Crosstown Arts

Goodnight My Love: Closing Reception
2018-05-10 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Crosstown Arts, East Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Closing reception for Goodnight My Love, an exhibition of photographs from the Ernest Withers collection, including works from Dr. Withers’ vast archive of more than one million negatives that have never been seen by the public.
Books of photography from the exhibition will be sold at the closing reception.

About the artist:
Ernest Columbus Withers (1922-2007) was a freelance photojournalist in Memphis, Tennessee and captured nearly 60 years of cultural history.
Born and raised in Memphis to Arthur and Pearl Withers, Ernest was the fifth of six children. Ernest Withers’ love of photography was sparked when he received his first camera, a hand-me-down gift from his sister when he was a young boy. When Withers enlisted in the army in 1942, he was trained as a military photographer and learned darkroom development while serving in the South Pacific during World War II.
After returning home to Memphis, Withers was one of the first nine African Americans appointed to the Memphis Police Department and was given a beat right on Beale Street. While working as a police officer, Withers continued to pursue his career as a photographer and in the 1950s, he helped spur the movement for equal rights with a self-published photo pamphlet on the Emmitt Till murder and trial. Unfortunately, Withers’ popularity as a photographer compromised his position as a police officer and eventually led to him leaving the Memphis Police Department.
Withers’ collection includes pictures of early performances of Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Howlin’ Wolf, and the list goes on and on. Many locals knew of Ernest Withers as “The Picture Taker” because he never went anywhere without his camera. He photographed the day to day life, backyard get-togethers, family reunions, weddings, proms, and much more.
In his more than 60-year career, Withers accumulated a collection of an estimated 1.8 million photographs; his works appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The TriState Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier, Jet, Ebony, Newsweek, Life, People, and Time, and have been featured in touring exhibits and shows around the world. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. currently displays over 30 of Ernest C. Withers’ images.
For his life’s work, Withers was elected to the Black Press Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Art. Withers had nine children and married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Curry. Ernest C. Withers passed away on Monday, October 15, 2007, at the age of eighty-five. You can see his work at The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery in Memphis at 333 Beale Street.

Sound Observations: Maria Chavez & Christina Carter
2018-05-11 14:30 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
A musical performance and lecture series presented by Sonosphere in collaboration with Crosstown Arts
Maria Chavez, an abstract turntablist/sound artist/DJ of Lima, Peru, and vocalist/guitarist/pianist Christina Carter will collaborate on a performance.
Free and open to the public (reserve free ticket on Eventbrite)
Doors at 7:30 pm | concert at 8 pm

About Sound Observations:
In this four-part series highlighting new explorations in sound, musicians, composers, and scholars from across the country will showcase their unique talents through performances and lectures. Listen and experience sound as art through a variety of different approaches and mediums.

About the artists:
Sound artist Maria Chavez utilizes accidents, coincidence, and failures to unite her sound sculptures, installations, and other works with her solo turntable performance practice. Routledge Press chose Maria to be on the cover of the latest edition of their Electronic and Experimental textbook that is distributed widely throughout academia. The book is used in universities and music programs all over the world as a first-year course for students interested in the world of avant garde and electronic sound practice.
Maria wrote her first book on her unique approach to abstract turntablism in 2012 titled, OF TECHNIQUE: Chance Procedures on Turntable (currently out of stock), a book of essays and illustrations that guide the novice turntablist to explore the world of needles and vinyl through the lens of deterioration, destruction, and the unexpected.
Maria regularly teaches workshops introducing students to her turntable practice all over the world and has been a research fellow with the Sound Practice Research Department of Goldsmith’s University of London since 2015.
She presents lectures on sound art, improvisation, multi-channel speaker installation practice, most recently for Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Stony Brook University, the Contemporary Arts Museum-Houston, Berklee College-Valencia, Spain and others later in the fall/winter season.
Christina Carter was born in the bayou city of Houston, Texas in November of 1968, and co-founded the group Charalambides there in December of 1991. Ever since, she has deeply mined her own vein of art-as-music with voice, guitar, and piano. For the past several years, Christina has utilized extended improvisational guitar passages within and without song-medley structures, and recently, investigated ‘the song’ as a thing unto itself, specifically concentrating on ‘the word’- both in her own lyric writing and her interpretations of the work of other lyricists. In addition to performing extensively in the US, UK, and Europe as a solo artist, Christina has played and recorded in various groups and duos with Heather Leigh Murray (as Scorces), Maria Chavez, Loren Connors, Chris Corsano, Dredd Foole, Sandy Ewen, Paul Flaherty and Thurston Moore.

About Sonosphere:
Sonosphere is a Memphis-based podcast aimed at exploring sound in music and art movements through history and today. Past podcasts have featured ICEBERG New Music Collective, John Cage, Martin Heyne, and Memphis Concrete, among other artists and music events.

