Featured artist Andres Bustamante urges greater direct support for artists, shares immigrant-rooted practice

Andres Bustamante, a Nashville-based sculptor born in Cali, Colombia, was the Metro Arts Commission’s featured artist and used his presentation to describe his practice and argue for stronger direct support for working artists.

Bustamante told the commission his immigrant experience shaped his work and its themes of resilience and community. He described projects that included a collaborative 3-D mural commissioned by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in Antioch, community engagement with students at Aventura Community School, and a site-specific installation titled Rio de Curiosidad in Franklin.

Throughout his remarks, Bustamante framed creativity as a public good. He asked commissioners to imagine a city without artists and described the practical pressures many artists face, including low pay and competition for limited funds. He described Thrive funding he has received and said much of a typical award “is going towards materials, labor, all the things that involve fabrication, community engagement.” He urged the commission to explore funding models that would let artists “have a living wage” and suggested the idea of dedicating space in new developments…