Past Events › Programs
October 2013
Sketches of Crosstown
In 2011, Sean Murphy began recording an album in the Sears Crosstown building using only its vast and abandoned spaces to capture and create a one-of-a-kind recording, Sketches of Crosstown. We’re pleased to commemorate the record release with a live performance at the building followed by a reception and talk with the artist and his collaborators.
Watch the promotional video for the album, documentary, and concert here.
Purchase performance tickets here.
“It has been a long road but I can honestly ….
Visiting Artist Margaret Wrinkle
Reading and Discussion of Wash: a novel with award-winning author Margaret Wrinkle, accompanied by an exhibition of photography by the artist and a reception
Sponsored by V02 Networx
Wash, written by Margaret Wrinkle, reexamines slavery in ways that challenge contemporary assumptions about race, history and power as it carries the reader from the American South to West Africa and deep into the ancestral stories that reside in the soul.
Crosstown Arts will host Margaret Wrinkle on the evening of Tuesday, ….
May 2013
Memfeast 4: V&E Greenline
MemFeast is an annual public dinner designed to use community-driven financial support to democratically fund emerging art makers.
February 2013
Tales of Modern Rocketry Book Launch
Over the course of nine weeks in the fall of 2012, the sixth-grade “Rocket Writers” of the new Gordon Science & Arts Academy met for a workshop with Nat Akin, our director of outreach & education, to compose creative work for the first book-length project of our new after-school arts program, story booth.Tales of Modern Rocketry is the collection of science fiction stories dreamed up by these young writers, each accompanied by an original illustration from artist Derrick Dent, and ….
April 2012
MemFeast 2: Crosstown Public Art Projects
At the second installment of MemFeast, seven artists proposed public art projects for Midtown’s Crosstown neighborhood.
MemFeast 3: Indie Memphis
Crosstown Arts presented the third MemFeast in collaboration with Indie Memphis, and sought proposals for short films based on the theme of neighborhood.At each MemFeast, anyone from the community can buy a $25 ticket for an amazing, locally sourced dinner, along with drinks and a ballot to vote on the night’s presentations. During the meal, a juried selection of local artists present proposals for their short film projects. At the end of the night, diners vote for their favorite idea ….
March 2012
Rashaad Newsome: Swag
March 1-3, 2012 at the Powerhouse
Crosstown Arts organized New York-based multimedia artist Rashaad Newsome’s first exhibition in Memphis, a video installation, Swag, from 2011, at the Powerhouse from March 1 – 3, 2012. The artist has recently exhibited at PS1 MoMA, the Whitney Biennial and the Venice Biennale.
The installation was a component of Our Vibe. Our City. at the Powerhouse presented by ArtsMemphis at Live From Memphis’ Music Video Showcase 7. It was the first in Crosstown Arts’ Visiting ….
September 2011
Robin Salant: Crosstown Lights
Winning Project: Memfeast 2
From the Commercial Appeal:
Crosstown canvas comes alive with color
From Staff Reports
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A large crowd on Friday night witnessed the artful lighting of the main body of the old Sears Crosstown building.
Scores of cars pulled into the parking lot on Cleveland near North Parkway for a different kind of tailgating event.
Nearly 300 windows form a large grid on the south side of the vacant building. About 40 windows ….
October 2010
MemFeast
On Friday, October 1, Crosstown Arts presented MemFEAST, a competitive banquet of community art ideas and actions. Equal parts family-style dinner, show-and-tell, and immediate philanthropy, MemFEAST (Memphis Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) invited the public to gather together, share a great meal, and democratically fund new and emerging artmakers.