The Music of Grant Green
2018-05-12 12:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Free and open to the public (register here)
Doors at 5:30 pm | performance at 6 pm
Jazz tribute to the music of Grant Green, featuring Joe Restivo (guitar), Alvie Givhan (piano), Tim Goodwin (acoustic bass), and Pee Wee Jackson (drums).
The Crosstown Jazz Series, presented by Strictly Jazz Entertainment in collaboration with Crosstown Arts, is designed to salute classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends.
Grant Green was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically and mainly for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms throughout his career.

About Joe Restivo:
Joe Restivo is a guitar player with over 25 years of professional experience as a performer. He is a graduate of the prestigious Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at New School University. While in New York he performed and studied with such jazz luminaries as Jack Wilkins, Junior Mance, Cecil Bridgewater, and Phil Markowitz. Heavily influenced and inspired by stylistically diverse soul and jazz guitarists such as Wes Montgomery, Tal Farlow, Steve Cropper, and Reggie Young, Joe has developed into a thoroughly in-demand guitarist and composer in Memphis.

About Strictly Jazz Entertainment:
Strictly Jazz Entertainment is committed to cultivating a growing community in the knowledge and appreciation of jazz. We facilitate dialogue and collaboration between the devoted supporters of jazz and the brand new constituents – those new to the genre – for the furthering of the jazz community. We provide a bridge between leading artists and a community that typically does not embrace jazz by promoting concerts in various venues to generate an atmosphere that is viable for the absorption of pure jazz.

Indie Wednesdays
2018-05-16 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Weekly film screenings hosted by Indie Memphis. Films will screen at Crosstown Arts, Malco’s Studio on the Square, and Ridgeway Theatre on a rotating basis.
This week: Are We Not Cats — New Yorker Eli (Michael Patrick Nicholson) loses his girlfriend, home, and job in less than 24 hours. After landing a job transporting car parts upstate to make some quick cash, he meets Anya (Chelsea Lopez), a young woman who shares his fetish for eating hair. In this gorgeously lensed oddball debut of Xander Robin, expanded from his celebrated short film, a slow building, nerve-racking body horror plot is rapped in the concerns of indie rom coms, with potentially grotesque situations giving way to oddly heartwarming moments of mutual appreciation among these two subterranean New York outliers.
Preceded by the short film Lance Lizardi.
Admission is pay-what-you-can | Presented by Orion

Little Women
2018-05-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, Screening Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
An exhibition and performance by Nubia Yasin
Featuring Madaame Frankie
Curated by Lawrence Matthews
Exhibition opens at 7 pm | performance at 8 pm

Exhibition Statement
I’m a host of things, but most inescapably, I’m a black woman. Born of two black parents, in a country like this one.
The journey it takes to go from black girl to black woman is unlike any other coming of age story; it’s one that is more deeply rooted in trauma then I would like to admit. Before even realizing this fact, I was writing about it. Writing poem after poem about girls learning silence from their mothers, who learned it from their mothers. Generation after generation of women who grow smaller and smaller in the face of their demons. I wanted to make a body of work that gave these women (and myself) room to stretch, to talk, to release. Little Women is meant to “open the blinds” so to speak.
Featuring the old family photos is meant to contrast the outward appearance of growing up, which is fairly innocent, with the reality of trauma. It’s set in a living room because, often times, that’s where the breaking of our women happens: in our own homes. Due to a constant cycle of shame and secrecy, it’s an unfortunate truth that what happens in our homes stays in our homes for the most part.
Every story in Little Women is a story about a girl who looks like me, who is me. This isn’t just my story … it’s our story.

Artist Statement
My work, whether it be poetry, film, or photography, is meant to give an honest and uncompromising glimpse into what it is to be black in America: the tragedy of it, the triumph of it, the nuance and layers. I think that too often, black bodies are used to fill space, to meet a quota, to make a point. To write about two black people falling in love is immediately seen as radical or political, never mind the fact that black people fall in love every day, void of commentary. Every day, black folk live their lives, laugh, cry, fight, and eat meals with one other without referencing the grand trauma of being Black in America, without referencing the White Man.
Though I see the point in creating political work (and do so often), I feel it’s just as important to create work that simply speaks to the black existence without referencing whiteness at all. What I want to expose is the sociology of blackness, the parts of us that make us beautifully, agonizingly, terrifyingly, and gloriously human.

Wish Book: Screening of James Benning's L. Cohen
2018-05-17 - 2018-05-18 | Crosstown Arts, Screening Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Screening of L. Cohen (2017) by artist James Benning. 45 minutes.
The film will screen at 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, and 5 pm.
Sign up for a screening

Curated by Terri Phillips and Brian Pera

The Wish Book series is a triannual exhibition with a focus on artists’ films. Curators Brian Pera and Terri Phillips welcome internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, and critics to Memphis for this exciting new series, which takes its name from the famed Sears Catalog and is hosted by Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, itself once a major Sears distribution center. Drawing from a wide range of topics, techniques, and perspectives, the films index the scope of work being done by artists in moving pictures.

