The mural (8 x 20 feet) was created by Jamal “Jay” Jenkins, the North Nashville artist known professionally as Woke3. The mural’s headline is its message: Food is our Past, Present, and Future. Waste Less. The design weaves in 1801, the founding year of the market, grounding an urgent contemporary call to action in more than two centuries of history. That juxtaposition is intentional. The past honors the agricultural traditions and cultural foodways that shaped this region. The present reflects the market’s identity today – a diverse, thriving community food hub where vendors, farmers, and neighbors from across Nashville gather. The future extends the invitation forward, reminding visitors that every purchase, every meal, and every choice made here connects to something larger. This mural is the fourth installment in Urban Green Lab’s Waste Less Mural Series – a public art initiative that uses creative expression to change how Nashvillians think about food waste.
The theme honors the market’s long and storied history while celebrating its current identity as a diverse community food hub, reflecting the backgrounds of its vendors and patrons – and it points ahead to what this landmark can become as a public food system hub where access and equity are central values.
The mural was sponsored the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Arts FY25 Build Communities grant and was managed by Urban Green Lab.
Photo credit: Gina DiMaio
