One of the biggest pinch-me moments in DMA history happened this summer: We had the incredible honor of leading the mural project for Dolly Parton's new flagship Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville. After months of collaborating with Dolly's team throughout the winter and spring, multiple site visits, painting through some wild Tennessee storms and finally welcoming the muralist in mid-June to install her original artwork, we watched the finished piece come to life just in time for the grand opening.

 

 

 

I was at a Friendsgiving last November, when a friend of the host and I start chatting all things tourism. She's one of Dolly's top marketing execs and mentioned wanting to get together after the holidays to talk about Dolly's new museum, which is opening this fall. We met for coffee, then the next thing I heard from her was: “I noticed on your website that you curate public art, as well. Would you be interested in leading the activation for the first Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop?"

 

Obviously, there was only one answer to that question. (Duh.) From there, it was full speed ahead, as we had mere months to get artists under NDAs and their hands on the design brief, have them develop concepts and work through the whole creative process with multiple teams involved in the execution of the travel stop. In the end, it all came together beautifully and just in time.

 

 

For this project, we commissioned multiple concepts from two different artists, then presented them to Dolly's creative director, the retail strategist behind the project and the marketing team for them to make the final selection. They were wowed by each individual design, but ultimately settled on Britt Flood's “Butterfly Gospel (Mountain Lullaby)."

 

Britt Flood is a Southern painter whose work explores the natural landscapes, botanicals and living world of the Southern mountains. She earned her BFA from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and has shaped her practice through years of painting, hiking and life on the road. Her large-scale public murals layer traditional landscape technique with contemporary gestural mark-making—pieces that feel both rooted in place and alive with movement. We were able to work with her once before and have an original commission of hers hanging in our hallway. She's a gem to work with, and her work is just next-level magic!

 

 

Nearly 40 feet wide and over 13 feet tall, this mural draws from two distinct faces of Tennessee in one frame: the rolling pastures and open farmland of Cornersville—horse country, cattle country, wide Middle Tennessee sky—meeting the ridge-line silhouettes of the Great Smoky Mountains. The butterfly at the center carries the spirit of this place: joyful, generous, tough and tender—much like Parton herself, according to Britt.

 

“The mural comes alive when someone steps into its center, held and enveloped

within the wings, the mountains and the rhythm of the piece—an open embrace for all of us just traveling through,” she explains.

 

 

Over the months of May and June, we made countless visits to Cornersville—Scott, in particular, who served as a consultant on building out the wall and also painted through the elements to get it ready in time (and it rained a lot this summer)—and we're both incredibly grateful to have played a role in such a meaningful project. You can watch the full two-week install condensed to 40 seconds via this timelapse.

 

 

The grand opening of DTTS took place on June 24, capped off by an appearance from Dolly herself. Check out what she had to say about not "[leaving] it to beavers." While there were no personal interactions allowed with Dolly at this event, we still breathed the same air as her from not even six feet away. I have had the pleasure of interviewing her through my journalism work. She's every bit as witty, kind and angelic as you'd want her to be.

 

 

If you're traveling I-65 through the South, be sure to stop by Exit 22 in Cornersville to see Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop for yourself! There's so much more than just the art: There's a dog park, a coffee shop, a full-blown restaurant and music venue, pristine bathrooms with showers, laundry facilities and an amazing selection of Dolly merch. This will be the first of many locations of this new Dolly venture, and I can't wait for the expansion and only hope we get to be part of more!

If there's a town more invested in building community through placemaking, tourism and small business development than Sweetwater, we've yet to meet it. Which is why we're thrilled to see Sweetwater get so much great press on their efforts—from their boom in visitors to the 6,000-person town to a viral DoorDash spectacle.

 

 

We met the leaders of the community just over five years ago when we got our NEA grant that we were able to use to complete the inaugural Sweetwater mural. Since then, the city has collected eight murals, unveiled a mural trail, and really ramped up its marketing and tourism appeal across the board. In that time, Sweetwater quickly rose to the top of the barrel as one of our favorite towns in Tennessee, because of the art but also the people and how passionate they are about moving their community forward. 

 

If your town is interested in pursuing such a project, drop us a line—we'd love to talk!