About the Artist:
James Benning has sometimes been referred to as a “filmmaker’s filmmaker”, though he might prefer the more succinct “artist.” Alternately telescopic and microscopic, his work often explores the American landscape and its social and environmental histories, observing the movements and moments which characterize it in endlessly mutable patterns.
Equally painterly, sculptural, and literate, his films combine elements of sound and image in ways which invite interpretation through a uniquely cinematic immersion. Landscape is a function of time, according to Benning, and duration plays an important role in a viewer’s experience of his films, endowing most of the work with distinctly cumulative effects.
The film’s narratives are generated by the highly subjective experience of prolonged observation. The rigorous formality of his approach generates meditations on place and memory, prompting viewers to look more closely and differently at the spaces we inhabit.
In an environment increasingly mapped out by remote third party GPS systems, Benning’s work reminds us what it is to see for ourselves. Benning began making films in the 1970s. Wish Book presents a selection of his most recent work, much of which revisits and expands upon themes and motifs consistent throughout his oeuvre.

Wish Book: James Benning
2018-05-17 - 2018-05-20 | Crosstown Arts, Screening Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Selected work by James Benning | Curated by Terri Phillips and Brian Pera
Locations: Screening Room, East Atrium, & 430 gallery
Reception:
Saturday, May 19, 7 pm — 430 N. Cleveland
Reception, filmmaker Q&A, and screening of measuring change (60 min), 2016

Screening Times (Screening Room):
Friday, May 18 — L. Cohen (45 min), 2017 (sign up for a screening)
Saturday, May 19 — Ash 01 (20 min), 2016 (sign up for a screening)
Sunday, May 20 — READERS (108 min), 2017 (sign up for a screening)
East Atrium:
Screenings of James Benning’s 52 Films project

The Wish Book series is a triannual exhibition with a focus on artists’ films. Curators Brian Pera and Terri Phillips welcome internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, and critics to Memphis for this exciting new series, which takes its name from the famed Sears Catalog and is hosted by Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, itself once a major Sears distribution center. Drawing from a wide range of topics, techniques, and perspectives, the films index the scope of work being done by artists in moving pictures.

About the Artist:
James Benning has sometimes been referred to as a “filmmaker’s filmmaker”, though he might prefer the more succinct “artist.” Alternately telescopic and microscopic, his work often explores the American landscape and its social and environmental histories, observing the movements and moments which characterize it in endlessly mutable patterns.
Equally painterly, sculptural, and literate, his films combine elements of sound and image in ways which invite interpretation through a uniquely cinematic immersion. Landscape is a function of time, according to Benning, and duration plays an important role in a viewer’s experience of his films, endowing most of the work with distinctly cumulative effects.
The film’s narratives are generated by the highly subjective experience of prolonged observation. The rigorous formality of his approach generates meditations on place and memory, prompting viewers to look more closely and differently at the spaces we inhabit.
In an environment increasingly mapped out by remote third party GPS systems, Benning’s work reminds us what it is to see for ourselves. Benning began making films in the 1970s. Wish Book presents a selection of his most recent work, much of which revisits and expands upon themes and motifs consistent throughout his oeuvre.

Wish Book: Screenings of James Benning's Ash 01
2018-05-18 - 2018-05-19 | Crosstown Arts, Screening Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Screenings of Ash 01 (2016) by artist James Benning. 20 minutes.
The film will screen at 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, and 5 pm.
Sign up for a screening time

Curated by Terri Phillips and Brian Pera

The Wish Book series is a triannual exhibition with a focus on artists’ films. Curators Brian Pera and Terri Phillips welcome internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, and critics to Memphis for this exciting new series, which takes its name from the famed Sears Catalog and is hosted by Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, itself once a major Sears distribution center. Drawing from a wide range of topics, techniques, and perspectives, the films index the scope of work being done by artists in moving pictures.

About the Artist:
James Benning has sometimes been referred to as a “filmmaker’s filmmaker”, though he might prefer the more succinct “artist.” Alternately telescopic and microscopic, his work often explores the American landscape and its social and environmental histories, observing the movements and moments which characterize it in endlessly mutable patterns.
Equally painterly, sculptural, and literate, his films combine elements of sound and image in ways which invite interpretation through a uniquely cinematic immersion. Landscape is a function of time, according to Benning, and duration plays an important role in a viewer’s experience of his films, endowing most of the work with distinctly cumulative effects.
The film’s narratives are generated by the highly subjective experience of prolonged observation. The rigorous formality of his approach generates meditations on place and memory, prompting viewers to look more closely and differently at the spaces we inhabit.
In an environment increasingly mapped out by remote third party GPS systems, Benning’s work reminds us what it is to see for ourselves. Benning began making films in the 1970s. Wish Book presents a selection of his most recent work, much of which revisits and expands upon themes and motifs consistent throughout his oeuvre.

