Visual Memphis: 2017

December 29, 2017 No comments

December 14, 2017 No comments

December 13, 2017 No comments

December 10, 2017 No comments

November 29, 2017 No comments

November 29, 2017 1 comments

Apply for the summer/fall 2018 residency sessions here. Applications will be accepted through December 15, 2017.

The multidisciplinary artist residency program at Crosstown Arts in Memphis, Tennessee, offers residencies for visiting and Memphis-based visual and performing artists working in any creative discipline as well as musicians, filmmakers, and writers in all genres.

All residencies include a private studio workspace with meals provided six days a week. Live/work residencies also include a private bedroom/bathroom next to a common living area and a shared kitchen for all residents. A family housing option is available, as well as accessible housing for residents with disabilities. All residencies are offered at no cost to participants, who are responsible to cover their own studio materials and travel expenses to and from Memphis.

Three-month residency sessions are offered each year in the fall and spring. Shorter twenty-day sessions are available in the summer and can be attended consecutively. Studio-only residencies are available for up to ten months throughout the year.

In the summer and fall of 2018, Crosstown Arts offers a Withers Residency for an individual artist of color working in any discipline who ambitiously addresses the intersection of race and social inequality in their work. Also in the fall of 2018, Crosstown Arts is partnering with Indie Memphis to offer a three-month residency to an independent filmmaker working in any genre, with expanded opportunities for involvement in the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival.

Anyone 21 years of age or older is welcome to apply. There are no specific project requirements for accepted residents who are encouraged to experiment and explore new ideas or further develop current work already in process.

Residents are provided with on-site access to Crosstown Arts’ shared art-making workspace with a range of analog and digital fabrication and production resources, including a woodshop, multiple CNC/laser cutters, a Mac-based computer lab, a large-format digital printing service, a silkscreen/print shop, a small recording studio, and individual editing bays for video/audio production.

All residents are asked to participate in a limited number of public engagement activities while in Memphis such as an informal artist talk or public performance/project, open studio event, or exhibition.

Founded in 2010, Crosstown Arts (501c3) recently completed the renovation of Crosstown Concourse, a one-million-square-foot former Sears & Roebuck distribution warehouse. The Concourse building is now home to Crosstown Arts’ contemporary art center that includes the artist residency program, multiple galleries, large-scale exhibition/installation spaces, screening rooms, and a listening room dedicated to live music performance. Crosstown Arts also operates an after-school program, a community-organized exhibition/performance venue, a café, and bar. A 425-seat black box performing arts theater is currently under construction on-site and scheduled to open in the summer of 2018.

Crosstown Concourse is also home to a major health and wellness initiative, including a walk-in clinic for the uninsured and a fitness facility inside the building, both available to participants in Crosstown Arts’ residency program. A variety of restaurants are located in the Concourse building, as well as a grocery store, coffee shop, juice bar, pharmacy, and other commercial, retail, and residential tenants.

For more about the Crosstown Concourse, visit crosstownconcourse.com.

November 22, 2017 No comments

Josef Bull

Man Finsd Meteorites in His Yard (This Is Planet Earth)

Opening Saturday, November 25, 6-8pm

Tops Gallery @400 South Front Street

Opening continues November 25, 8-9pm

Tops Madison Avenue Park

Tops Gallery is pleased to announce Man Finds Meteorites in His Yard (This is Planet Earth), an exhibition of new works by Josef Bull at Tops Gallery and Tops at Madison Avenue Park.

Believing in meaningful coincidences and the mystical potential of all things, Josef Bull's work meditates on anomalous chains of interconnected information.

Here, in new two- and three-dimensional constellations, specific characters and phenomena from contemporary culture intermingle with objects and practices of everyday life. Corporate yoga logos unite with kindred crop circle formations; LOTR antagonist Saruman frames Bull's paintings of famed start-up garages of Silicon Valley; Danny from The Shining morphs with a real-life namesake doppelgänger whose life-saving "hunch" was noticed by local Michigan News. Layered on both photographic and sculptural surfaces, these blends of found and original materials lay out Bull's attempts to both make sense of and recreate the feeling of bewilderment induced by an evermore confounding world.

At Tops at Madison Avenue Park, Bull's video installation This is Planet Earth(2017) looks at domesticity with an astronomer's gaze. Housed within a suspended propane barbecue, a handheld video tour of a suburban yard loops to the sound of a cab-driving Youtube user's existential rant on the miracle of life. Surrounded by other icons of the American home, the piece becomes a reflection on the domestic landscape as a container for inner and outer space.

