National Museum of African American Music Receives $6 Million Donation

The National Museum of African American Music just received one of its largest donations yet.

The Music City Center is giving $6 million to the yet-to-be-opened museum, which will be located on the former site of the convention center. 

“I am really honored that they are choosing to name our theater after one of their former board members and one of the founders of this museum, Francis Guess,” said Henry Hicks, NMAAM’s president and CEO.

This donation puts the museum closer to its overall fundraising goal of $60 million. It’s received several, large contributions in recent weeks, totalling $5.5 million.

Hicks says he can see the end on the horizon.

“I’d say, you know, about 10 months from now, we’ll be having a big party downtown and celebrating the grand opening of the museum,” Hicks said.

This time last year,
Hicks told WPLN the opening would be in late 2019. The timeline is now around May 2020.

The museum will be located in downtown Nashville as part of the $450 million
Fifth + Broadway development. Hicks says the staff of 15 is likely to double by January in anticipation of the busy year.