Project Overview

Whitehaven Sculpture Project

Budget: $164,500 (includes honoraria for selected artists to develop site-specific proposals)

Most recent benchmark/update: Selected Artist - Lorenzo Scruggs

Upcoming benchmark/update: Completion

Next Artist Selection Committee Meeting: TBD

Background :

UrbanArt Commission (UAC) works to create opportunities for artists and neighborhoods to connect and shape spaces through public art. Since 2002, UAC has managed the City of Memphis’s Percent-For-Art Program, which allocates funds annually to develop public art in connection to capital improvement projects. UAC, in partnership with the City of Memphis, will commission a new sculpture project that encapsulates the layered history of Whitehaven, complements the surrounding environment, and invites interaction with the artwork.

Scope of Work

The selection committee expresses interest in a sculpture project that speaks to the historic value that the Whitehaven neighborhood has been to the city of Memphis by including the following elements.  

  • Incorporates the strong family connection and community pride of the area

  • Selfie-worthy/invites social-media activity

  • Creates an inviting atmosphere for current residents and tourists alike

  • Functional and/or interactive use, possibly a seating area

  • Appeals to all ages/engage intergenerationally

  • An attraction piece/symbol for the neighborhood

  • Presents an opportunity to experience the broad community of Whitehaven

  • Willingness to mentor an emerging, Memphis-based artist throughout the project development processes

The selection committee also expects the selected artist to mentor a Memphis-based artist through the duration of the project. The mentorship component will include, but not be limited to, phone calls/in-person meetings during the design phases to discuss artist(s) processes, video or in-person studio visits during the fabrication phase, and on-site visits during the installation of the artwork. An additional stipend will be available for the mentee artist outside of the project budget. The committee, UAC and the selected artist will work together to further determine touchpoints throughout the project process between the selected artist and the mentee artist. 

If you have any questions about this component, please reach out to Wendy Young wendy@uacmem.org.


SELECTION COMMITTEE

Trey McKnight - Neighborhood representative - Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Community (GWERC), Charles Everett - Neighborhood representative - GWERC, Dr. Christopher Davis - Neighborhood representative - St. Paul Baptist Church, Ethan Skaggs - City Division representative - City Engineering, Mary Olds - Site representative - YMCA, Earnestine Jenkins - Artist representative - University of Memphis, Lindsey Bailey - Artist representative - Local Artist, Cameron Osborne - Artist representative - Artistic Lounge Owner, Jay Humphries - Architect representative - Archimania, Mike Lemm - Engineering representative - City Engineering (non-voting), Shanette Parks – UrbanArt Commission (non-voting), Wendy Young - UrbanArt Commission (non-voting)

For more information about this project, please contact:
Wendy Young | Program Manager
901.343.6983 | wendy@uacmem.org

NOTE: Commissioned artists are permitted to work with outside contractors to fabricate the actual work of art.