Creative Placemaking in Memphis

From Anne B. Pope, Executive Director — 

For our quarterly meeting this Fall, the Commission Board and some staff members traveled to Memphis. We began our time here with a creative placemaking bus tour.

Creative placemaking is a term of art, but really is the use of arts or cultural assets to affect place and to enhance distinctive characteristics for positive economic and community outcomes. Communities are moved forward through the arts because the arts provide the opportunity to animate public and private spaces, rejuvenate structures and streetscapes and improve local business visibility and public safety. Creative placemaking brings diverse people together to build shared understanding of culture and community. Individuals and organizations are empowered to strategically shape the physical and social character of their neighborhood, town, city or region around arts and cultural activities or assets.

Creative placemaking is happening all around Tennessee. Memphis in particular stands as a leader in using the arts to drive economic activity and form community cohesion. The bus tour gave us the opportunity to see first hand a sample of these groundbreaking efforts. Led by Gretchen McClennon of the Hyde Foundation and Elizabeth Rouse of ArtsMemphis, here is a recap of the stops and drive-bys that were included in the tour:

• Located in the South Main arts district, The Blues Foundation’s new Blues Hall of Fame—with cutting edge technology and outstanding displays—partners the immense history of the blues with the artistic energy already flowing through the historic arts neighborhood. Adding new inductees annually, the Hall of Fame enhances the neighborhood by preserving a key part of its heritage, promoting tradition’s continued value in the community and helping to drive economic activity on and around South Main.

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  The I Am A Man Mural on South Main is an example of art inspired by history and community, depicting one of the most significant events of the Civil Rights Movement that actually took place on that street—the Sanitation Workers Protest on March 28, 1968.

• A $14 million project, $13 million of which has been raised, the South Main Artspace Lofts will transform a historic three-story warehouse and an adjacent parking lot into a mixed-use arts facility with 58 affordable live/work spaces, new galleries and creative businesses, as well as community space intended to help present and promote the vibrant creative legacy of Memphis’s historic South Main Arts District.
• A one of a kind landmark, the Metal Museum is unique not only to Memphis, but nationally. It is the only institution in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the advancement of the art and craft of fine metalwork, leading the way in recognizing and promoting the careers of metalsmiths. Its exceptional exhibitions and programs have made the museum a valuable cultural and economic asset to both the city and state as a whole.
• Since its founding in 2003, Stax Museum of American Soul Music has stood proudly in a neighborhood rich with music history. Rooted in the legacy of Stax Records and the countless music icons who recorded there, Stax Museum now exists to preserve that incredible history, revitalize the area and work with students of the Stax Music Academy. It is part of the Soulsville Foundation, which was started by a group of concerned local business leaders, philanthropists and former Stax Records employees to ensure that the rich legacy of the Soulsville community would not be lost to history. The Foundation also includes the Soulsville Charter School and the Stax Music Academy.
• Voices of the South was founded in 1995, operates out of the Crosstown First Congregational Church and creates, produces and performs theatre from diverse Southern perspectives.  With deep roots in Narrative Theatre, its work includes award-winning new plays and adaptations of literature, and is written for audiences ranging from the very young up to grown folks.
• Both a dance school and company, Ballet on Wheels teaches art form and theory of classical ballet, creative movement, pointe, modern, adult ballet and hip hop dance genres, while also offering students the opportunity to participate in master class dance intensives and auditions. Students can also be selected for the acclaimed Ballet On Wheels Theatre of Dance, a pre-professional youth dance company.
• Overton Park is a 342-acre public park with a nine-hole golf course, the Memphis Zoo, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis College of Art, the Levitt Shell and other attractions. The Brooks Museum seeks to enrich the lives of the diverse community through the museum’s expanding collection, varied exhibitions and dynamic programs that reflect the art of world cultures from antiquity to the present. The Museum receives funding from the Commission as a Major Cultural Institution.
• New Ballet Ensemble & School engages children throughout the Memphis area and the Mid South in dance by training, rehearsing and exploring varied forms of movement and dance partnered with a strong classical ballet curriculum. While also teaching these skills, New Ballet instills leadership qualities, workforce development and value of diversity in all of its students. In 2014, New Ballet was honored with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, recognized as a national leader in creative youth development programs.
• Significantly adding to the recent midtown re-development of Memphis, Playhouse on the Square is the anchor just one of the powerful arts destinations in Overton Square that drives traffic to the area. While predominately dedicated to theatre productions, Playhouse is collaborative and community oriented as it opens its doors to the opera, indie music, the symphony and ballet.
• Another key player in the Overton Square re-development, Hattiloo Theatre is the only African American repertory theatre in the region. Through its performances and programs, the theatre is committed to deepening multicultural understanding and delivering a high-quality artistic product to the Memphis community.
• Soon to be located on the square, Ballet Memphis is a nationally sought-after company, annually producing more original work than any other company relative in size, and continuing to breathe new life into long enjoyed classical ballets. Through performances and programs the ballet seeks to provide culturally significant art and to nurture young talent both on stage and in the community.