HOME

INNER SPACE/OUTER SPACE

METEORITES

EBAY
GOOGLE
GARAGES
CARS
CALIFORNIA
LORD OF THE RINGS

MAGIC WAND
MASTURBATION
TONY ROBBINS
BBQ
CLIMATE CHANGE
MUD
BACKYARD
BIRD BATH
EVOLUTION
JOEL OSTEEN
RED APPLE
ADDICTION
MOON LANDING
FRONT YARD
FIRE

BRENTWOOD

CAT
STEP COUNT
SURVEILLANCE

DIVINE LIGHT
UBER DRIVER
33

FRODO BAGGINS
42

OPRAH WINFREY
BLISTERS
RITE OF PASSAGE
BIRTHDAY
FALCON
RAT

YOUTUBE
1984

Josef Bull (b. 1984 in Huddinge, Sweden) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. His work has been exhibited at Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm; Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm; Situations, New York; and Tops Gallery, Memphis. In 2013, he was a recipient of the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Foundation Award, and in 2014 was the artist-in-residence on the scientific arctic expedition Swerus-C3. His work produced onboard was recently published by Solar Power Press as a set of books titled Arctic Mud (2017).

November 21, 2017 No comments

November 16, 2017 No comments

Asian American Art, Activism, and the Turn to Transnationalism

Lecture by Dr. Margo Machida

Friday, November 10, 5:30-7:30pm

Reception 5:30pm, lecture at 6pm

University of Memphis Department of Art

Art and Communication Building Room 310

Art Historian Dr. Margo Machida will deliver a lecture titled "Asian American Art, Activism, and the Turn to Transnationalism." Primarily drawing examples from her experience in New York and San Francisco, she will examine how Asian American frameworks for thinking about identity, identity politics, and arts activism shifted between the 1960s and 1990s – and how the convergence of domestic activism, accelerating migration, and transnational circulation shaped emergent artistic, critical and curatorial practices.

Lecture will be held in Art and Communication Bldg. Room 310. Reception at 5:30 pm; lecture begins at 6 pm.

Dr. Machida is Professor Emerita of Art History and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut. Born and raised in Hawai’i, she is a scholar, independent curator, and cultural critic specializing in Asian American art and visual culture. Her most recent book, "Unsettled Visions: Contemporary Asian American Artists and the Social Imaginary" (Duke University Press, 2009) received the Cultural Studies Book Award from the Association for Asian American Studies. She is co-editor of the volume "Fresh Talk/Daring Gazes: Conversations on Asian American Art" (University of California Press, 2003). She is an Associate Editor for the "Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas" journal (Brill).

Dr. Machida has received numerous grants and fellowships including support from the Smithsonian Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities. She is co-organizer of the Diasporic Asian Art Network (DAAN) and the East Coast Asian American Art Project (ECAAAP), and a founding member of the International Network for Diasporic Asian Art Research (INDAAR). In 2009, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Women’s Caucus for Art.

November 07, 2017 No comments

Pop-up lecture alert!

When: Wednesday, November 8, noon-1pm

Where: Callicott Auditorium at MCA's Rust Hall in Overton Park

What: Tyler Hildebrand and Matthew Dayler are two of MCA's baddest alumni. Both now work at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and they are coming back tell to you about their work and how their careers have evolved since their time at MCA. Learn more about each artist below.

Tyler Hildebrand: Artist Tyler Hildebrand works in Admissions and has taught analytical drawing and sculpture at the Art Academy ofCincinnati. He produces work in a wide range of media, from gifs and animations to paintings and environmental installation. According to his artist profile at David Lusk Gallery where Hildebrand is locally represented, he "does not shy away from the harsh realities of contemporary American culture... Hildebrand strives to represent grotesque elements of society, even if it means revealing an uncomfortable and oftentimes crude environment. By exposing the perverse, depraved and degenerate truths of the world around us, Hildebrand produces work that is often tough to look at, sometimes witty and always truthful." Since his time at MCA, Hildebrand has forged a vibrant career. His is owner and curator ofTastyKake Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland, the director of his own film studio, Mohawk Productions, and has exhibited widely from Memphis to New York. Learn more about his work here.

Matthew Dayler: Matthew Dayler was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and is Assistant Professor at the Art Academy ofCincinnati. Dayler’s interests draw from a wide variety of historical and contemporary imagery relating to identity in juxtaposition with street culture, music and sports. Dayler’s images are often presented in the form of murals, prints, drawings, and video. His work has been exhibited at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, The Brooks Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, and Galerie Edition Schedler in Zurich, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Australia, Miami, NYC and LA. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and is one of the founders of Xylene. Click here to check it out!

November 07, 2017 No comments

November 05, 2017 No comments

November 03, 2017 No comments

Memphis College of Art Closing Information

The Board of Directors of the College, facing declining enrollment, overwhelming real estate debt, and no viable long-term plan for financial sustainability, has voted to stop recruiting new students, effective immediately, and begin making plans to close the College.

MCA will begin the orderly dissolution of MCA’s real estate and other assets to fund the College’s debt obligations and other liabilities, including providing sufficient funding to serve existing students who remain at MCA. At the conclusion of fulfilling its obligations to existing students who remain in good standing, MCA will close. The precise period of time for this wind-down (“teach-out”) has yet to be determined; the College anticipates it will last through May 2020.

