Operating in the James K. Polk Cultural Center in downtown Nashville, TPAC® is dedicated to providing and supporting the presentation of the performing and cultural arts.
Founded in 1980, TPAC serves several hundred thousand audience members each year. Performances include the HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series; purposefully-curated series in Dance, Theatre, and Family programming; a wide variety of special engagements, and the productions of three resident artistic companies – Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, and Nashville Repertory Theatre.
In addition, TPAC administers one of the largest and most comprehensive arts education programs in the United States, serving students from pre-school to high school, educators, and adults.
Over more than four decades, TPAC has welcomed more than 14 million audience members and served more than 2 million students, educators, and adults with performances, teacher resources, professional development opportunities, classroom residencies, and enrichment programs.
TPAC manages four performance venues, including Andrew Jackson Hall, James K. Polk Theater, and Andrew Johnson Theater, and War Memorial Auditorium, a historic concert hall located across the street from the center.
Dreaming of opportunities in the arts and a well-rounded education for their children and grandchildren, private citizens led by Martha Ingram proposed an arts center for the citizens of Tennessee to the state legislature in 1972.
After a private fundraising effort established an endowment, the state approved funding for the center, built in conjunction with the James K. Polk State Office Building and the Tennessee State Museum.
Prior to the September 1980 dedication, the legislature created the TPAC Management Corporation to oversee the public-private partnership. It charged the unique nonprofit organization with providing affordable performance spaces for resident artistic companies and offering educational experiences in the arts for Tennessee school children.
During that first 1980-81 season, TPAC presented 119 performances for a total attendance of 84,000. The center was strengthened by the traditions of TPAC’s first two resident companies: Nashville Symphony, founded in 1946, and Circle Players, a community theater founded in 1949.
Three professional companies took residence at TPAC within the next five seasons: Nashville Opera, Nashville Repertory Theatre, and Nashville Ballet.
TPAC established Humanities Outreach in Tennessee (HOT) in 1983, receiving the Governor’s Award for Artistic Excellence the next year. Now called TPAC’s Season for Young People, this nationwide model for arts education programming has served children from the state’s 95 counties. Following an operational merger with the Nashville Institute for the Arts in 2000 and decades of expansion, TPAC currently provides several signature arts education programs, including Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts (which engages pre-school children), TPAC InsideOut (which enriches the theatre-going experience for adults), Disney Musicals in Schools (which creates sustainable theatre programs in disadvantaged schools, and Spotlight Awards (which honors the talents of high school theatre students). In addition, TPAC offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers.
TPAC Today
Nashville is now a major market for Broadway touring productions, and TPAC presents a variety of special engagements from iconic performers, musicians, comedians, dance companies, and more.
Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, and Nashville Repertory Theatre remain in residence at TPAC, following the 2004 departure of Circle Players and the 2006 construction of a new hall for the Nashville Symphony.
For some, TPAC is a dream come true. For others, it’s a gathering place for friends and families waiting to enjoy time and the arts together. A place to laugh or experience live theatre and music, TPAC is also good for the economy — attracting industry, creating jobs, increasing business downtown, and generating revenue.
Together, artists, audiences, administrators, educators, and supporters carry the mission of TPAC into the years ahead. We welcome you to visit us and become part in our ongoing story of growth, success, and service.
