Trolls Are Coming to Nashville to "Save the Humans"

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, TN is 55 acres of gorgeous flowers and magical art exhibits. In spring, more than 250,000 bulbs come to life in beautiful blooms for all to enjoy during their many programs and events. This year, they are planning to welcome some very special and very LARGE visitors.

Cheekwood Facebook

A traveling group of giant trolls is making their way to the garden for an exhibition called "Trolls: Save the Humans." If they look familiar, that's because you may have met their relatives at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky outside of Louisville. The Trolls' mission is "to teach the "small people" of Earth about stewardship and sustainability."

Cheekwood Facebook

The recycled wood sculptures are brought to life by Danish artist Thomas Dambo who quit his job 13 years ago to create art using repurposed materials in an effort to "waste no more." He writes stories about the trolls giving them names, hobbies, and personalities. Apparently, they had a meeting where they discussed their concerns about the effects of pollution on their plant and animal friends. That's when they decided to try and do something about it.

Cheekwood Facebook

Dambo's website states, "Our world is drowning in trash while we are running out of natural resources." He has works of art all over the world in 20 countries across five continents encouraging humans to work toward a sustainable future. Here is a video from his Youtube channel of him exploring Cheekwood to see where his trolls should hang out.

In the video, I love the part where he says "I don't think that a sculpture of a troll will save the world, but I think that a sculpture of a troll made with recycled materials with the help of local volunteers can maybe remind us that we can change the world with our own hands and with our own garbage."

You can experience the "Trolls: Save the Humans" exhibition at Cheekwood from May 2nd to September 1st, 2024. Be sure to follow Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art on Facebook and check out their website for more information and tickets.