Wish Book: James Benning Reception & Screening
2018-05-19 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Opening reception for selected work by James Benning | Curated by Terri Phillips and Brian Pera
Reception, filmmaker Q&A, and screening of measuring change (60 min), 2016

The Wish Book series is a triannual exhibition with a focus on artists’ films. Curators Brian Pera and Terri Phillips welcome internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, and critics to Memphis for this exciting new series, which takes its name from the famed Sears Catalog and is hosted by Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, itself once a major Sears distribution center. Drawing from a wide range of topics, techniques, and perspectives, the films index the scope of work being done by artists in moving pictures.

About the Artist:
James Benning has sometimes been referred to as a “filmmaker’s filmmaker”, though he might prefer the more succinct “artist.” Alternately telescopic and microscopic, his work often explores the American landscape and its social and environmental histories, observing the movements and moments which characterize it in endlessly mutable patterns.
Equally painterly, sculptural, and literate, his films combine elements of sound and image in ways which invite interpretation through a uniquely cinematic immersion. Landscape is a function of time, according to Benning, and duration plays an important role in a viewer’s experience of his films, endowing most of the work with distinctly cumulative effects.
The film’s narratives are generated by the highly subjective experience of prolonged observation. The rigorous formality of his approach generates meditations on place and memory, prompting viewers to look more closely and differently at the spaces we inhabit.
In an environment increasingly mapped out by remote third party GPS systems, Benning’s work reminds us what it is to see for ourselves. Benning began making films in the 1970s. Wish Book presents a selection of his most recent work, much of which revisits and expands upon themes and motifs consistent throughout his oeuvre.

Wish Book: Screening of James Benning's READERS
2018-05-19 - 2018-05-20 | Crosstown Arts, Screening Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Screenings of READERS (2017) by artist James Benning. 108 minutes.
The film will screen at 1 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm.
Sign up for a screening time

Curated by Terri Phillips and Brian Pera

The Wish Book series is a triannual exhibition with a focus on artists’ films. Curators Brian Pera and Terri Phillips welcome internationally recognized artists, filmmakers, and critics to Memphis for this exciting new series, which takes its name from the famed Sears Catalog and is hosted by Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, itself once a major Sears distribution center. Drawing from a wide range of topics, techniques, and perspectives, the films index the scope of work being done by artists in moving pictures.

About the Artist:
James Benning has sometimes been referred to as a “filmmaker’s filmmaker”, though he might prefer the more succinct “artist.” Alternately telescopic and microscopic, his work often explores the American landscape and its social and environmental histories, observing the movements and moments which characterize it in endlessly mutable patterns.
Equally painterly, sculptural, and literate, his films combine elements of sound and image in ways which invite interpretation through a uniquely cinematic immersion. Landscape is a function of time, according to Benning, and duration plays an important role in a viewer’s experience of his films, endowing most of the work with distinctly cumulative effects.
The film’s narratives are generated by the highly subjective experience of prolonged observation. The rigorous formality of his approach generates meditations on place and memory, prompting viewers to look more closely and differently at the spaces we inhabit.
In an environment increasingly mapped out by remote third party GPS systems, Benning’s work reminds us what it is to see for ourselves. Benning began making films in the 1970s. Wish Book presents a selection of his most recent work, much of which revisits and expands upon themes and motifs consistent throughout his oeuvre.

The Moonpie Project Presents: Detour
2018-05-22 07:00 - 07:30 | Crosstown Concourse, Big Stair, 1350 Concourse Ave., 2nd floor Central Atrium, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Artist Detour will present an artist talk at Food for Thought, a weekly lecture series on the Crosstown Concourse Theater Stair. Detour is the latest Moonpie Project artist, and he’ll be creating a mural in an alley across the street from Crosstown Concourse.
Mural location: Crosstown Arts alley between 430 & 438 N. Cleveland

The Moonpie Project is an ongoing, rotating mural series curated by Michael Roy in memory of muralist Brad Wells
Organized in collaboration with Crosstown Arts

About the artist:
My current art focus is all about connecting music and fine arts through traditional methods and technology. Accenting my focus, the sights, sounds, and issues surrounding urban culture shape the way I approach the creation of concepts, use of tools, and overall execution of my work.

Much of my work consists of channeling concepts and issues about the urban arts culture through portraits of minority and urban subjects. The portraits tackle issues ranging from the serious, to the bastardization of a culture, to the light-hearted, to breakdancing. Some portraits open a window into the inner workings of a certain community, while other paintings simply try to enhance the audience’s experience.

The tools I use to develop my work are not limited to any one medium. My goal is to capture every sense of my audience, thus breaking down barriers and making it easier to be engulfed in the canvas. I see these senses as building blocks for bridges between the viewer and the messages I’m communicating. The more blocks I use, the better the viewer will receive the message.

