CLARKSVILLE, TN – The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center would like to announce the upcoming exhibits, programs, and updates:
Exhibitions
Cave Johnson & James K. Polk, Opening July 1 | Harvill Gallery, James K. Polk was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1823 and then to the United States House of Representatives. He became Speaker of the House in 1835, the only person to serve both as Speaker and U.S. president. Polk left Congress to run for governor of Tennessee, winning in 1839. Cave Johnson served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1829-37, 1839-45), postmaster general of the United States (1845-49), and president of the Bank of Tennessee (1854-60). Exhibit includes borrowed artifacts and those from the collection. This exhibition is sponsored by F&M Bank and is part of the Customs House Museum’s celebration of America’s 250th.
Travelin’ Around & Layin’ It Down: Watercolors of Chuck Creasy, Through July 12 | Jostens Gallery, The watercolors of Chuck Creasy show the sights he has captured in watercolors during his travels. A wash of places around the world lend their color to the life and works of watercolorist Chuck Creasy… traveling from the parched wilds of Ethiopia to the jungles of Honduras, he’s never strayed from his simple upbringing in Westmoreland, TN, looking on life with a sense of honesty and a childlike curiosity. After spending several years living in St. Joe Beach, FL, along with his wife Marnie, Creasy recently returned to his beloved Nashville where he is currently Vice President of Creative Services at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, leading the highly successful branding efforts for the city. He continues to paint in watercolor, using bold color and expert brushstrokes to depict his love for everything beautiful.
Celebrating Samoa, Through July 16 | Lobby, Celebrating Samoa will feature information and artifacts on both the American Samoan and Samoa Islands. The exhibition includes examples of ceremonial dress.
Framed & Dangerous: Acrylic, Oil, & Watercolor Paintings by Peach McComb, Opening July 17 | Jostens Gallery. Acrylic, oil, & watercolor paintings by Peach McComb will be on view in Jostens Gallery.
Annual Staff Art Exhibition, Opening July 18 | Lobby. The Annual Staff Art Exhibition features artwork and crafts from the talented museum employees.
Tennessee Watercolor Biennial Juried Exhibition, Through July 19 | Crouch, Bruner, & Orgain Galleries. The Tennessee Watercolor Society’s (TnWS) Biennial Juried Exhibition will showcase a variety of watercolor painters from Tennessee. The TnWS Biennial Juried Exhibition is the official statewide exhibition for 2026. The Exhibition will be juried by Sterling Edwards, an internationally recognized artist, teacher, and author. A select group of paintings will travel the state of Tennessee. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to view these works of art.
Piecing the Past: Quilts from the Collection, Opening July 24 | Crouch Gallery. A selection of quilts and quilting materials/items from the collection will be on display as well as unique items on loan from the Clarksville community.
Still Lifes, Shifting Narratives: The Hyperrealistic Paintings of Sharon Harms, Opening July 25 | Bruner & Orgain Galleries. In the hands of Nashville-based artist Sharon Harms, the still life genre becomes anything but settled. In Still Lifes, Shifting Narratives, Harms presents a body of work that honors the still life tradition while reimagining its purpose by transforming the arranged object from passive subject into active narrator. The things Harms selects — anatomical models, vintage toys, typewriters, glass figurines, advertising ephemera — function simultaneously as personal relics and cultural artifacts, evoking individual memory and collective experience at once. They are chosen intuitively, not for their decorative potential but for their symbolic resonance and their capacity to mean more than they appear. The result is a body of work in which the still life is not an endpoint but a doorway to a space where the viewer is invited to complete the story. In this, Harms adds to the genre’s long conversation with storytelling through the symbolism inherent in inanimate objects. Her paintings ask what it means to arrange objects with such exacting care, and what those arrangements quietly confess. The answer is that nothing in her work is simply still.
Suger’s Tiny Designs: Sweet Memories, Through August 3 | Kimbrough Gallery. Roxi Suger presents tiny designs and sweet memories of playing with dolls and making fashion statements. In the exhibition, Suger’s Tiny Designs, view iconic, vintage doll sets for all occasions and eras in fashion history.