“It is with great sadness that we move forward with this decision,” said MCA Board Chair Henry P. Doggrell.

The Board vote resulted from a long process that eventually determined that an independent, private fine arts and design college is no longer financially sustainable in Memphis. The College’s situation is not unique – small private colleges face financial challenges across the country. Over the last months, we have cut costs to operate as efficiently as possible, but it wasn’t sufficient to sustain operations beyond the current academic year without continued significant community support.

During the “teach-out” period, MCA will continue its long-standing tradition of offering Community Education programs, including the Fashion Certificate Program, summer camps, and adult art classes. Many of the College’s community partnerships will continue as well. MCA’s popular Holiday Bazaar will take place as scheduled on November 17-18, with net proceeds funding existing student scholarships.

“This has been a heartbreaking process,” said MCA Interim President Laura Hine. “But we remain proud of the creative energy MCA artists have long brought to Memphis, and are eternally grateful to the donors and foundations who have sustained us throughout our 81-year history. The tremendous value of the artistic contributions made by MCA faculty, students, and graduates, over many decades, simply can’t be captured in words.”

“In the immediate term our attention is focused on the internal MCA family – our students, our faculty and our staff. Going forward, we will rely on the thousands of MCA alumni in Memphis and across the country to carry on the legacy of the College through their art, their creative energy, and their innovation.”

General FAQ’s

1. Is MCA closing immediately?

No. We will not admit any new students and instead will focus on serving current students who remain at MCA in good academic standing. When we fulfill our obligations to these students, Memphis College of Art will close.

2. Is Memphis College of Art merging with another college?

No. Memphis College of Art is not admitting new students effective immediately and will instead dedicate its resources to its existing students.

3. How did the College get to this position?

Economic challenges face all of the higher education market, especially small, private colleges. For MCA in particular, declining enrollment, a small endowment, and real estate debt have contributed to the precarious financial state of the College for several years. The leadership of the College (the Cabinet and the Board) worked hard to structure a sustainable model for the future, but was unable to do so.

4. How do you plan to close the College?

MCA is working with its accrediting organizations and other counselors to develop teach-out plans for the proper close-down of the College. The details of the plan are not yet finalized and, most importantly, will be driven by an overarching focus on the welfare of MCA’s current students.

5. If MCA doesn’t have money now, how will it carry on its operations until it closes?

MCA has valuable real estate assets that will be sold. The proceeds will be dedicated to meet MCA’s obligations. We will also rely on the continued generosity of donors to help MCA as we serve those students who remain at MCA.

6. Will all assets be sold?

Yes, over time all of the assets of MCA will be sold, beginning with real estate assets. Rust Hall and equipment will be retained for teaching out our students.

7. After the teach out, what’s going to happen to Rust Hall in Overton Park?

We are working with all stakeholders to determine the best disposition of Rust Hall in order to preserve this iconic building and ensure it maintains its prominent and important place in Overton Park.

8. Who owns Rust Hall?

MCA owns Rust Hall, on land owned by the City of Memphis and leased to MCA under a long-term lease.

9. Will events and exhibitions still take place?

Yes. Exhibitions, shows and traditional events, such as Holiday Bazaar, will continue. Our 67th Annual Holiday Bazaar and Fundraiser is scheduled for November 17 and 18 in the Rust Hall gallery, with net proceeds funding existing student scholarships.

10. Will Community Education and Summer Art Camp continue?

Yes. MCA plans to continue Community Education programs during the teach out. Please continue to visit our website for a listing of the available classes and the recently introduced Fashion Design Certificate Program.

October 24, 2017 No comments

The South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support and celebrate the highest quality artistic work being created in the American South. The program is open to individual artists living in the South Arts region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. This program is open only to visual artists and will expand to other disciplines in the future. The application deadline is December 15, 2017.

South Arts State Fellowships; $5,000

The South Arts State Fellowship is a state-specific prize awarded to the artists whose work reflects the best of the visual arts in the South. A review panel will select one winner per eligible state, with artistic excellence being the sole criterion. A total of nine fellowships will be awarded. Each will be awarded a $5,000 South Arts State Fellowship, and will compete for one of the two South Arts Prizes. State Fellowship recipients will be required to attend an awards ceremony.

South Arts Southern Prize; $25,000 and $10,000

The nine State Fellowship recipients will compete for the South Arts Southern Prize. The $25,000 Southern Prize will be awarded to the artist whose work exhibits the highest artistic excellence, and one finalist will be awarded a $10,000 Prize, also based on artistic excellence. The Southern Prize winner will also receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. A national panel will convene to evaluate the body of work represented by the nine State Fellowship recipients and select the Prize winner and Finalist. Winners of the South Arts Prize will be announced at the awards ceremony.

An exhibition of works by the State Fellowship winners may be organized during the award period.

Questions or comments about this program? Please contact southernprize@southarts.org or call 404.874.7244 x10.