Tennessee’s first creative reuse center, Turnip Green Creative Reuse (founded in 2010), opened a new retail space with an open house on October 23 at Turnip Green Creative Reuse, 535 4th Ave. South, Nashville. This community event featured an opening art reception, music, snacks and drinks.
The centerpiece of the event was the debut of a bicycle rack created by Robert Cortner, TGCR’s first ‘artist-in-residence.’ Cortner, a nationally renowned metal artist, who created the bike rack from newspaper vending machines donated by 12th & Broad, a new endeavor focusing on Nashville’s creative and entrepreneurial culture through events, collaborations and content. While it belongs to the community, the bike rack will live at TGCR.
“Nashville is a cultural and creative melting pot,” said Kelly Tipler, president, Turnip Green Creative Reuse. “Progressive cities all over America have creative reuse centers. It’s beyond time for Nashville to get active about making our city more sustainable while supporting the arts and our creative class.”

What is a creative reuse center?
It’s an organization that specializes in collecting and distributing 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. Reuse centers are a valuable resource to artists, educators, families and businesses. There are dozens of creative reuse centers around the country. Turnip Green Creative Reuse is Tennessee’s first creative reuse organization.

Turnip Green Creative Reuse (TGCR) is a nonprofit that diverts usable material from our landfill for creative endeavors through innovative programming including workshops, a retail store, community education and a green art gallery featuring art made from reusable materials. TGCR has partnered with many of Nashville’s 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 will have four areas of service: a retail store, education/outreach, artist studios, and a gallery. It will provide a neutral place for artists, educators, and any creative person to connect. For more info about Turnip Green Creative reuse: info@turnipgreencreativereuse.org or visit www.turnipgreencreativeruse.org