Your Weekly Guide to the Arts

Close out your 2025 with introspective exhibitions and captivating views, both on canvas — and even on the water!

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Close out your 2025 with introspective exhibitions and captivating views, both on canvas—and even on the water! Find arts experiences for all ages and zip codes across Memphis at ARTSmemphis’ event calendar. 

Tour: Learning to Look

Build confidence in reading visual language—or learn to simply slow down and see more—with docent Carol Adamec for a guided experience through the galleries. Featuring everything from quiet 19th-century landscapes to vibrant modern compositions, this tour encourages curiosity, close observation, and a more personal connection to the art on view.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art | December 28, 2:00pm - 2:45pm

Speaking Truth to Power: the Life of Bayard Rustin

Don’t miss your final days to view the powerful exhibition at the National Civil Rights Museum. Curated by art historian Gay Feldman and featuring photography by David Katzenstein, this exhibit explores Bayard Rustin’s innovative approach to activism and identity. Learn about Rustin’s lifelong dedication to non-violence, activism, and human rights—and, as a result, his global influence and pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement.

National Civil Rights Museum | On view through December 31

From Paris to the Prairie

Explore the recent gift to the Dixon of eleven spectacular prints from George H. Booth II of Tupelo, Mississippi. The collection includes works by the Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the Danish artist Peter Ilsted, and twentieth-century American icons including Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and Rockwell Kent.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens | On view through January 11

New Year’s Eve Dinner & Music Cruise

Ring in the New Year and dance on the mighty Mississippi with a front row seat to the Mighty Lights Show, live DJ set, dinner, and bar for this magical 21+ event on a riverboat.

Memphis Riverboats | December 31, 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Patrick McGee Exhibition

Be one of the first to view Patrick McGee’s exhibition at the Memphis Botanic Garden. A lifelong artist and musician, McGee  started working in oil color in the early 2000s. HIs painting styles range from realism and floral to abstract-surrealism and avant-garde.

Memphis Botanic Garden | On view from January 2 through January 26