What’s going on at Metro Arts?

The controversy surrounding the Metro Arts Commission has been going on for close to three years now, and there seems to be no end in sight.

For people who haven’t been following the story, it’s hard to know where to start if you want to learn more. For people who have been following, it can get complicated, and it’s easy to forget what’s really happened. Today, we’re diving into it all headfirst and reviewing the most impactful, dysfunctional (and wildest) moments that led us to where we are today. We’ll hear from key players including commissioners, employees, councilmembers, reporters and concerned citizens that have been following the saga.

This episode was produced by Elizabeth Burton.

Guests

• Char Daston, Reporter and newscast writer, WPLN
• Lydia Yousief, Director of the Elmahaba Center
• Heather Lefkowitz, Commissioner, Metro Arts Commission
• Joy Styles, Councilmember, Metro Council
• Isabel Tipton-Krispin, Executive Managing Director, Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Further Listening and Reading

• Last week, after several months of back and forth between he and the MAC board, Metro Arts director Daniel Singh agreed to resign.
• You can listen and read more about how the controversy has affected Nashville’s artists in Char’s stories: When will Metro Arts grant recipients be paid? Details remain murky and Metro Arts funding delays, debates over equity leave some Nashville arts organizations struggling