‘Rocco group’ pumps cash into art education

     (AAPNW-TN) – The Frist Center for the Visual Arts was approved for a $20,000 grant to support the exhibition “Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior,” and its accompanying education programs opening February 20, 2011. The Frist is one of 1,057 not-for-profit organizations recommended for a grant as part of the National Endowment for the Arts first round of fiscal year 2011 grants.  In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.

     NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, “I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative, and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country.  Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable, and fun.”

     Remaining on view through May 29, 2011, “Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior” is the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu, one of Hindu’s three major deities. Featuring nearly 150 paintings and sculptures made in India between the fourth and twentieth centuries, the goal of the show is to introduce non-Hindu audiences to the beauty and cultural meaning contained in works of art relating to the Vaishnava tradition, while helping the Hindu audience celebrate the traditional expressions of their spiritual beliefs.

     The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, is dedicated to presenting the finest visual art from local, regional, U.S. and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions. More information is available by calling 615.244.3340 or at www.fristcenter.org. The exhibition will travel to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and go on view from June 24-Oct. 2, 2011.