Clarksville, TN – The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is located in historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. Come explore an entire city block featuring large gallery spaces filled with fine art, science and history.
Some of the events in August at the Museum are: Earth from Space, Olen Bryant: In Loving Memory, Women Painting Women: In Earnest, The X Housewife Portraits by Kit Kite, and Ed Nash: Terrain.
Exhibits
Earth from Space
August 1st – September 27th | Planters Bank Peg Harvill Gallery
The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) is proud to present Earth from Space, a collaboration between SITES and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. This traveling exhibition consists of 41 large-scale banners of spectacular satellite imagery collected over the past 30 years.
Olen Bryant: In Loving Memory
August 1st – August 31st | The Leaf Chronicle Lobby
Olen Bryant, Tennessee sculptor artist and former professor of art at Austin Peay State University, died at the age of 90 during the week of July 9th, 2017. The museum is honoring his life and artwork with this exhibit that showcases Bryant’s artwork from the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center collection.
Women Painting Women: In Earnest
August 4th – October 1st | Kimbrough Gallery
Women Painting Women began as an online blog highlighting women artists working in the figurative tradition, started at a time when the founders, all figurative painters, felt there was little support for those working in that genre.
Women Painting Women: in Earnest is a traveling exhibition based on the original artists represented from the blog. It was organized by two of the blog founders, Alia El-Bermani and Diane Feissel. This is the sixth such themed show at the Customs House Museum. Thirty artists from across the country and abroad make up the roster.
The X Housewife Portraits by Kit Kite
August 8th – October 22nd | Orgain & Bruner Galleries
In this series of photographs, artist Kit Kite takes on the persona of a beleaguered housewife who is overwhelmed by sculptured piles of domestic items such as plastic utensils, milk cartons, and baking pans. Kite describes the series as dealing with “displacement, feeling undefined.”
Ed Nash: Terrain
August 10th – October 18th | Crouch Gallery
Nash focuses on abstract non-representational work. His mixed media terrain series build up on the canvas to create textured landforms. Nash currently lives in Nashville TN where he is an Art Dealer, Appraiser and Artist. His work can be found in collections across the US and UK and is represented in galleries in New York, Atlanta, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville TN.
Reading Appalachia: Voices from Children’s Literature
March 23rd – August 13th | Memory Lane
This groundbreaking exhibition of Appalachian children’s literature examines seminal titles published since the 1800s. Come explore our region’s literary heritage and see how children’s literature tells the story of Appalachia. This is a traveling exhibit from East Tennessee Historical Society and Knox County Public Library.
This Is My Story
June 8th – October 15th | Jostens Gallery
Women writers representing multiple decades share their thoughts of who they are on May 14th, 2017 (Mother’s Day). Their writings are suspended on cloth, hung “clothesline style” in the gallery.
Activities
First Thursday Art Walk
August 3rd, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
The museum is open to the public with free admission as part of Downtown Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk.
August 12th, 10:00am – 5:00pm
The museum is open to the public with free admission as part of our Second Saturday Free Admission Day.
August in the Family Art Studio: At the Circus
“Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls of All Ages”
Drop by the Family Art Studio this month to make your favorite circus animal paper bag puppet. While you are here, be sure to enjoy the circus performers in the model train exhibit.
Saturdays in the Family Art Studio: Space-crafts
Join us for some Space-Craft Saturdays in the Family Art Studio.
Saturday, August 19th
10:00am – 12:00pm & 2:00pm – 4:00pm
We’re recycling cereal boxes into pinhole projectors for the upcoming solar eclipse!
Saturday, August 26th
10:00am – 12:00pm & 2:00pm – 4:00pm
We’re using yarn and glue to craft our own string planets!
All activities are free with your museum membership. Non-members pay regular admission fees. For more information contact Ms. Sue at sue@customshousemuseum.org or 931.648.5780.
About the Customs House Museum
Located in the heart of historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is the State’s second largest general museum. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1898 as a U.S. Post Office and Customs House for the flourishing tobacco trade. Incorporating a number of architectural styles, the original structure is one of the most photographed buildings in the region.
With over 35,000 square feet of the region’s best hands-on activities and special events…people of all ages agree – the Customs House Museum is well worth the stop!
The Explorer’s Gallery is packed with fun, learning and fantasy in Aunt Alice’s Attic, McGregor’s Market and kitchen, and of course – the Bubble Cave! Finally, get “all aboard” to see our fantastic model trains. Our volunteer engineers “ride the rails” every Sunday afternoon from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Regular museum hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays. Adult admission is $7.00, Senior Citizens and College ID $5.00, Ages 6 to 18 $3.00, and under six years and Museum members are free.
The Customs House Museum is located at 200 South Second Street. For more information, call 931.648.5780 or visit their website at www.customshousemuseum.org
