image courtesy WKNO 1091 Gallery
Liberated, by Amanda Willoughby
“A Memphis of Hope” Gallery Opening and Artists’ Reception
WKNO Gallery 1091
Saturday, February 7, 2–5 p.m.
Welcome in Black History Month with an exhibit featuring works by Memphians, about Memphis, and for Memphis. Although crime often dominates the news these days, “A Memphis of Hope” strives to showcase the beauty of our city through the eyes of its own beloved artists. With over 100 pieces of art on display made by 50 contributing artists of all ages and backgrounds, this exhibit is available for viewing at the WKNO Gallery 1091 until February 26. Admission is free — stop by this Saturday (7551 Cherry Farms, Cordova) for the reception for a chance to meet some of the artists!
By Maritza Davila-Irizarry
34th Annual Works of Heart Art Auction and Party
Memphis Botanic Garden
Saturday, February 7, 7–10 p.m.
Does supporting a good cause and taking home new art set your heart aflutter? Join the Memphis Child Advocacy Center in their annual party supporting their Works of Heart auction, where they will be auctioning off heart-themed art by over a hundred contributing artists. Enjoy music, refreshments, and good company while perusing the gallery for whichever piece steals your heart! Pink, red, purple, or heart-themed dress is encouraged. Bidding is entirely online and opens February 3rd for preview, though it will be accessible throughout the party as well. General admission tickets are $100, while access to the exclusive Big Heart Lounge is $225. Purchase tickets here!
Book Sale at the Brooks
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Saturday, February 7, 10 a.m.– 3:30 p.m.
Has a week spent iced in dramatically reduced your to-read list? (Realistically, though, does your TBR list ever really get shorter?) For those interested in art books — or just looking for something new — stop by the Brooks Museum to browse their selection of books curated from featured Brooks artists. The sale will include limited quantities of contemporary editions, rare exhibition catalogs, and hard-to-find texts, so don’t forget to drop in to find your next read!
“African American Artists in Memphis: How the Black Artists in America Exhibitions Documented Their Histories”
Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Sunday, February 8, 2–3 p.m.
Accompanying the Dixon’s “Black Artists in America: From the Bicentennial to September 11, 2001” exhibit, the Dixon welcomes art professor and guest curator Dr. Earnestine Jenkins to discuss the impact of “Black Artists in America” on under-researched Memphis artists. As an important cultural landscape for Black art, Memphis helped inspire artists such as Vertis Hayes, Reginald Morris, Luther Hampton, and the Hooks Brothers. However, for many years, these artists, their experiences, and their impact have been seldom researched — until recently, with the curation of the “Black Artists in America” exhibit series. In this lecture, Jenkins will explore how the exhibition brought research visibility to Memphis artists, and simultaneously, the role that this research plays in the “Black Artists in America” exhibit as a whole. Tickets are free!
Jenkins is a professor of art history and visual art at the University of Memphis. With an interest in the African diaspora and training in fine arts, art history, and history, her research focuses include American art and culture and nineteenth- and twentieth-century African-American artists.
The Revolutionists
New Moon Theatre Company
February 6–22
Cuttingly funny, fierce, and feminist, The Revolutionists is a comedy determined to send heads rolling. Set during the Reign of Terror, four unlikely companions — a playwright, an assassin, Marie Antoinette herself, and a Haitian rebel — join forces in 1793 France to try and prevent further upheaval from occurring. However, the question looms: Can they escape their own historical fates, or will they meet their ends at the gallows once more? The Revolutionists opens this Friday and is showing Fridays–Sundays through February 22nd; purchase tickets here!