The Art of Kathryn James
2018-05-25 13:00 - 2018-05-26 16:00 | TN
Exhibition of handmade items by Kathryn James | Curated by Jenna Fergus
Donations accepted for Alzheimers and Dementia Services.
Donna James Regel’s Mom, Kathryn James, has been practicing the craft of crochet since she was six years old. This exhibit of tablecloths, bedspreads, clothing, doilies, and other beautiful items of her life are a celebration of all she has made. Her intricate art works will be displayed as a labyrinth of comfort to exemplify the love Kathryn James showed to her family through her handicraft. This art exhibition supports the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Services of Memphis.

Pinkney Herbert — Distilled: The Narrative Transformed
2018-05-25 - 2018-07-03 | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A 30-year survey of Pinkney Herbert’s vibrant body of work.
This exhibition tracks Herbert’s transition from his narrative beginnings through the development of a personal abstract vocabulary that both thrills and seduces the viewer.
Opening reception: Saturday, May 26, 6-9 pm
Curated by Sam Yates, T. Michael Martin, and David Lusk in collaboration with Crosstown Arts

Artist Statement:
Since 2008, I have divided my time between Memphis and New York. Working in both cities has inspired a sense of exploration and a certain amount of nervous energy in my paintings and drawings. My intent is to allow for the funky, raw history of Memphis to collide with the frenetic energy of New York City. This dichotomy fires my intuitive impulses, allowing them to surface and meet head​-on in an ever-changing conflict​ between the emotional and the cerebral. The gestural marks I make attempt to bridge that gap. I am influenced by many other sources, including the figure, architecture, maps, water, music, urban imagery, and digital technology. During the last few years, my goal has been to expand my abstract language to question and illuminate the connections and contradictions between my interior world and the real world.
About the Artist:
Pinkney Herbert was born in Charlotte, NC in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Herbert is the recipient of Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and USIA-Arts America. He is has exhibited throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His art is in numerous national and international collections and in the permanent collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and the Arkansas Arts Center, among others.
Herbert is represented by David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN; Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Boyd Satellite, New Orleans, LA; ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA; and Greg Thompson Fine Arts, North Little Rock, AR. He is a fellow and has served as trustee of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Amherst, VA (2008-2017). He currently serves as president of VCCA-France, a residency program in Auvillar, France, and has served on that board since 2009. He is also the founding director of Marshall Arts, an alternative gallery, performance, and studio space he established in Memphis in 1992. For the past ten years, he has divided his time equally between New York and Memphis.
In November 2015, the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville mounted a 30-year survey of Herbert’s work entitled Distilled: The Narrative Transformed. In 2013-2014, Herbert was awarded a year-long studio as part of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program in Brooklyn, NY.
Herbert has taught painting and drawing at the University of Georgia Study Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, and also at the Penland School of Crafts, the Arrowmont School, the Telluride School of Painting, Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and the Memphis College of Art. He has been a visiting artist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland; the Institute of Fine Arts, Lahti, Finland; the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic; University of Fine Arts, Hanoi, Vietnam; and the Oberfalzer Kuntzlerhaus, Schwandorf, Germany.

Opening Reception — Distilled: The Narrative Transformed
2018-05-26 13:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A 30-year survey of Pinkney Herbert’s vibrant body of work.
This exhibition tracks Herbert’s transition from his narrative beginnings through the development of a personal abstract vocabulary that both thrills and seduces the viewer.
On view through through July 3
Curated by Sam Yates, T. Michael Martin, and David Lusk in collaboration with Crosstown Arts

Artist Statement:
Since 2008, I have divided my time between Memphis and New York. Working in both cities has inspired a sense of exploration and a certain amount of nervous energy in my paintings and drawings. My intent is to allow for the funky, raw history of Memphis to collide with the frenetic energy of New York City. This dichotomy fires my intuitive impulses, allowing them to surface and meet head​-on in an ever-changing conflict​ between the emotional and the cerebral. The gestural marks I make attempt to bridge that gap. I am influenced by many other sources, including the figure, architecture, maps, water, music, urban imagery, and digital technology. During the last few years, my goal has been to expand my abstract language to question and illuminate the connections and contradictions between my interior world and the real world.
About the Artist:
Pinkney Herbert was born in Charlotte, NC in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Herbert is the recipient of Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and USIA-Arts America. He is has exhibited throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His art is in numerous national and international collections and in the permanent collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and the Arkansas Arts Center, among others.
Herbert is represented by David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN; Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Boyd Satellite, New Orleans, LA; ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA; and Greg Thompson Fine Arts, North Little Rock, AR. He is a fellow and has served as trustee of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Amherst, VA (2008-2017). He currently serves as president of VCCA-France, a residency program in Auvillar, France, and has served on that board since 2009. He is also the founding director of Marshall Arts, an alternative gallery, performance, and studio space he established in Memphis in 1992. For the past ten years, he has divided his time equally between New York and Memphis.
In November 2015, the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville mounted a 30-year survey of Herbert’s work entitled Distilled: The Narrative Transformed. In 2013-2014, Herbert was awarded a year-long studio as part of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program in Brooklyn, NY.
Herbert has taught painting and drawing at the University of Georgia Study Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, and also at the Penland School of Crafts, the Arrowmont School, the Telluride School of Painting, Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and the Memphis College of Art. He has been a visiting artist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland; the Institute of Fine Arts, Lahti, Finland; the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic; University of Fine Arts, Hanoi, Vietnam; and the Oberfalzer Kuntzlerhaus, Schwandorf, Germany.

