Hatch Show Print, located in the Country Music Hall of Fame, has just unveiled a new mural in two different locations in Nashville, both in East Nashville and the Nations, encouraging the use of masks. The murals, which were inspired by a poster print block originally made for the 1939 movie Jessie James, show Jessie wearing a bandana over his face, saying, ““When You Go Out, Hide Your Smile For A While.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has expanded their online programming during the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced the museum to remain closed since the middle of March.
“We’ve been closed since March 13th,” Lisa Purcell, Senior Vice President of Community Outreach, Education and Development at the Country Music Hall of Fame told Everything Nash. “We are so excited to get back in there and so excited to welcome guests back, and get them close to artifacts and things that are primarily sources to the story, and certainly our favorite thing. In the meantime, you come up with new favorite things and you come up with new ways to share country music in a way that is accessible, approachable, but still very much keeps our programming alive.”
In addition to their online programs that were already available online, the Country Music Hall of Fame also launched several new programs, to keep fans engaged even when they couldn’t visit in person.
“Our commitment is to service and open access,” Lisa stated. “As a nonprofit that holds the country music story and the public trust, it’s ‘How do we serve people all the time in the best way?’ I fully anticipate that our commitment to digital programming will maintain after we reopen, and I think that’s one of the great awakenings for many arts and cultural organizations in this post COVID world. We’ve all been challenged to transition our service in the digital space.
“One of the great things that has happened is we realized how many people we can serve,” Lisa said, adding that they have already reached more than 100,000 people. “The impetus for continuing to serve and reaching people and our moving barriers and the handiness of technology is real … The reach is really big and that is one of the silver linings. The innovation of how to serve people, I think we’ll continue to advance that.”
A poster of the mural is also available for purchase, along with Hatch Show Print inspired face masks. The murals are located at 107 North 11th St. in East Nashville and at 5100 Indiana Ave. in the Nations.