about the artist

Brandon James Scott is a figurative painter, sculptor and art educator,  living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. Scott is originally from Tallahassee, FL, and was raised in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale where he attended art immersion schools from grade three through high school. Throughout high school, Scott worked as a junior art instructor at Young At Art Children’s Museum conducting outreach, tours and art classes. Scott graduated high school from Dillard Center for the Arts, where he was mentored and prepared thoroughly for both art college and a career in the arts.

Scott went on to obtain a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Memphis College of Art and a Masters in Art Therapy from New York University. In 2004 after graduating, Scott moved to Brooklyn, NY where he worked as a graphic designer doing rebranding and design in Manhattan’s financial district for four years. In 2008 Scott left design to open a tattoo shop in Brooklyn that he owned and operated for four years. In 2013, Scott began working in New York City Schools. He felt he’d found his calling as an educator and worked for six years in Brooklyn, NY as an art teacher and content leader. Through teaching, Scott developed a deep interest in the social-emotional development of children. Thus, he entered the Art Therapy program at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education & Human Development, where he was awarded the Century 21 scholarship. He also completed a summer semester in Florence, Italy where he worked at a parish run summer camp along with three cohorts. After graduating in 2021, Scott returned to Memphis. 

He currently works as an art educator and public artist, concurrently attending the University of Memphis for a Masters in teaching. In 2024, Scott was awarded the New Public Artist Fellowship by the Urban Art Commission, in partnership with the University of Memphis and the Tennessee Art Commission. The award includes the installation of a sculpture that will remain on campus for a year. Scott designed a resin and cement bust honoring Miriam DeCosta, the first Black professor at the University of Memphis, and is set to be complete in August, 2024.  In the summer of 2024, Scott was Awarded The Heights Line Project for which he designed an art installation that will also serve as a rest area for The Heights Line, a 1.75 mile pedestrian linear park in Memphis,TN. This project is set to be complete in the winter of 2025. 

Scott continues to both teach K-8 art in Memphis City Schools and work as a public artist.  He is beginning to build pathways between his passions for education and public art by providing opportunities and stipends for students to assist in art projects. He hopes to someday create an organization that educates, trains, mentors and also hires youth for public art and carpentry.

Website: http://www.pttp.store