Local artists waiting on funds from Metro Arts; officials urge action from finance director

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There is a lot of back and forth going on between Metro Nashville Arts & Culture and the city’s finance director over releasing $2 million as part of a grant to local artists.

Now, officials are calling for more to be done.

Princella Smith is a Nashville filmmaker currently working on a project funded in part by Metro Arts. It’s an animated short film about Raymond Washburn, who worked at the Alfred P. Murrah federal building and was hailed a hero after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

AI-powered radio stations hit Nashville airwaves

Princella Smith (Source: Princella Smith)

“My film is called ‘Walk in the Light,’” said Smith. “Raymond led five people to safety from the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing and what’s remarkable about that was Raymond Washburn was born blind.”

Washburn operated a snack bar on the fourth floor of the Murrah Federal Building. He had been blind since he was a child.

Raymond Washburn (Source: Princella Smith)

However, the project isn’t finished because Smith still needs to pay for the rest of the animation.
She is one of several artists still waiting on funding awarded to them by Metro Arts.

“It slows everything,” said Smith.

So, what’s the hold up?

“Where we still stand today is that they still haven’t received their funds because our director of finance has said he doesn’t want to let them go because he has a grievance, he has filed an audit. He has told us there’s deficits that we don’t have any evidence of yet because the audit isn’t finished yet, so how do we know that there’s a deficit?” said Councilwoman Joy Styles during a press conference Monday on the Historic Courthouse steps to call out the lack of funding.

‘ELVIS Act’ seeks to protect TN musicians from AI; Critics warn of unintended consequences if not changed

Officials pointed to the following timeline:

In July of 2023, Metro Arts commissioners voted to expand grant funding to individual artists through the Thrive program and smaller organizations.
Days after this vote was taken, Metro Legal advised that the vote may be unconstitutional.
This advice was cited due to the Supreme Court decision in Students For Fair Admissions vs. Harvard that struck down affirmative action in college admissions.
The arts commission rescinded their July vote and re-voted.
Then one month, they reverted back to a funding distribution that closely reflected the previous years.

The money was supposed to be given to artists that were awarded the grant in January 2024, but has yet to be distributed. In a commission meeting called Monday afternoon, March 11, the Metro Human Relations Commission (MHRC) announced it released a fact-finding report and their determination of probable cause of discriminatory actions based on the reversal of the vote last year.

As for Smith, she said she still holds out hope that she will eventually be able to make good on a promise she made to Washburn’s widow, Mary Lou, during their last phone call together. Mary Lou died last month before she could watch “Walk in the Light.”

Raymond and Mary Lou Washburn (Source: Princella Smith)

“I said, ‘Mary Lou, I’m so sorry that you didn’t get to see the finished product, but I promise you I’m going to finish it and the world will know,’” said Smith. “‘The world will know what your husband, the blind hero, did.’”