project overview

Welcome to Whitehaven | Brooks road & Elvis Presley Boulevard

UAC, in partnership with the City of Memphis, commissioned a mural to enhance the newly built and highly visible retention wall at the southeast corner of Elvis Presley Boulevard and Brooks Road. Artists Lawrence Matthews and Ahmad George collaborated on a design that visualizes the pride of the Whitehaven community, complements the surrounding environment and offers a welcoming experience.

The colorful composition of images celebrates narratives of African American growth, autonomy, and advancement in the neighborhood. Matthews states that he felt especially connected to this project as he traveled neighborhood roads countless times in his youth visiting family in Whitehaven. Therefore, the family dynamic grounds the mural at its center with an array of images representing sources of pride for the neighborhood surrounding. On the left, images of Joseph Rainey, Josiah Thomas Walls, and Robert B. Elliot honor some of the first Black congressmen elected during Reconstruction, and a marching band member represents the school pride of Whitehaven and Hillcrest High School. Images highlighting the history of sharecropping, Methodist South, Fed Ex, and blues musician Frank Stokes are featured on the right. Each vibrant vignette contributes to a rich story of Whitehaven’s past and present.

about the artists

Ahmad George & Lawrence Matthews III

Artists Ahmad George and Lawrence Matthews

Ahmad George is a conceptual Artist from Memphis , Tn working with different painting mediums to explore scenes about transformation, human shared experience, and place making. They graduated from Memphis College of Art with a B.F.A in design with a concentration in Illustration in 2016. Ahmad’s research and inspiration spans informative psychological texts, folktales from the American south, alchemical manuscripts and Egyptian lore. they/them.

Lawrence Matthews is an artist from Memphis, TN working in music, photography, painting and filmmaking. Matthews received his B.F.A. from The University of Memphis in 2014. Since being awarded the Arts Accelerator grant in 2016, Matthews has had many group and solo exhibitions spanning galleries and museums across the mid-south as well as the residency program at Crosstown Arts. Recently acquired by international artist Derek Fordjour and The Kim & Elliot Perry Collection, Matthews’ photo work captures moments of openness and the haunting reminders of things that once were, highlighting the conflict between remanence of the past and the modern-day city imposed infrastructural decay. His work is also a part of The Brooks Museum's permanent collection and UrbanArt Commission's moveable collection. As the former program director, gallery director and curator of TONE (2019-2021), Matthews has led impactful programming and exhibitions providing opportunities for artists in the Memphis area.