Sunday, May 17, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Tell me a story in the Tennessean

Tour guide takes artistic approach to history at Belmont Mansion

She's an antebellum action figure by day, but also Twist Gallery curator and artist-in-residence at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. It's no wonder it has taken Beth Gilmore a while to get her installation of prints, cut paper and portraits ready for exhibit at Belmont Mansion.


Gilmore has spent most of her adult life working at the mansion, where she has portrayed Adelicia Acklen, the Belmont matriarch, as well as many of her contemporaries. She has also found inspiration for her art.



Set in an Acklen's bedroom — which remains un-restored and is normally off-limits to visitors — Tell Me a Story includes over-size paper doilies and prints featuring images (portraits and other items) Gilmore found throughout the mansion.


"In giving tours and in making art both, I hope to tell stories in two different ways," Gilmore says. "Here, I get to bring together two different parts of my life, two different worlds for me and for my audience."


Tell Me a Story opens with a reception 5-9 p.m. today at Belmont Mansion, 1900 Belmont Blvd. The installation remains on view through May 15. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission fee for the opening; normal admission runs from $3 to $10. For information, call 460-5459 or go to www.belmontmansion.com.


— MICHELLE JONES, FOR THE TENNESSEAN

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Nashville Scene critic's pick

Nashville Scene critic's pick


Beth Gilmore's Tell Me a Story at the Belmont Mansion
Storytelling
Joe Nolan


Beth Gilmore's installation Tell Me a Story gives the local artist an opportunity to bring her art home again. Gilmore--a long-time employee at the Mansion--has borrowed images from Ward-Belmont College in her collages and paintings, which have always favored historical discovery to pop-cultural pillaging. Displaying her latest creation in an un-restored space in the venerable manse gives Gilmore the ultimate opportunity: making art out of the building itself. This unique pairing will give Gilmore a chance to blur the line between different storytelling forms, but--like all historical events--this one will be fleeting. The exhibit shows tonight only.

Beth Gilmore's Tell Me a Story
Date/Time:Sun., May 10, 1:00pm-9:00pm
Price: Free

Saturday, May 2, 2009