Indie Wednesdays
2018-05-30 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Weekly film screenings hosted by Indie Memphis. Films will screen at Crosstown Arts, Malco’s Studio on the Square, and Ridgeway Theatre on a rotating basis.
This week: Valerie & Her Week of Wonders (1970) — A girl on the verge of womanhood finds herself in a sensual fantasyland of vampires, witchcraft, and other threats in this eerie and mystical movie daydream. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders serves up an endlessly looping, nonlinear fairy tale, set in a quasi-medieval landscape. Ravishingly shot, enchantingly scored, and spilling over with surreal fancies, this enticing phantasmagoria from director Jaromil Jireš is among the most beautiful oddities of the Czechoslovak New Wave.
Admission is pay-what-you-can | Presented by Orion
In conjunction with Memphis in May, honoring the Czech Republic

The Battle for Cooper-Young
2018-05-30 - 2018-06-02 | TN
Protest art by Nick Canterucci.
Opening reception: Thursday, May 31, 6-9 pm
On view through June 2
Free exhibit booklet while supplies last

Back from a hiatus due to a heart attack , outsider artist Nick Canterucci returns with his 15th exhibit “The Battle for Cooper-Young.”
The exhibit deals with the artist’s opposition on how the camera program, as set up by the Cooper-Young Neighborhood Watch, has been unfolding over the past two years. A coffee table booklet of the exhibit with essays on the posters, will be given out for FREE, while supplies last.
A scintillating look at the new world order, that is currently in VOGUE in Cooper -Young.

YokYok From France to Memphis
2018-06-03 08:00 - 09:00 | Crosstown Concourse, Big Stair, 1350 Concourse Ave., 2nd floor Central Atrium, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Paris-based artist group Alterier YokYok will present a talk about Treedom, a place-making initiative and art installation located on A.W. Willis between Second and Third Streets in the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC).
YokYok artists will also discuss other similar projects they have worked on around the world.
After the talk, there will be a group bicycle ride from Crosstown Concourse to the installation site. MMDC will serve popsicles at the site.

About the artist:

YokYok tries to adopt different project scales, from urban projects to micro-architecture. Ephemeral installations, rehabilitation, transformation, mobile, light, or long-term evolutionary projects are many tools that can give life to object-architecture and that are settled throughout their work.
YokYok has the ambition to enlarge architecture fields. Timescales, as well as size scales, specific to each project, lead architecture to merge with other disciplines (landscape design, urban design, contemporary art, scenography, photography, video).
YokYok was founded in 2009 by Steven Fuhrman, Samson Lacoste, and Luc Pinsard after they received degrees at the school of architecture Paris-Val-de-Seine.

Indigo Island Album Release Show
2018-06-03 12:00 - 15:00 | TN
Presented by Kina del Mar
With special guests Major and Mane Called Hawk
Free admission
Organized by the artist

Shoot & Splice: Filming on Film
2018-06-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
Many filmmakers might argue that the film vs. digital debate is dead in the water and that digital has finally won out for good. But many of the major releases in 2017 were actually shot entirely, or at least partially, on film, including Wonder Woman, The Post, Justice League, Phantom Thread, The Florida Project and I, Tonya.
Join Memphis film-making pioneer Mike McCarthy in a discussion about his own experiences shooting on film, why a filmmaker in 2018 might choose to shoot on film, and where to find resources to do so.
Mike McCarthy is an artist, musician, writer, filmmaker, and Memphian by way of Tupelo, Mississippi. Mike released his first full-length film, Damselvis, Daughter of Helvis in 1994 and has been making films ever since. Some of Mike’s films include Teenage Tupelo, The Sore Losers, Superstarlet A.D., and Cigarette Girl. Mike is currently working with a non-profit TV station in Albany, Mississippi, called Hill Country Network to develop new programming.
Shoot & Splice is a monthly forum for filmmakers presented collaboratively by Crosstown Arts & Indie Memphis.
Free and open to the public
Doors at 6:30 pm | discussion at 7 pm

MicroCinema Club
2018-06-06 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Monthly short film screening series, presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts.
This month: Rural Route Tour
Screening Plaid “Do Matter,” The Poacher, Volcano Island, UFO Days, The Tale of Hellbilly, Kalb, Hairat, dragons & seraphim, and The Rabbit Hunt.
Doors at 6:30 pm | Screening at 7 pm. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

Voices Up! Open Mic
2018-06-11 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Concourse, Big Stair, 1350 Concourse Ave., 2nd floor Central Atrium, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Sign up to perform original spoken word about whatever subject you choose. Or simply come and enjoy.
The Crosstown Arts youth beat-making workshop taught by Sunny Dizzle will present its final culmination of work through a beat battle. Original music by youth will be showcased throughout this event.
Location: Crosstown Concourse Theatre Stair, 2nd Floor of the Central Atrium
Hosted by Crosstown Arts

Twenty spots available for poets. To sign up, email jazmin@crosstownarts.org. Please list “Voices Up!” in the subject line of your email, plus your name, age, and the title of the spoken word piece that you will perform. In the event that all 20 spots do not fill up, open sign-ups are welcome before event begins.

