Tennessee Arts Community Mourns the Passing of Bill Ivey

From Tennessee Arts Commission –

Bill Ivey, an influential folklorist, cultural policy leader, and advocate for the arts who served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under President Bill Clinton, passed away on November 7, 2025. He was 81.

Born September 6, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, Ivey dedicated his life to celebrating and preserving America’s expressive traditions. After studying American history at the University of Michigan and earning a master’s in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University, he became the first full-time director of the Country Music Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, positions he held from 1971 to 1998. He transformed the institution from a small tourist attraction to the premier center for the study and preservation of country music. Throughout his career, Ivey shaped national conversations about art, culture and public policy. He twice served as chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was appointed by President Clinton to chair the NEA from 1998 to 2001—where his “Challenge America” initiative helped restore bipartisan confidence in the agency—and later founded and led the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University.

The full obituary can be found here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/nashville-tn/william-ivey-12601828

From the Tennessean: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/11/14/bill-ivey-country-hall-of-fame-museum-nashville-tourist-dies/87270709007/