The Nashville skyline is getting a vibrant shake-up as Metro Arts rolls out an eye-catching installation at The Fairgrounds Nashville. The kinda big talk of the town, Loqui, is a gargantuan 32 by 32-foot megaphone-shaped sculpture that can't help but steal the spotlight. Designed by renowned public artist Blessing Hancock, the structure is set to throw some serious color around with its snazzy lighting system, making night time at The Fairgrounds a little less dark and a lot more colorful.
Famed for its storytelling prowess, Nashville now gets a literal platform for its voice with Loqui, which is Latin for "to speak." This new public art piece isn't just for show—it's an interactive marvel that's set to feature words and musings from the locals themselves. As Blessing Hancock puts it in a statement obtained by the Nashville.gov news release, "Above all, people here are kind to each other. We uplift one another and come together to help our neighbors out when they need it the most." That's the spirit Hancock is aiming to capture and beam out from this community-powered beacon.
It's not like Hancock is new to the game. With over 50 public and private sculptures scattered globally, she's practically a sculpting rockstar. 2024 is her banner year, with seven public art pieces slated for installation around Uncle Sam's backyard.
Hancock believes, "Loqui will offer the Fairgrounds and visitors a new way to live with art," according to the same news release from Nashville.gov. It's all about getting art off its high horse and making it something you can not only gawk at but actually engage with. The Fairgrounds Nashville, a mere stone's throw from downtown, prides itself on being a cultural hotbed and this latest installation is poised to reflect the community's heart and soul to everyone who comes knocking.
Dragging it back to 2019, the journey of Loqui started with an open call for artists flung into the creative world by Metro Arts. A band of community panelists went through submissions before finally betting their chips on Hancock's vision. Councilmember Terry Vo chimed in, reminiscing about his role back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth in 2019, "I was entrusted with the responsibility of serving as one of the community panelists," according to a nashville.gov interview. He's pumped for the summer when the piece is fully settled in and shining its linguistic light upon Nashville.
