Program areas at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art
Art, exhibitions & programs: Cheekwood is a place of beauty and magnificence that serves the public as a 55-acre Botanical Garden, arboretum, Museum of Art and historic estate. Originally built as the family home of leslie and mabel cheek in 1929, Cheekwood today is a leading cultural destination for residents of middle Tennessee and visitors to nashville. With more than 373,000 visitors, Cheekwood was the third highest attended cultural institution in nashville in 2022, welcoming visitors from every state in the country as well as from 26 other countries across the world. More than 1 million have visited Cheekwood over the past three years. Cheekwood is accredited by the american alliance of museums, an honor that denotes operational and programmatic excellence, and is listed on the national register of historic places. Cheekwood showcases both significant temporary exhibitions as well as curated exhibitions from its permanent collections which focus on american Art from the centennial (1890 to 1945) and monumental outdoor sculpture. Interactive Art and educational activities for people of all ages complement the permanent and traveling exhibitions, both in Cheekwood's historic mansion and Museum as well as across the estate grounds. Exhibitions in 2022 included luftwerk's colorscapes, the arts & crafts movement, and inside the world of charles addams. Public programs feature workshops, lectures, Art activities and classes, story time, youth summer camps, wellness programs and live music and dance performances. Cheekwood annually hosts cultural celebrations including el dia de los muertos, the black arts bash, japanese moon viewing, and the holi celebration. Additionally, thousands of students and educators as well as families annually participate in free school fieldtrips and outreach programs, which include destination Cheekwood, Art outreach, and Cheekwood explorations, among others. Gardens: three-times voted a usa today top ten Botanical Garden, Cheekwood's picturesque and undulating landscape serves as a canvas for the display of outdoor contemporary Art, offering a unique experience that ensures the historic estate's vibrancy and relevance. Cheekwood is home to an historic bryant fleming designed landscape as well as acres of woodlands, ponds and waterways, pastoral meadows, and 13 unique display gardens. Gardens include the japanese Garden; a one and a half mile woodland sculpture trail; and herb, perennial, and boxwood gardens, among others. The children's Garden focuses on family programming, including the literary, performing, and visual arts and features a turtle habitat, studio and performance pavilions, and adventure paths. With more than 2,100 trees on the property, Cheekwood has garnered national acclaim as an arbnet level ii accredited arboretum and a Tennessee urban forestry council center of excellence. Cheekwood's three primary tree collections include the nationally accredited cornus collection, the historic collection, and trees native to the southeastern united states. Other plant collections include daylilies, iris, natives, daffodils, ferns, herbs, hydrangeas, magnolias, redbuds, roses, and historic boxwoods. Cheekwood's continual enhancements of its gardens include significant enrichments to the plant collections and new pathways and lighting to make the historic grounds more accessible. Four seasonal festivals showcase the beauty of Cheekwood's landscape and gardens with rotating Garden displays, related public programs, educational opportunities, and live performances. A radiant display of more than 250,000 tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils delights visitors during the spring Cheekwood in bloom festival. Summertime at Cheekwood showcases Garden exhibitions and themed displays of more than 25,000 annual flowers. Thursday nights out and songwriters nights provide evening summertime programming, including musical performances. In 2022, Cheekwood expanded its under the stars concerts with the addition of bluegrass and jazz. Cheekwood harvest offers a pumpkin village with three pumpkin houses, a community scarecrow show, and 5,000 chrysanthemums spread across the grounds. Winter activities include holiday lights, one of Cheekwood's most popular events. The spectacular display includes more than 1 million lights along a one-mile barrier free path and holiday decorations inside the Cheekwood mansion. Also during the winter, Cheekwood hosts an annual orchid show within the mansion.history: built from 1929 to 1932, Cheekwood is one of nashville's oldest and most unique institutions. Cheekwood's historic mansion is recognized, together with its landscape, as one of the finest examples of an american country place era estate in the nation. The historic mansion and Museum features period rooms which reflect the 1930s era of its origins as well as gallery rooms for the display of Art. The history of the Cheekwood mansion is brought to life through interpretation, public programming, and exhibitions informed and inspired by this unique historic asset in nashville. Cheekwood's frist learning center contains meeting rooms and Art studios as well as historical interpretation of the horse stable and tack room used by the cheek family during their time on the estate. Exhibition materials also highlight the historical connection between Cheekwood and maxwell house coffee.
Restaurant, rentals & gift shop: the rentals program service area provides facilities to further open Cheekwood to the public through the hosting of events on the grounds. Cheekwood is a premier nashville event destination where weddings, receptions, corporate dinners, family outings and meetings are set amidst the expansive gardens and historic buildings of the beautiful campus. Cheekwood also offers cafe 29, the mansion gift shop, and Garden gift shop, which provide visitors an opportunity to enjoy food and beverages during their visit and take away Garden and museum-inspired souvenirs of their experience.