project overview
Revitalization of the Welcome to Westwood Mural | Neighborhood Art Initiative 2021
Selected Artist: Tony Hawkins
most recent benchmark/update: Installation in process on the first of two sections of wall.
upcoming benchmark/update: Installation to begin on wall two this summer, 2023.
Next committee meeting date: May 2023
project concept
UAC and The City of Memphis, in partnership with Uplift Westwood Community Development Corporation, are seeking an artist to create a mural that speaks to the pride of the community, engages neighborhood youth, and pays tribute to Westwood’s rich Black history while focusing on Westwood’s growth and development.
The selection committee has expressed interest in a mural that:
Pays tribute to key figures from Westwood
Celebrates Westwood’s pride and longevity and the value of family and children
Feels warm and welcoming to visitors and residents who pass the mural daily
Challenges viewers to learn something through the art
The selection committee has selected three 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 “Welcome to Westwood” Mural is located on Raines Road approximately 600’ west of the intersection with Double Tree Street. Other nearby landmarks and institutions include Westwood High School, the Charles Powell Community Center, Freedom Prep Academy and Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. The mural will be located on two south facing retention walls along Raines Road. An older mural exists at the project site but has largely deteriorated over time and the neighborhood has expressed a strong desire to refresh this major thoroughfare through their community. Artists may consider designs that do not cover the entire walls given budgetary constraints.
background
About Westwood:
Westwood is a quiet, family-focused neighborhood located in southern Memphis, west of Whitehaven. It is bounded by S. Third Street on the east, the railroad tracks on the west, Raines Road on the north, and W. Shelby Drive on the south. In the 1950s the Weaver family, whose ancestors owned a 4,000 acre cotton plantation, sold some of their land for the development of a subdivision. This subdivision and the areas directly surrounding it became known as Westwood. The neighborhood grew in the 1960s as businesses were built and established to serve the residents. Along with the growth of Westwood, was The Hill Top which includes the Double Tree Road vicinity. The growth continued in the 1970s when many Black families began moving into the neighborhood. In 1973, Rev. James Netters moved his congregation, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, from Mississippi Boulevard to the former all-white Westwood Baptist Church on Parkrose. In 1991, the renovation of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church Westwood was completed and now it is one of the largest congregations in Memphis. With a boulevard named after him, the Reverend is a celebrated pastor and civil rights leader of over fifty years. Additionally, Westwood is home to recreational facilities, businesses, schools and other churches including The Charles Powell “Westwood'' Community Center, the Westwood Shopping Center, Freedom Prep Academy and Westwood High School. Westwood also has no shortage of talent in the form of leaders, athletes and musicians. For over two decades, Westwood High School’s marching band reigned as one of the most skilled in the city. Furthermore, artists should be mindful of the history of Westwood’s neighboring community, Boxtown, which began as a community of emancipated slaves and freedmen shortly after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and existed as a part of Shelby County until the early 1960s.
About UWCDC:
Uplift Westwood Community Development Corporation exists to uplift Westwood through meaningful initiatives that empower the residents and add economic value to the community. The heart and mission of Uplift Westwood is to be the strongest advocate possible to energize government agencies, nonprofit organizations, education institutions, and private businesses to say “YES!” to investing and growing with Westwood.
About UAC’s Neighborhood Art Initiative:
UrbanArt Commission launched its first Neighborhood Art Initiative as a Pilot Program in 2019 through support from the Assisi Foundation and totaling $120,000. Five public art projects were awarded to neighborhood associations, CDCs, community groups, non-profits, or arts organizations leading the development of public art in their spaces: Cherokee Heights Civic Club is creating five signs to mark the entrances of their historic South Memphis neighborhood. These permanent aluminum signs will carry the club’s motto, “We Care”, along with original designs relevant to the history of the community. At the Carpenter Art Garden in Binghampton, NAI will support a successful mural apprenticeship program in its second year. South Memphis Alliance and other neighborhood partners will convene soon to decide on how more public art can be added to the Soulsville area. In North Memphis, the NAI has furthered the work of the HUG Park Friends through Jamond Bullock’s colorful mural wrapping the pool area. In Orange Mound, artist Yancy Villa-Calvo, as a continuation of her engagement efforts through the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive planning process, installed the mural on Whitten Bros. Hardware store in late November 2019 with Melrose High School (RedZone Ministries) students.
The second round of Neighborhood Art Initiative was launched in November 2020 in partnership with the City of Memphis’ Percent-for-Art Program with the intention of funding a plethora of projects on city property in multiple neighborhoods within each City Council District over the course of consecutive fiscal years. There are 4 public art projects are in the works through UAC partners: Gestalt Schools (Hickory Hill), Mallory Heights CDC (Mallory Heights), The Time is Now Douglass RDC (Douglass), Uplift Westwood CDC (Westwood).
selection committee
Pastor Melvin Watkins, UAC’s Neighborhood Partner: Uplift Westwood CDC
Marva Quinn, Westwood Resident
James Wells, Neighborhood + Artist Representative
Dr. JB Blocker, Neighborhood + Artist Representative
Larry Walker, Artist Representative
Nick Oyler, City Representative
John Truong, City Engineering Representative (non-voting)
