Five Things To Do This Weekend in Memphis: July 9th-11th

“Memphis 2021” artists take us into the next decade as Playhouse on the Square rolls out a winning performance from the last — plus a summer market and a silent movie.

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Closing weekend for “Memphis 2021”

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park

Friday-Saturday, July 9-10, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, July 11, 1-5 p.m.

Dixon’s outgoing exhibition boasts more than 50 original works by 20 diverse artists who call Memphis home. Not only will you find examples of work using traditional mediums like fiber, acrylic, oil, ink, and charcoal — you’ll find them in unusual mixed-media works.

For example, Sharon Havelka displays a hand- and machine-stitched quilted piece made from recycled linens and curtains, vinegar print from a silk-covered Chinese wedding book, cotton string, and embroidery thread in an extraordinary 3-D work of art. Paula Kovarik, Sharon Haveika, Jennifer Sargent, and Johana Moscoso also feature fiber work, some traditional and others incorporating the fiber of personal effects.

Colorful paintings by familiar artists Alex Paulus, Roger Allan Cleaves, Juan Rojo, Debbie Pacheco, Katherine George, and Danny Broadway showcase a diverse array of styles. Creative work incorporating ink by Meredith Olinger and Rick Nitsche, plus an unusual integration of charcoal by Frances Berry and Jonah Westbrook, add depth to varied mixed-media pieces.

Other artists employ less traditional mediums. Mae Aur works with hand-cut wood and incorporates sound. Nick Hewlett showcases digital illustrations. Mary Jo Karimnia incorporates seed beads into works highlighting feminine imagery. Justin Bowles utilizes the entire Crump Gallery for a sculptural installation. Carrol McTyre and Mary K. VanGieson use found objects in their sculpture.

All of the artists give an exciting look at what’s to come in Memphis in the 2020s. See the exhibition, a feast for the senses, before it leaves the gallery this weekend.

Ivanka vs. Reality

TheatreWorks, 2085 Monroe and live-streaming from playhouseonthesquare.org

Opens Friday, July 9, 8 p.m.; continues Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m., through July 25

Playhouse on the Square rolls out in-person live theater again with the winner of the 2019 NewWorks@TheWorks playwriting competition, an outlet for new playwrights. Ivanka vs. Reality by Lucy Wright and William Downs was originally slated for the 2020-2021 season, but POTS felt that the smaller cast size and the poignant message was a perfect choice to kickstart the new season welcoming patrons into the theater. If you prefer, the performances will also be streamed live through the streaming platform, Showtix4U.com.

Director Meghan Lewis makes her Playhouse on the Square directorial debut, having also directed the play’s staged reading in 2019. The cast consists of Playhouse on the Square Resident Company Member Kim Sanders (The Taming, Cabaret) as Sylvia. Memphis theater favorites, Jaclyn Suffel (Crib, Victory Blues) and Tamara Wright (Kinky Boots) play Victoria and Ivanka, respectively. Making his Playhouse on the Square debut is Associate Company Member Will Graber in the role of Zeke.

The original play is about Sylvia, a divorced Hollywood screenwriter who is losing her grip as her career slides into middle-aged female oblivion. Desperate for work she takes a job writing a movie “based on a true story” only to learn that Ivanka Trump was right: “If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true.”

Memphis Crafts & Drafts Summer Market

Crosstown Concourse, 1359 Concourse

Saturday, July 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

The popular fall market is making a summer appearance.

Sip on a cool locally crafted brew or two curated by Cash Saver on the plaza at Crosstown Concourse while shopping hot items from local makers and artists.

Bring the family and your well-behaved pet; the market is outside. Memphis Parent magazine will have activities for the kids, and you can talk to Memphis Flyer and Memphis magazine writers and editors. We love to engage with our audience. The stories are all about you, after all.

Vendors will be selling everything from candles and soaps to clothing and jewelry. Step inside the doors of Crosstown Concourse to cool down. Inside will be more vendors, food, ice cream, and places to rest.

See you at the summer market!

Alex Greene & the Rolling Head Orchestra

The Grove at GPAC, 1801 Exeter

Saturday, July 10, 7-9 p.m.

Film buffs and music fans — specifically jazz and silent movie fans — have a treat in store this weekend. Perhaps you caught Contemporary Media’s music writer Alex Greene setting music to silent film at another event where he was the resident composer at Crosstown Arts. A Trip to the Moon and Aelita: Queen of Mars were projected onto the screen at Crosstown Theater, where the Rolling Head Orchestra and classical collaborators from Blueshift Ensemble performed live. Special guest Kate Tayler Hunt also joined the group on the electronic instrument known as the Theremin, first developed in 1920, lending uniquely eerie sounds to the ambiance.

Here they all are again, this time at GPAC with Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman. Keaton’s physical comedy needs no sound but it does need a monkey, rumble seat, a love triangle, boat race, daring rescue, and an original score from Alex Greene & the Rolling Head Orchestra.

Come witness the film brought to life in a way few films ever are — with an ensemble of virtuosos performing live music as the film unfolds.

Be a Good Neighbor Vaccination Series

Cordelia's Market, 737 Harbor Bend in Harbor Town Square

Saturday, July 10, 3-6 p.m.

The friendly Downtown neighborhood market on Mud Island has teamed up with the Memphis Fire Department and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to help get the community vaccinated. While the series will kick off at Cordelia’s Market, two more events are to be held in Uptown at the Greenlaw CommunityCenter on July 31 and August 21, 3-6 p.m.

Since Cordelia’s Market was the first grocery store in Memphis to require masks, they want to continue to do everything they can to keep the community healthy.

The Memphis Fire Department Healthcare Navigator Program will be administering both Johnson & Johnson and the Pfizer vaccines from their mobile vaccination unit. Those who receive their vaccine can enjoy a free cold beverage and hotdog as well as plenty of community fellowship from the market.

The goal is to give 100 free vaccines on Saturday. Bring a friend for lunch and a jab.

For a full list of what’s happening this weekend in and around Memphis, check out our calendar of events. Also, be sure to tag your favorite Instagram photos of Memphis while you are out and about with the #memphismagazine hashtag. I hope you have a great weekend.