We are Nashville's home for radically unique, independent artists.
Founded in 2018, Kindling Arts develops innovative new works by Nashville’s experimental artists, empowering diverse creators with the resources required to explore challenging ideas in a multidisciplinary context. By providing local artists with space, resources, and practical support, Kindling promotes underrepresented voices and aesthetics, making space for boundary-pushing work that would otherwise be impossible. Kindling’s core programming includes the annual Kindling Arts Festival, a multi-day celebration of local artists that showcases more than a dozen diverse performances and events in various venues throughout Nashville, as well as unique arts events year-round.
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Kindling Arts Festival 2027: Revolutions
10 Days | July 22-31, 2027
Proposals Due: January 11, 2027
As Kindling approaches its 10th year, we find ourselves reflecting on the revolutions unfolding within us and around us: personal, political, cultural, and creative. A revolution can be an uprising, a rupture, or a radical transformation. But it can also be a return: a journey that brings us back to where we began, changed by everything we've experienced along the way. Like celestial bodies moving through their orbits, we are constantly in motion, circling familiar territory while never occupying quite the same place in time or space.
This year's Festival is bigger than ever! To celebrate 10 years of programming, we're expanding to 10 days, July 22–31, with performances taking place at venues across both West and East Nashville. Emerging and established artists are invited to submit a proposal for performing arts events by Monday, January 11, 2027 for consideration. You bring the art, we help hold space for it and get the word out.
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Free Performance Art Workshop
with legendary queer artist Tim Miller
Sunday, November 1st from 3PM-6PM
DancEast (805 Woodland St., #314)
Join legendary queer performance artist Tim Miller for an interactive workshop exploring how personal stories can become powerful performance, made possible through a partnership with The Curb Center, Kindling, and DancEast.Using memories, dreams, obsessions, hopes, fears, and lived experiences as creative material, participants will develop original work while exploring the space between the personal and political, the body and society, and the self and others.
Bring your hearts and brains, hopes and fears. Performers of all backgrounds and skill levels are welcome. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an incredible solo performance artist!
Best Celebration of Local Art & Artists
"Kindling Arts Festival has always pushed boundaries, challenging the limitations of conventional art... Much of the festival’s draw stems from its joyful, inclusive and always celebratory vibe. Empowering both artists and audiences, Kindling Arts provides a much-needed home for some of Nashville’s most surprising, unconventional and uniquely rewarding art."
Best Experimental Theater
"Over the past eight years, Kindling Arts Festival has offered a safe space for some of the city’s most daring makers... At a time when the creative community is facing tough financial cuts and political backlash, Kindling invites artists and audiences alike to take big chances, and to celebrate the endless possibilities of art."
