Church Of Scientology's Artlightenment Is Setting The Stage For Its Third Year

In a city renowned for performing artists and songwriters, it's easy to overlook the amazing visual art being produced in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Nashville artist Robyn Morshead decided it was time to move visual art from the shadows to the foreground. She created the ARTlightenment festival, and is organizing it for the third consecutive year. And as an artist herself, it's only natural that Morshead's first concern for the festival is the well-being of her contemporaries. "This is an opportunity for these Middle Tennessee artists to show their best work to people who really care about art. As well, there will be workshops and other events to bring artists together and help them forward their careers. There are plenty of artists who need and deserve this attention," says Morshead.

There will be awards presented including "Best of Festival," among others. New this year is the inclusion of film. Morshead says the hosting venue "has a wonderful setup for film, and we've wanted this element for some time now. Entries can be submitted for review for the show. Short films should be ten minutes or less and there is an entry fee of $10 for all submissions. Those selected will pay a $40 participation fee."

ARTlightenment takes place November 10-13 in Nashville at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre. Corinne Sullivan, president of the Celebrity Centre, comments, "It is part of our mission to assist the artists in society, as they are the ones who uplift the culture." The theme for the festival this year is "Elevate the Artist, Elevate the Culture."

Acceptable art submissions include paintings, mixed-media, photographs, sculptures and film. All submissions should be suitable for general audiences. Prospective participants may submit their film or their artwork online at http://www.artlightenment.com. For more information, visit artlightenment.com or contact Robyn Morshead at robynmorshead@gmail.com or (615) 668-0169.

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Artlightenment is an annual event created by Robyn Morshead in 2009 and hosted by The Church of Scientology and Celebrity Center in Nashville TN. It was created to help and showcase visual artists, painters and sculptors and incorporated workshops to help artists with the business of being artists. The idea of the event is to elevate the artist and thus elevate the culture. Artlightenment this year has introduced a Film Festival to help promote filmmakers in our community. The idea is to have a Festival of visual artists, filmmakers, photographers and other artists with local and national mentors helping the artists and boosting their careers.