As 2017 comes to a close, we are focused on the future – for Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and for our entire community.
This has been one of the most significant seasons in the Brooks’ 101-year history. For decades, we have been grappling with many troublesome issues in our current facilities, and earlier this year, we took action. Our decisions were driven by a single question: how can we best serve our patrons and visitors from around the world, the many world-class artists whose work we share, and our members who make it all possible? We believe that we have found the ideal solution: a new museum campus on Memphis’ historic riverfront, overlooking the Mississippi River. At the corner of Union Avenue and Front Street, we will build a new, truly 21st-century art museum that will provide the best possible place for the exhibition, study, and celebration of art from around the world.
Mayor Jim Strickland supports our plan and we look forward to partnering with his office, the State of Tennessee, and others to fully and fundamentally reimagine the riverfront. The Brooks Museum is honored to serve as an iconic cultural asset in this vision to transform not only Downtown Memphis but also our entire metropolitan region in remarkable ways. We’ll be sharing more details about these plans in the months to come.
Change is coming to our city and our museum, but our mission is the same now as it has been for over a century: to serve the greater Memphis region as a truly world-class art museum. To that end, we have a number of exciting events and programs coming up that we don’t want you to miss.
Lisa Hoke, American, b. 1952, Pie in the Sky, 2017, Cardboard packaging, glue and hardware, Commissioned by Memphis Brooks Museum of Art 2017.
Our new installation by Lisa Hoke, Pie in the Sky, is on display until June 3, 2018 as part of our Rotunda Projects series. Using recycled materials—including repurposed printed cardboard boxes, paper flyers, and drink cartons—contemporary artist Lisa Hoke constructs dazzlingly colorful and richly textural abstract installations.
Ernest C. Withers, American, 1922 – 2007, I Am A Man, Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, March 28, 1968, Gelatin silver print, printed from original negative in 1999, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art purchase with funds provided by Ernest and Dorothy Withers, Panopticon Gallery, Inc., Waltham, MA, Landon and Carol Butler, The Deupree Family Foundation, and The Turley Foundation 2005.3.33 © Withers Family Trust
Black Resistance: Ernest C. Withers and the Civil Rights Movement will open on February 3, 2018. Organized by the Brooks from its extensive collection of Withers original photography, the images depict the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike and other events surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Inge van Lierop, designer (b. the Netherlands), Vlisco, the Netherlands, Dress, “Hommage à L’Art” collection, 2013, Vlisco wax print, Courtesy Vlisco Museum, Foundation Pieter Fentener van Vlissingen, Helmond, the Netherlands, Photo: Koen Hause
We unveil African Print Fashion Now! on February 24, 2018. Organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA, it examines the dynamic and diverse African dress tradition and the increasingly interconnected fashion world it inhabits, through costumes, photographs, runway videos, and more.
Last but by no means least, we’re excited for the return of our legendary Memphis Wine + Food Series this spring when we welcome the first African-American winemaker, André Mack, at Brooks Uncorked in March.
2018 promises to be another momentous year for Tennessee’s oldest and largest art museum. As one of our valued members, we want your feedback about what you want for the new future of the Brooks Museum. We’ll be hosting more members-only gatherings early next year so that we can hear directly from you.
If you believe in our mission and where we’re going, please consider making a year-end donation to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. You can make a gift anytime, here online.
We are so grateful for your love of art, your dedication to the Brooks Museum, and your continued support.