The guidelines:

Subject matter of can pertain to anything.
Performers must be 13 and up.
Each performance has a 3-minute limit.
Individual and group signups are welcome. One group counts as one signup.
This event is not a competitive slam, simply an open mic.
The first 20 individuals/groups to email jazmin@crosstownarts.org will be listed in the line-up. Ten spots are reserved for teens. A waiting list will be kept in case performers cancel.
Remember that kids will be present. Chose your (strong) words and subjects wisely.

Open Crit
2018-06-12 13:00 - 15:00 | TN
Facilitator – Mary Jo Karimnia

Presenting Artists – Khara Woods, Meredith Wilson, Melissa Farris, Erica Qualy, Eric Painter

Crosstown Arts’ Open Crit series is a monthly critique event where visual artists are invited to bring new and/or in-progress studio work for critical feedback and group discussion particular to each artist’s practice.
A dedicated facilitator with experience in a group critique setting will guide discussion for each critique event, which will include up to 4 artists’ work, with 15-25 minutes devoted to the work of each.
All visual artists and anyone interested in joining the discussion are welcome to participate regardless of their level of expertise, prior professional art experience or background/education in fine art. Participation is free and open to the public. Input during the critiques from everyone in attendance is welcomed and encouraged.
No formal preparation is necessary for participating artists, who will have an opportunity to introduce and contextualize their work on view at the beginning of each critique. Participating artists are only asked to be open to (and interested in) considering reactions to their work by the group, which will always be done in a supportive, constructive and casual environment, but could at the same time be challenging.
Special thanks to Art Center for donating a $25 gift certificate for each participating artist.

To participate, artists can sign up here:
Open Crit Request form

Contact Mary Jo at maryjo@crosstownarts.org with any questions!
Artists are asked to bring no more than 8 individual pieces (in any medium). Maximum run time for time-based work(s) is 10 minutes.
Participating artists are encouraged to invite friends, peers and colleagues to the open crits, both to see their work in progress and to give constructive feedback.

Pinkney Herbert: Artist Talk
2018-06-13 13:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Artist Pinkney Herbert will discuss his work in Distilled: The Narrative Transformed, which will be on view at Crosstown Arts May 26-July 4.

This 30-year survey of Herbert’s work tracks his transition from narrative beginnings through the development of a personal abstract vocabulary that both thrills and seduces the viewer.

Artist Statement:
Since 2008, I have divided my time between Memphis and New York. Working in both cities has inspired a sense of exploration and a certain amount of nervous energy in my paintings and drawings. My intent is to allow for the funky, raw history of Memphis to collide with the frenetic energy of New York City. This dichotomy fires my intuitive impulses, allowing them to surface and meet head​-on in an ever-changing conflict​ between the emotional and the cerebral. The gestural marks I make attempt to bridge that gap. I am influenced by many other sources, including the figure, architecture, maps, water, music, urban imagery, and digital technology. During the last few years, my goal has been to expand my abstract language to question and illuminate the connections and contradictions between my interior world and the real world.

About the Artist:
Pinkney Herbert was born in Charlotte, NC in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Herbert is the recipient of Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and USIA-Arts America. He is has exhibited throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His art is in numerous national and international collections and in the permanent collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and the Arkansas Arts Center, among others.
Herbert is represented by David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN; Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Boyd Satellite, New Orleans, LA; ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA; and Greg Thompson Fine Arts, North Little Rock, AR. He is a fellow and has served as trustee of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Amherst, VA (2008-2017). He currently serves as president of VCCA-France, a residency program in Auvillar, France, and has served on that board since 2009. He is also the founding director of Marshall Arts, an alternative gallery, performance, and studio space he established in Memphis in 1992. For the past ten years, he has divided his time equally between New York and Memphis.
In November 2015, the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville mounted a 30-year survey of Herbert’s work entitled Distilled: The Narrative Transformed. In 2013-2014, Herbert was awarded a year-long studio as part of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program in Brooklyn, NY.
Herbert has taught painting and drawing at the University of Georgia Study Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, and also at the Penland School of Crafts, the Arrowmont School, the Telluride School of Painting, Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and the Memphis College of Art. He has been a visiting artist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland; the Institute of Fine Arts, Lahti, Finland; the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic; University of Fine Arts, Hanoi, Vietnam; and the Oberfalzer Kuntzlerhaus, Schwandorf, Germany.

