Some may say that we were all treated to Christmas a few weeks early this year… An exclusive yet curious group of Nashville Elites were given a very special experience at the Frist Center For The Visual Arts recently. We gathered in the fabulous Frist Center Cafe with Community Relations Manager Emily Harper Beard and Director of Communications Ellen Pryor for some socializin', giftin', and vino sippin' to get the evening started!
The Frist's docent extraordinaire, Mancil Ezell, led Karla A and the rest of us to the first gallery and gave us an "informative, entertaining, and insightful" tour of the A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings exhibit from the Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery. Jackie Y was so spellbound by Mr. Ezell that she referred to him as being the "bomb diggity. If you're with me say "mmmmhmmmm." I want to have coffee with him every day! He really made the Frist and an exciting and understandable place to visit! I'm not an art lover, but my god I was excited! I'm not sure if it was his enthusiasm or those badass original frames, but whoa! I actually want to go back to a museum! (We're all together now, say, "Whoa")
We never want to keep things predictable for the Yelp posse, so we switched gears next with the mysterious and edgy work of artist Tracey Snelling's Woman On The Run exhibit. Facinating sculptures of rundown buildings on the outskirts of town showed a keen sensitivity to the psychological tensions and hidden narratives of ordinary life. Lynne D appreciated the artist's "most ambitious work to date – composed of nearly life-sized facades, cardboard cutouts, comic strips, photographs, signs, and videos, accompanied by a soundtrack." The installation creates a cinematic setting for a classic whodunit.
"In case you were getting bored (I'm not sure how), Yelp spiced things up with the writing contest!" exclaimed Tim M. We encouraged Elites to elaborate on the many twists and turns of the exhibit participating in the “Woman on the by Run” novella project. In a separate online activity, participants can help the accused Veronica Hayden assume new identities and find clever places to hide out, and/or answer specific questions about the exhibition—all in exchange for a chance to win a spiffy $100 gift certificate to any locally owned business of their choice as a reward.
Before we entered the final gallery of the evening To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum, we were greeted by a special guest… The Frist Mummy! Our favorite mummy first made a splash with us at Yelp Helps in November by cutting up the dance floor. He's now apparently campaiging for a Yelp 5 star review as he was offering up photo opps and hugs too! You can follow him here.
Aaron F adores Egyptian Treasure as it is "not to be missed. The guys out there will love hearing about the mummification process. The gals out there will enjoy the beautiful mural photos and some of the bling. But everyone will come away wiser and having learned more about Egyptian lore." I'm sure that along with myself, many attendees took advantage of the opportunity of a Yelp discounted rate for Frist membership that evening! Support the arts y'all…
We can't believe that this was the final Elite Experience for our first year in Nashville and love making our yelpers happy. "I'm a big fan of these "classier" elite events. It just feels so… elite. A nice compliment to the earlier symphony event. A great way to close out 2011!" Well Gregory R, just wait until you see what 2012 has in store for us….
Did you contribute your recap of the spectacular soiree? You can do so right here, or just drop by to read the glowing reviews. Perhaps you prefer to peek at some photos? If so, click on this link to see the images that our fantastic photographer Kristin Milner was able to capture.
Much appreciation again to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, their staff, especially to Ellen Pryor and Emily Harper Beard for the ultimate gift of art!
Cheers and have a very Happy Holidays!
Marcia M – Yelp Nashville Community Manager
