The New Normal – Part 7: Very Few Visitors At The Frist

By Nate Rau| John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout

July 31, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered virtually every aspect of life and created a new normal for Nashville residents.

To capture the ways life has changed, award-winning photographer John Partipilo spent several weeks in the community and the result is an eight-part series of photos.

The Frist Art Museum has been a popular attraction for residents and visitors to the city for almost 20 years, with rotating exhibits and in most years, monthly social events known as “Frist Fridays.”

Despite social distancing and mask requirements, few visitors are in the galleries. The upper level galleries are currently displaying an exhibition by Vanderbilt professor Mel Ziegler, called “Flag Exchange,” comprised of 50 American flags surrounding a stage on which visitors can speak on what the flag means to them. Often as not, the stage is bare and the only person in the gallery is a security guard.

Click here to view the photo gallery for this story.

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