project overview
Raleigh civic center | sculpture
UrbanArt Commission and the City of Memphis launched the Public Art Fellowship Program to provide professional development, mentorship, and hands-on experience to Memphis-based artists interested in creating their first permanent public sculpture. The fellowship supports seven artists, one representing each Memphis City Council district, as they develop and execute site-specific public artworks throughout the city.
Through workshops, mentorship, community engagement, and project management support, fellows receive training in public art processes, proposal development, budgeting, fabrication methods, design visualization, and installation planning. Each artist is paired with a city-owned site and works alongside community stakeholders, site representatives, and UrbanArt Commission staff to develop a sculpture that reflects the character, history, and identity of its surrounding neighborhood.
Each fellowship project is supported by a $30,000 project budget for fabrication and installation, allowing artists to work with professional fabricators, engineers, and project partners to realize durable, high-quality public artworks. In addition to the project budget, fellows receive mentorship and technical support throughout the design, fabrication, and installation process.
The 2026–2027 fellowship sites include Raleigh Springs Civic Center, Bert Ferguson Park, Whitehaven Community Center, McFarland Community Center, Randolph Library, Gaston Park & Community Center, and Douglass Community Center.
About the artist
Lacy Mitcham is an artist whose practice is rooted in sculpture that uses experiences in the human body and nature to consider issues of power, vulnerability, and connection. Her bodies of work include sculpture, wearable sculptures (exhibited with Memphis Fashion Week), installation, and drawing. She also engages in curatorial projects that explore collaboration and institutional power. She graduated with her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Memphis and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts: Sculpture from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a minor in World Languages. She has worked as an educator at the University of Memphis, Rhodes College, University Middle School, and Creative Aging, and now is the Public Programs Coordinator for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens where she cultivates experiences for adults of all ages and identities through accessible programs in art, horticulture, language and wellness. In 2025, she was awarded the Emerging Museum Professional Award by the Tennessee Association of Museums after being nominated by her team. She is an Arts Accelerator grant recipient through ArtsMemphis, participated in projects with the Downtown Memphis Commission, River Arts, Medical District arts programs, Arrow Public Art, and a former co-editor of the regional arts publication Number magazine. She is also a distance runner, cyclist, gardener, and has an enthusiastic studio helper, a Basset Hound named Ollie.
