C. Pierstorff.
Jennifer C. Pierstorff creates a variety of colorful and moving art whose subject matters can vary from abstract to medical art and more. There is an underlying theme focused on bringing awareness to causes she feels passionate about, such as the environment and health care.
Jennifer believes art creates a safe space to play, meditate and just enjoy the process of creating. The troubles of the world can fall away when a state of flow is entered. That flow is essential to healing and is why she shows up every day to create.
Jennifer’s belief:
“Art is Life”
The New Gallery (732-744 Joseph St. Art. + Design Building)
The New Gallery is Austin Peay State University’s 1500 sq’ white cube contemporary art gallery operated by the Department of Art+Design. The New Gallery brings in nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists to Clarksville for exhibitions, lectures, workshops, class visits, and studio visits with students.
Artist Information:
Follow the ‘Herd’ to The New Gallery – the work of Paula Kovarik opens exhibition season
The New Gallery at Austin Peay State University, with support from The Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the Department of Art + Design, is pleased to kick off the 2022-23 exhibition season with “Herd,” a solo exhibition by experimental quilter Paula Kovarik.
“I have fallen in love with the work of Memphis-based experimental quilter Paula
Kovarik, and I am excited to open up our exhibition season with a large installation of her new works,” said Michael Dickins, director of The New Gallery. “‘Quilter’ is a box that Kovarik often gets put in, but her works are not quilts at all. They do use the vernacular of quilting and quilting materiality, but the quilt base is merely a ledge that Kovarik gladly leaps from. This installation consists of playful sculptures, nuanced stitched
drawings and interactive works where the artist tries to make sense of her place within the chaotic political world that surrounds her.”
The exhibit opens on Wednesday, August 17th, and runs through September 16th at The New Gallery in the Art + Design building at Austin Peay State University.
“I express myself through the medium of fabric and thread and explore what cannot be seen,” Kovarik said. “My intuitive line work travels the surface of my work as if a meditation has become solid, and I am inspired by everything from cracks in sidewalks to electronic circuitry and microscopic life. The tactile nature of the cloth and thread makes the work approachable and mysterious at the same time. It’s about layered, ripped, cut and sandwiched together pieces – producing a composition held together by the narrative of the thread. Inward thoughts become outwardly apparent through slow and studied attention to detail.”
Several events are scheduled to accompany the exhibition:
- Kovarik will present an artist lecture on her work and creative practice at 6 p.m.
on August 31st in the APSU Art + Design building’s Room 120. - A reception and gallery talk with Kovarik will start at noon on Sept. 1 in The New
Gallery. - This exhibition will be open during Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk on
September 1st from 5:00pm-7:30pm. Kovarik will be in The New Gallery with her sewing
machine giving demonstrations and having conversations with visitors.
The exhibition and all events are free and open to the public.
A virtual tour of the exhibition will be available soon at www.apsu.edu/art- design/thenewgallery.
Hours for The New Gallery are 9:00am-4:00pm Monday-Friday, closed on weekends and holidays, and follow the university’s academic calendar.
For more information on this exhibition, contact Dickins at dickinsm@apsu.edu.
About the Artist
Kovarik received her Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. As the creative director and owner of Shades of Gray, Inc., a graphic design studio, she specialized in communications. And now she is a full-time artist and fiber art workshop teacher.
Kovarik’s award-winning fiber art has been recognized by several national venues including Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, ArtQuilt Elements, World of Threads, FiberArt Now Excellence in Fibers and the Visions Art Museum. Her work has been collected by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln NE and the International Airport in Memphis, TN as well as several private collections.
She has been profiled in American. Craft, FiberArt Now and Art Quilting Studio magazines. Her work is featured in “Art Quilts Unfolding – 50 Years of Innovation” by Sandra Sider, Nancy Bavor, Lisa Ellis and Martha Sielman and “Art Quilts International Abstract & Geometric” by Martha Sielman.
Paula lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.
River City Clay (115 Franklin Street)
Artist Information:
River City Clay Studio is proud to support the September First Thursday Art Walk and will feature handmade pottery made by Ken Shipley, Melody Shipley, and Shelby Crutcher. The gallery is also spotlighting handwoven textiles and handmade jewelry by Eloise Freeman.
Journey’s Eye Studio (131 Franklin Street)
Artist Information
Journey’s Eye Studio is proud to host Hannah Campbell during the September 2022 First Thursday Art Walk.
Hannah Campbell is a watercolor artist, Army wife, and momma to two small humans. She has always felt pulled to both art and science, and previously worked in the functional medicine world as a health coach with a degree in nutrition. When her first child was born, a craving for something more creative led her to pick up watercolors during nap time. She fell head over heels for art again, and Feed & Dwell was born.
Feed & Dwell is a way for Hannah to bring her loves of art and science together. She strives to create beautiful pieces and useful learning materials that inspire a love of nature and real food. Her recent releases include a collection of seasonal produce prints, and a collection of butterflies of Tennessee (available both as fine art prints and as learning cards for children).
Be sure to stop in and see these other venues during the First Thursday Artwalk
Mildred & Mables – 109 Franklin Street
Couture Crush – 101 Franklin Street
Hudubam Booktraders – 110 Franklin Street
The Clarksville Collection – 120 Franklin Street – Suite 109
Pups, Plants & Goods – 117A Strawberry Alley
DBO Gallery – 106 N. Second Street
Sanctuary On Main – 334 Main Street
Art Link Studios – 116 Strawberry Alley
City Boy Country Life – 120 Franklin Street – Suite 114
