project overview
EXTERIOR ART | SOUTH POINT GROCERY
Neon signage designed by Chuck Mitchell and Frank Balton Sign co.
The South Point Grocery project was a nearly $2.5 million transformation of a 100-year-old building that was originally designed as a grocery warehouse. Tom Archer of Archer Custom Builders purchased the building in 2017 with the hopes of bringing a grocery store to the South Main area. After visiting sister-store High Point Grocery (reopened in August 2020), Archer called on owner Rick James to bring a similar neighborhood-format grocery store to downtown.
Though South Point’s main goal is to provide downtown residents with all of their ordinary grocery needs in one shopping experience, there are a few interesting additional elements. Local chef Josh McLane spearheads the kitchen, featuring 12-15 unique sandwich offerings for customers to “grab and go.” Locally-operated and certified humane Home Place Pastures is showcased in the meat department. The front porch allows seating for 42, arranged in a work/eat/meet/entertainment style for customers. The neon signage – designed and created by Chuck Mitchell and Frank Balton Sign Co. – allows South Point to solidify its place in Downtown Memphis.
Being in service of such an artistic and vibrant community, South Point Grocery knew they wanted to incorporate Memphis-based public art in their exterior design and “front porch.” The UAC team worked with Memphis-based interior designer Cynthia Ham to understand the feelings South Point wanted its customers to experience as they made their entrance. Ultimately their team selected three artists whose designs sparked joy and spoke to the overall themes of culture, community, and, of course, fresh grocery selections: Carl E. Moore, Emily C. Thomas, and Khara Woods. The front porch murals were completed in time for the store’s grand opening, however, the third and final mural proved to be a large scale project that needed a few extra hands. Together, with additional installation support from artists Brandon Marshall, Dalton Vannucci, and Matt Henry, Carl Moore’s “From Field to Table” visual narrative was brought to life and truly fills the already gorgeous building with even more color.
From Field to Table | Carl E. Moore
“It was also a pleasure collaborating with an amazing artist and installer Brandon Marshall and his team Dalton Vannucci and Matt Henry. They worked for 2 weeks in 100+ degree temperatures.”
“This wall installation/mural features native and local garden plants in an interconnected “power plant” arrangement inspired by Memphis Light Gas and Water electricity substations that are dotted throughout the cityscape.”
South Point Grocery Porch Mural | Emily C. Thomas
Front Porch “Rugs” Floor Mural | Khara Woods
“I had a blast designing these!”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Carl E. Moore
Emily C. Thomas
Khara Woods
Carl E. Moore is originally from Canton, Mississippi. He currently lives and works in Memphis as an artist and designer. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received his BFA and MFA degrees from the Memphis College of Art. Moore’s work has been exhibited in regional and national exhibitions, and he was the recipient of the 2017 Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration from ArtsMemphis.
Emily C. Thomas was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Thomas is an interdisciplinary, project-based artist who has also lived and worked in New York, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Amsterdam. She received a BFA from NYU in 2009 and a MFA from UC Santa Barbara in 2015. Thomas’ practice is a holistic response to the fragmentation of consciousness resulting from the institutionalized segregation of knowledge and the classification of individuals into cultural, social, gender, and human vs. nonhuman roles. Acting as a medium, she conjures visions of trans-rational and transpersonal realms that dissolve divisions within consciousness.
Khara Woods is a graphic designer and artist from Memphis. Her work is largely inspired by geometric abstraction and pop art. Since 2015, she has created and collaborated on a number of murals and public art projects around the city.
