Go Memphis

Most people aren't flattered being equated with junk. Not so for Donna Blackard, the local artist who makes assemblage pieces from what others discard. "I find the oddest of things that turn into a new way of looking at them," she says. Blackard, who is represented by T Clifton Art Gallery, shares a show, "Little Mysteries," with painter Lisa Williamson that runs through Oct. 30 at Buckman Arts Center. Full story »

As if the hint of fall in Memphis weren’t reason enough to step outdoors, a new festival in Overton Park should offer even more incentive. Still not convinced? Try “free.” “Nuts! Over Art” promises a full day of art, music and assorted family activities, and it is all free to the public. Designed to spotlight Overton Park as a local arts destination, the Saturday event marks the first time that the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis College of Art and the Levitt Shell — all park attractions — have partnered on such a scale. Full story »

More than 45 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his epochal "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington, his words continue to resonate, inform and inspire. They can also be appreciated anew in an art exhibit that pays tribute to his message and vision at the National Civil Rights Museum. Full story »

Local art lovers have a passport waiting to be stamped at Joysmith Gallery, which has quietly made a name for itself as a Memphis art space with true global reach. The title of this month’s show, “Cultural Affirmations,” could in fact serve to describe most days of the week at the Downtown Memphis gallery, known for its vibrant array of African and African-American art and artful objects. “I have no reason to take that off the wall,” says director Robert Bain of the exhibit name (Bain co-owns the gallery with his wife, artist Brenda Joysmith). Full story »

A quarter century after the first few from the Memphis College of Art descended on undeveloped Horn Island, they keep coming back, enduring unforgiving heat, insects, no running water and -- especially harsh for today's art students -- no cell phones or Internet, all for a chance at "disconnecting to get connected," according to Don DuMont, the MCA adjunct faculty member who has been leading the trip for the past four years. Full story »

If sculptor Greely Myatt, with his quilts made of wood scraps and his thought clouds made of old tin boxes, were not already one of the city's most visible artists, he will be within the next month or so. To celebrate Myatt's 20 years in Memphis, eight sites will feature examples of every kind of art he has made since he came to teach at Memphis State University in 1989, along with new work at David Lusk Gallery. Myatt resists the word "retrospective" for the group of nine exhibitions, but he doesn't object to terms like "extravaganza" or "Greely-palooza." Full story »

In the midst of the burgeoning Broad Avenue arts district, a space dubbed Odessa has emerged an oasis of exciting, independent expression. On any given month, the gallery offers a mix of music, film and art that is at once alternative and accessible. This month, the theme has been "Because We Can: An Exploration of the DIY Ethos. Full story »

If you haven't caught the stellar Jacob Lawrence exhibit at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, which ends Sept. 6, there's now more reason. Simply drive across town after taking in the Brooks show and you can see Lawrence's influence on Memphian Carl E. Moore, whose retrospective at The Caritas Village balances social commentary with a visual power worthy of the pioneering Harlem Renaissance artist. Full story »

Art lovers will be able to check out four new shows opening this week in addition to ongoing exhibits at galleries and venues around town. Full story »

River City Artists, a local collective of emerging talent under the direction of noted watercolorist Fred Rawlinson, has weighed in on the topic of Elvis art with "Our Town II: Eyes on Graceland," a group show at Memphis Botanic Garden in the Visitors Center Gallery. Running through Aug. 31, the exhibit consists of 70 works by 15 artists who were given rare access to the grounds of Graceland in arriving at their depictions. Such access is given infrequently, says Kevin Kern, director of public relations for Elvis Presley Enterprises. Full story »

It’s a fact of the restaurant business that the ranks of waiters, bartenders and kitchen help abound with artists, writers, musicians and actors who have to supplement their meager “creative” incomes with real, honest work. The Downtown restaurant Majestic Grille tries to return the favor, at least for some artists on the staff, with “Majestic Inspiration: The Art and Music of the Majestic Grille Family.” The exhibition of work by five artists employed at the restaurant opens Aug. 12. Full story »

When it comes to his colorful, oversized canvases, renowned Memphis artist George Hunt likes a frame to match, which can present its own challenges. "A man came from East Tennessee," recalls Hunt. "And he couldn't get the frame in the car. He tied it on top of the car then took it back." That formidable frame was made by Philip Eubanks, who will mark his own entrée as an artist with a solo show through the end of August at D'Edge Art and Unique Treasures. Full story »

The American psyche is, among many things, a composite portrait of people on the move, something Southaven's M. R. Davis Public Library highlights in a new educational exhibit called "Journey Stories." Created by the Smithsonian Institution with grant support through the Mississippi Humanities Council, the project runs through Aug. 30 and follows the growth of America as a nation from initial periods of colonization and conquest through waves of internal migration. Full story »

Memphis gets its own Park Güell next week with the installation of a whimsical sculptural series in Southwest Memphis’ Dalstrom Park. The seven-piece creation by artist Suzy Hendrix, titled “Rock City,” references the rural/urban dichotomy of a city park with shapes that are rock-like yet purposefully modern in look and feel. Standing from 1 1/2 feet to 6 feet tall, the pieces were on display Friday only at Hendrix’s studio space inside 409 S. Main. They will be installed at the park this week. Full story »

If there is a cutting edge to the local art scene, it resides -- this month, at least -- inside Power House Memphis, where two concurrent exhibits echo with big ideas and an even bigger visual punch. The main show, "Everywhere, Nowhere, Somewhere...," is the first director's choice group exhibition by new gallery/Delta Axis executive director Rehema C. Barber, who put together an intentional mix of Bluff City artists with national and international talent. Full story »