Statements

Mission

Our mission of fostering creativity and sustainability through reuse guides everything that we do. Creative reuse is an incredibly effective way to keep materials out of our landfills while enhancing our community and helping art come into the world. We partner with artists, schools, teachers, and businesses to breathe new life into old, unwanted, or damaged items that would normally be thrown away. We do this through our pay-what-you-can retail space, education outreach and programming, our Green Gallery and Marketplace, and an inclusive Open Studio which hosts an array of classes and workshops featuring reuse materials.

Background

Started in 2010 as Tennessee's first creative reuse organization, Turnip Green Creative Reuse (TGCR) is a nonprofit organization that diverts usable material from our landfill for creative endeavors through innovative programming including workshops, a retail store, community education and a Green Gallery and Marketplace featuring art made from reusable materials. TGCR collects and distributes unwanted industrial and residential materials for the purposes of either turning reusable materials into creative projects or providing needed supplies to arts organizations and public schools. The board of TGCR is diverse, including environmentalists, nonprofit executives, artists, and community members. With the wide range of expertise, TGCR has been able to do a lot in our community in a short amount of time. TGCR has partnered with many of Nashville's nonprofit organizations on programming and projects, including Artober, Pet Community Center, Nashville Public Library system, Metro Schools, ZeroLandfill, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, Metro Arts Commission, WRLT's Live on the Green, Earth Day, Now Playing Nashville, Southern Festival of Books, The Hermitage Fall Fest, University School, Untitled and Platetone Printmaking Cooperative. TGCR is located at 1014 3rd Ave S. Visit us Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We are also open for special events and by appointment. TGCR has four areas of service: a pay-what-you-can retail space, education outreach, a Green Gallery and Marketplace, and an open studio space. It is a space for artists, educators, and any creative person to connect. We hold a high priority to serve the art community as well as work with children in our community, bringing them ways to create from what they see going in the trash everyday. We survive on donations and project/grant funded programs. We find our strengths in furthering our mission, doing outreach and collaboration in the community. Aside from our Green Gallery and Marketplace, which includes items with a set price to support local artists. Our Creative Reuse Center is a pay-what-you-can model in order to be accessible for all.

Impact

We divert materials from the landfill and get them back to people who need them through a shopping and donation Creative Reuse Center, a Green Gallery and Marketplace, education outreach, and an inclusive open studio space. In 2022, we diverted over 275,000 pounds from the landfill by taking them in at our donation center. To date we have diverted over a million pounds of materials from the landfill. In 2018, we served over 13,000 customers in our creative reuse donation and shopping center, a 112% increase from 2017. In 2018, we facilitated nearly 1,000 waste reduction education programs teaching how to reduce waste through hands-on art projects, a 459% increase from 2017. In 2018, we facilitated 15 after-school programs in underfunded schools, a 200% increase from 2017. Over 90% of our students receive access to our programs through scholarships that cover 100% of their fees. In 2018, we served nearly 38,000 participants in Davidson County in our education outreach programs including waste reduction, after-school programs, libraries, festivals, birthday parties, and more, a 96% increase from 2017.

Needs

Our current needs are funding for increased staff hours and operational support. We moved in 2022 and were closed for nearly 3 months during the transition. This impacted our budget, and we are working diligently to close that gap in 2023. Volunteer support to help with the Creative Reuse Center, educational outreach, and gardening are needed and always welcome.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Arts Education
Secondary Category:	Environment  - Environmental Education
Tertiary Category:	Education  - Educational Services

Areas Served

We primarily serve the Middle Tennessee area through our Creative Reuse Center, Open Studio classes and workshops, and educational outreach and programming. We work with schools in other states by providing materials, and we network nationally with other reuse centers. Artists and artisans working with our Green Gallery and Marketplace are mostly local and regional, but there are a few national and international artists too.

TN - Davidson

TN - Williamson