Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)-The Metro Nashville Arts Commission selected Nashville-based multi-disciplinary artist Omari Booker to design and create a work of public art at Nashville’s first Permanent Supportive Housing facility.
Omari Booker studied studio art and graphic design at Belmont University and earned a B.S. in Graphic Design from Tennessee State University. Booker’s primary medium is oil painting, and he includes mixed media, charcoal, ink, and found objects as essential building blocks of his work to create finished pieces. He also creates large-scale installations, such as the project that will line the exterior of the new Permanent Supportive Housing facility.
City leaders, alongside former Mayor John Cooper, broke ground on the Permanent Supportive Housing facility at 600 2nd Avenue North in May of 2023 to help Nashville’s unhoused neighbors access housing, mental health, substance abuse, and social services in a single location.
The five-story facility will have 90 residential units as well as laundry rooms, green spaces with Cumberland River views, and clinic and office spaces for staff. Omari Booker’s project will include a painted mural on a retaining wall located on the corner of 1st Avenue North and Jo Johnston Avenue, as well as three dimensional elements incorporating architectural features like large ornamental planters and benches.
“For many years I have been observing unhoused members of our society creating living spaces on park benches, sidewalks and beneath highway overpasses. I have always found this reality disturbing. I often make work that investigates our societal choices to humanize some people and dehumanize others,” said Booker.
“Through the Permanent Supportive Housing development and Metro Arts, I’ll have the opportunity to make public work that is primarily for the enjoyment of people who have experienced homelessness and housing insecurity. Art saved my life, and I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to experience art’s impact.”
District 19 Councilmember, Jacob Kupin, welcomes Booker’s contribution to the facility.
“On behalf of District 19, I want to express my deepest congratulations to Omari Booker for this public art installation. On his website, Omari shares his philosophy as Freedom Through Art. I hope all that find support at the new Permanent Supportive Housing facility find their freedom through his art as well,” said Kupin.
This project is funded through Metro Nashville’s Percent for Public Art Fund, established in 2000 under Mayor Bill Purcell. This fund allocates one percent of funding for designated projects in the Metro Capital Improvements Budget toward the commission of artworks in the Metro Public Art Collection. Dedication and opening of the Permanent Supportive Housing building is expected in summer 2024.
