Ashley Buchanan Opens Exhibition at New Community Art Gallery

The Washington Theatre at Patterson Park Community Center will host its second exhibition, Under the Streetlight, a collection of artwork by 2019 Murfreesboro Painter Laureate Ashley Buchanan from May 2 through June 5, 2019. The public is invited to the opening reception on Thursday, May 2 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the new art gallery and community project space in the lobby of the Washington Theatre.

I imagine that my creations whether it’s a painting or film gives you and me a chance to understand different perspectives by creating our own personal experiences. An internal journey that provokes thought and inspiration. I take something like a streetlight and learn from it. I want to be a citizen of the world that creates art to promote equality, empowerment, contemplation, and love for all. I Imagine my art as a vessel for imagination. – Ashley Buchanan

“Ashley is a creative that knows no bounds or limits when it comes to creative expression,” said Susan Hicks, Performing Arts Coordinator, Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation. “She’s an artist, filmmaker, photographer, 3d animator, director, and writer.”

Born in Nashville, Ms. Buchanan moved frequently with her mother and siblings, living in shelters, missions and cars in three different states and attending 18 different schools. She now owns a production company, Creative Movements, and as a fashion designer directs “Murfreesboro Fashion Week” in September.

The gallery space is an interdepartmental partnership between The City of Murfreesboro’s Patterson Park Community Center and The Washington Theatre. Its mission is to offer a decentralized platform for the local community to engage in the production of, and ideas generated by, contemporary art through exhibitions, dialogue, educational programming, and community events. This project space showcases and supports novel art and ideas that promote accessibility, inclusion and crative growth in a manner appropriate to the community space in which it resides.

The Washington Theatre is an accessible performance and event space in Patterson Park Community Center. Home to Perform Murfreesboro—a professional youth theatre education program—The Washington Theatre facilitates community arts programming, theatre education, and rental space for private and public productions.

Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department is dedicated to providing vibrant public spaces and inclusive programs delivered with visionary leadership and caring staff that engage the individual and strengthen the quality of life of our community.

For more information about the new gallery space, The Washington Theatre, or Under The Streetlight (2019), please contact Susan Hicks at: [email protected].