Since stepping into the role of executive director at the Tennessee State Museum in 2017, Ashley Howell has helped usher the institution into a new era, overseeing its move to the Bicentennial Mall and steering it toward reaccreditation with the American Alliance of Museums.
With more than two decades of experience in public and non-profit leadership, her passion for art, history, and education shines through in a big way. We caught up with Ashley to talk about the museum’s evolution, her personal journey, and more!
Tell us a bit about growing up in Tennessee.
I grew up in Nashville and had family in East Tennessee. Often, our weekends were spent in Knoxville, visiting family or going to a UT football game. My grandparents and great-grandparents were very involved in our lives. I loved sitting around at family gatherings during the holidays and listening to their stories.
What inspired your passion for museums and art history? Was there a particular moment that set you on this path?
I am so thankful to have visited museums on family visits and school field trips. I have core memories of visiting the Masterworks and Red Grooms exhibits at the Tennessee State Museum. My mother studied historic preservation at O’More College in Franklin. If I wasn’t visiting on a field trip, I was visiting historic homes around the state with my family. I have to think all of these experiences were seeped into my soul.
If there was a particular moment, I would add that I ran into my former art teacher, Rose Pickel, during a holiday break from college. I shared that I was planning to change my major, and she said, “You should consider taking an art history class because you always loved art history.” I did, and my path was set from that point forward.
What are some of the key initiatives you’re most excited about at the museum?
There are so many! The State Museum has been able to facilitate capital grant funding to Tennessee museums to help with their building needs. It has been wonderful to connect with more than 150 museums across the state to facilitate this funding from the Tennessee General Assembly.
The State Museum is in the process of its own capital projects as well, including moving the state’s collection of more than 170,000 artifacts into a separate collections storage facility. This will assist in the preservation of the collection while also allowing it to be better accessible for scholarship and research.
The museum is also planning to open a new Tennessee State Capitol Visitor Center and Military Museum in early 2027. In 2026, the country will celebrate its Semiquincentennial, America 250. Tennessee is engaged in preserving history, and I am fortunate to be a part of this planning for the future.
Your career has taken you to places like Boston and New York. What drew you back to Tennessee, and what are your favorite parts about living in the South?
I loved living in Boston and New York, but it also made me appreciate home. My favorite part about living in the South is its deep respect for storytelling. Our art, literature, and music reflect the rooted storytelling in our culture. I just picked up a biography of R.E.M., one of my favorite bands, that I’m excited to dig into. There is the food, of course, especially the traditions passed down through my own family. I cannot pass on the offering of fresh fried okra and sliced tomatoes in the summertime.
What do you do to unwind and recharge outside of work?
I love taking a loop at Percy Warner Park with my family. Our dog especially loves the stroll … and the car ride to the park. My husband and I also love a competitive game of Rummikub.
If you could have dinner with any historical figure from Tennessee’s past, who would it be and why?
I have to pick just one? I would want to have dinner with Febb Burn, the mother of Representative Harry Burn, to ask her questions about her life and motivation in writing to her son about women’s suffrage. Febb Burn’s letter influenced her son’s vote in support of women’s suffrage. As many readers know, Tennessee was the 36th state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My parents always encouraged me to “Do what you love to do.”
Outside of faith, family, and friends, what three things can’t you live without?
Books, antique stores, and museums, of course!
LIGHTNING ROUND
What’s your favorite recent book or podcast? I recently enjoyed reading Of Time and Knoxville: Fragment of an Autobiography, a book I was introduced to at the Southern Festival of Books. It is a transcribed memoir of author Anne Wetzell Armstrong and her life starting in the 1880s.
What’s on your nightstand? A stack of books that taunts me on a daily basis. But I can only read one at a time!
What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you? My husband and I went cage-diving with Great White Sharks in South Africa.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An author of children’s books
What’s one hidden gem in Nashville that people should visit, shop in, dine at, etc? The Aaron Douglas murals in Cravath Hall at Fisk.
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