project overview

Ed Rice Community Center Vinyl Wall Applications (Design Only Call)

Artist: Danielle Sierra

Total Budget: Selected Artist to receive design stipend of $4,000

Upcoming benchmark/update: Vinyl artwork has been install. Artist to begin mural soon.

Next committee meeting date: TBD

project concept

UrbanArt Commission (UAC) is partnering with The City of Memphis to commission a series of small, interior mural installations. Selected artists will be commissioned to create designs only, which should be free-form and flowing to be printed on vinyl and applied to walls and glass on the interior of the Ed Rice CC. UAC will contract directly with a fabricator to print and install the selected artwork. The company will collaborate closely with the selected artist to translate their commissioned artwork into vinyl. The selection committee expresses an interest in a public art piece that will:

  • Highlight the environmentally conscious and sustainable concepts and amenities of the new facility through an abstract theme of concepts

  • Reflect the activities and experience of a modern-day community center, including its function as a flexible community gathering space and hub for the exchange of exercise and education

  • Reference the history of Frayser, but focus of the future of this community that values families, children, entrepreneurship and growth

  • Consider existing nearby public art and the design of the new facility

The selection committee has selected four finalists for the installation based on their portfolios, application materials, professional qualifications, and demonstrated ability to meet deadlines. The commissioned artist will be selected based on the strength of their proposal, which will be presented to the selection committee.

site specifics

The Ed Rice Community Center is located at 2907 Watkins along one of the main gateways to Frayser and the plot features a walking trail, a pool and tennis courts, and is centrally located. Throughout the year Ed Rice averages about 450 people a day. The summer season is peak season when the center averages between 500 and 600 people, given the addition of camp kids. Ed Rice Community Center offers a vast array of programs focusing on sports, recreation and education, actively serving youth and adults from the neighborhood. Additionally, three festivals are held annually: the Spring Festival, the Fall Festival and Block Party for Peace.

archimania intentionally utilized glass as a feature to provide a natural component inside of the building as beautiful landscape, green spaces and tall trees are a focal point from each window. Artists should also take note of the intention for the glass features to provide transparency: the ability to see into the community center promotes a welcoming environment and is externally focused on what is outside in the community. 

background

The Frayser neighborhood began as a small farming community in the 1800s, growing rapidly after the construction of a railroad between Covington and Memphis. It is a resilient neighborhood with a strong sense of pride, where residents value entrepreneurship and community activism around home ownership, environmental concerns, and youth activities and education. 

The Ed Rice Community Center is very much an anchor of Frayser and acts as “City Hall” for many of the organizations in the neighborhood. More than 50 years ago in 1965, the City of Memphis built Frayser’s Ed Rice Community Center and in 2020 was demolished to make way for a state-of-the-art facility designed by local architecture firm archimania. The original facility was dedicated to Ed Rice, a prominent landowner in Frayser, soldier and chief lieutenant of Mayor E.H. "Boss" Crump, in 1982 upon Frayser’s annexation by the City. Previously and currently, it serves the neighborhood from a site that once served as a pauper’s graveyard for Shelby County. Between 1890 and 1965, 30,000 individuals who did not have relatives or resources for a proper burial were buried on this land. In 2007 through a collaborative effort consisting of the Frayser Inter-Faith Association, Frayser Community Association (FCA), and Ed Rice Community Center, the Frayser Memorial Garden in the trail area of the center was established to recognize and acknowledge the 30,000 deceased buried beneath the grounds.

selection committee

Jana Wilson- Arkwings, UAC + Neighborhood Artist Representative

Amanda Nalley- UAC’s Frayser Library Artist + Neighborhood Artist Representative

Regenia Dowell- President of Frayser Community PTSA, Resident

Telise Ezell-Turner, Frayser Resident 

Shelly Rice, Ed Rice’s Son

Greg M. Price, AIA, ASLA, LC, archimania, Architect Representative

Mike Flowers, City Parks Representative

Mike Lemm, City Engineering Representative (non-voting)