This season’s Soundwaves Gallery: THE HE(ART) OF NASHVILLE continues to grow with two more stunning additions to the Starting XI, a collection of 11 specialty artworks commissioned by Nashville SC and created by local Nashville artists using soccer-related items. Each piece will be unveiled throughout the 2025 season and auctioned off at its conclusion, with proceeds benefiting the Nashville SC Community Fund.
Today, we’re thrilled to introduce works from two Nashville-based artists, Amy Harms and Valentina Harper.
Ebb and Flow: Soccer is a Symphony of Color
Amy Harms
Hand-cut and woven painted paper, NSC flags, synthetic turf
Amy Harms, Periscope Class of 2022, is a Nashville-based artist and longtime music educator whose Paperweaving Art Series has gained recognition across Tennessee and beyond. Inspired by music, rhythm, and the transformative nature of collage, Amy creates richly textured pieces that weave together hand-painted paper with sentimental materials like album covers and textiles.
In Ebb and Flow, she brings that same philosophy to the world of soccer, weaving strips of NSC flags and turf into a rainbow of soundwave-inspired color. The eleven colors represent the eleven players on the field, each moving in harmony like a symphony of coordinated motion.
Untitled
Valentina Harper
Soccer ball hand embellished with black ink and paints
Valentina Harper is a Venezuelan-born artist now based in Nashville, known for her joyful, dreamlike compositions made with intricate black ink designs and vibrant colors. After working in graphic design for 15 years, Valentina shifted her creative focus to art full-time, building a recognizable style defined by mesmerizing patterns and uplifting energy.
For the Starting XI, Valentina hand-embellished a soccer ball using her signature black ink techniques and painted accents. The result is a dynamic, one-of-a-kind piece that turns a familiar object into a work of wonder.
Starting XI
Both of these pieces are on view now as part of the Starting XI at the Soundwaves Gallery in GEODIS Park, displayed alongside THE HE(ART) OF NASHVILLE, a rotating exhibition of 44 works by 44 local artists curated in partnership with the Arts & Business Council in collaboration with a three-person curatorial committee comprised of local arts leaders Michael J. McBride, Artist, Illustrator, Printmaker, Painter, and Instructor of Art at Tennessee State University; Amanda H. Hellman, Director of the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art; and Michael Mitchell (aka mikewindy), Artist and Art Education Coordinator at Tennessee State University.