The Time of Dolls, Through August 3 | Kimbrough Gallery. The Time of Dolls is an exhibition focused on dolls throughout different historical periods. The exhibition showcases dolls from the Customs House Museum’s Collection and those borrowed from patrons in the Clarksville community.
Freedom: The History of US, Through September 27 | Memory Lane. Freedom: The History of US is an exhibition developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, featuring select documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Since 1776, when the United States declared independence from Great Britain, the idea of freedom and our understanding of its implications have changed dramatically. This exhibition traces the evolving concept of freedom from the founding era to the election of Barack Obama. Accompanying the exhibit are items from the Customs House Museum’s collection. This exhibition is sponsored by F&M Bank and is part of the Customs House Museum’s celebration of America’s 250th.
Programs
Blue Star Museum Program, Now through September 7, 2026 | Free admission to U.S. active-duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families (up to 5 members, limit 6 admissions to include the card holder). The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military–Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard–including Reservists, National Guardsman (regardless of status), U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card for entrance.
Storytime & Craft: Happy 250th! July 2 | 10:30 a.m. | All ages, with adult | Free with membership or paid admission. In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, we’ll read books about the U.S.A. and make fingerprint stars as our craft. *All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.
America 250 Special Hours, July 2 | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.| Free to the public. The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is excited to announce special evening hours on Thursday, July 2, from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. in honor of America’s 250th Anniversary. We are offering free admission and an opportunity to see our new exhibits.
July Art Walk, July 9 | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.| Free to the public. The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is excited to take part in the June Artwalk on July 9, offering free admission and new exhibits.
Sundays at 3:00: The History of Clarksville’s Two Colored Troop Regiments, with Phyllis Smith, Historian of Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society. July 5 | 3 p.m. | Turner Auditorium | Free to the public; does not include museum admission. In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary as a country, Phyllis Smith will give a lecture on the United States Colored Troops (USCT) stationed in Clarksville during the Civil War. Troops were stationed at Fort Bruce in New Providence, now known as Fort Defiance. Register here
Homeschool Fieldtrip Day, July 7 | 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | K-12 students with adults
School tour admission is $3 per student and $5 per adult for non-member homeschool families. On the first Tuesday of each month, local homeschool families are invited to experience a day of self-guided exploration and learning. For more information, contact Curator of Education Stephanie Stafford at stephanie@customshousemuseum.org.
Storytime & Craft: USA! USA! July 16 | 10:30 a.m. | All ages, with adult | Free with membership or paid admission. We’re celebrating the USA for Storytime & Craft by reading books about the country and making a USA map from pasta as our craft. *All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.
Sunday Studio: Collaging with Martica Griffin – Around the Garden, July 19 | 2 p.m. | Ages 16+ | Free, with registration required; does not include Customs House Museum admission. In partnership with APSU’s Community School of the Arts, our Sunday Studio class is a creative workshop series for adults. Join us for a mixed media collaging class where you will create art from a variety of materials like paper, boxes, buttons, feathers, found objects, natural materials. Templates will be provided for a number of things found in a garden like butterflies, frogs, hummingbirds, flowers. And of course, a gnome! All materials will be provided. No experience needed. Take home a treasured artwork!
The workshop is free and includes all materials. Register here
Family Art Saturday: Watercolor Painting – Sunset Over Water, July 25 |10 a.m. – 12 p.m., 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Ages 3+, with adult. Free with membership or paid admission | Family Art Studio. This July, we’re creating a watercolor painting in the Family Art Studio. You’ll be painting a sunset over water. As always, this is perfect for artists of all ages — no experience needed, just bring your imagination! *All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.
Celebrate America’s 250th at F&M Bank Huff & Puff Express Model Trains, Exhibit open daily | Trains run Sundays 1 – 4 p.m., Wednesdays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and the last Saturday of each month 1 – 4 p.m. We’re celebrating America’s 250th on one of the region’s largest model railroad layouts, which is interactive for kids of all ages. The circus is in town for the summer, too, so visit and clown around with our model trains. The model train exhibit is open every day, with themes that change each season.