Screening of The Departure
2018-06-13 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Indie Memphis presents a screening of The Departure.
Ittetsu Nemoto, a former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan, has made a career out of helping suicidal people find reasons to live. But this work has come increasingly at the cost of his own family and health, as he refuses to draw lines between his patients and himself. THE DEPARTURE captures Nemoto at a crossroads, when his growing self-destructive tendencies lead him to confront the same question his patients ask him: what makes life worth living?
Featuring Q&A with Mike LaBonte (Memphis Crisis Center) and Joann Self Selvidge (Memphis Women in Film).

MTA Art Show
2018-06-14 12:00 - 16:00 | TN
Live music, art, poetry, & food
Featuring work by Antonio Yates, Andrew Heredia, Pachone Jackson, Nardo Franklin, Art Woody, Rachel, and Toshay the Artist
Performances by Raven Cawthon, Damon Drew, Exotic Li, Alexia, and more
Organized by the artist

Blueshift Ensemble with ICEBERG New Music
2018-06-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Concourse, Central Atrium, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN
Blueshift Ensemble is collaborating with ICEBERG New Music to present a free concert in the Crosstown Concourse Central Atrium.
ICEBERG New Music is a New York City-based collective of composers who will be spending a week in Memphis working with Blueshift musicians to put on a performance of their compositions. Sponsored in part by Amro Music.
Free (donations accepted)
Program:
String Quartet No. 4 “Aftermath” by Harry Stafylakis
Imogen for flute and piano by Stephanie Ann Boyd
The Impossible Object for violin and piano by Alex Burtzos
String Quartet No. 1 “Earth Tones” by Jonathan Russ
Kill James for bassoon, cello, and piano by Derek Cooper

About ICEBERG New Music:
Founded by composer Alex Burtzos in 2016, ICEBERG new music is a collective of ten young composers based in New York City. The mission of the organization is to promote the idea that substance – not surface – is the heart of music creation and perception. We live in an era where dogma is out of place; composers can, and should, draw from an unprecedentedly broad array of influences in their work – including popular music, avant-garde techniques, and everything in between. The ten ICEBERG composers hail from different schools and cultivate radically different sounds, but their contrasting musical languages belie shared emphasis on structure and depth of meaning. When these artists compose for the same ensemble and present their works during a joint concert, the result is a glimpse into the ever-widening possibilities of art music in the twenty-first century. ICEBERG is committed to radical stylistic inclusiveness, excellence of craft, dialogue with the audience, and a modernization of the concert-going experience.

About Blueshift Ensemble:
Blueshift is a Memphis-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration. By programming both new and existing classical repertoire alongside multi-genre collaborations, Blueshift aims to connect a wider audience to today’s classical music. The ensemble draws upon Memphis’s uniquely diverse musical heritage by combining classical music with popular music genres such as rock, blues, and soul and featuring local musicians, visual artists, and composers.

The Music of Michael Brecker
2018-06-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
Tickets: $15 (purchase on Eventbrite)
Doors at 6:30 pm | show at 7 pm
Jazz tribute to saxophonist Michael Brecker featuring Lannie McMillian (tenor sax), Tony Thomas (piano), Austin Bradley (drums), Gerard Harris (guitar), and Scott Reed (bass).
The Crosstown Jazz Series, presented by Strictly Jazz Entertainment in collaboration with Crosstown Arts, is designed to salute classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends.
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 2004, and was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2007.

About Lannie McMillan:
Lannie McMillan is a lifelong, full-time jazz performer. Lannie graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education. He has been a staff musician at many recording studios including Stax Records, Shoe Productions, and the Hi-Cream Studios. He has also performed with many well-known jazz artists, such as Stan Kenton, Buddy DeFranco, Lou Soloff, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Maynard Ferguson, and Don Menza. In addition, he participated in a blues seminar given at King George College and performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1993. Lannie McMillian is the featured saxophonist for Sunday Brunch at Owen Brennans.

About Strictly Jazz Entertainment:
Strictly Jazz Entertainment is committed to cultivating a growing community in the knowledge and appreciation of jazz. We facilitate dialogue and collaboration between the devoted supporters of jazz and the brand new constituents – those new to the genre – for the furthering of the jazz community. We provide a bridge between leading artists and a community that typically does not embrace jazz by promoting concerts in various venues to generate an atmosphere that is viable for the absorption of pure jazz.

Workshop: Getting Medieval — Ancient Techniques in the Music of Radiohead
2018-06-16 08:00 - 08:45 | Crosstown Arts, East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, United States
ICEBERG New Music composer Alex Burtzos will lead a free workshop on ancient techniques in the music of Radiohead.
Free | 45 minutes
ICEBERG New Music is a New York City-based collective of composers who will be spending a week in Memphis working with Blueshift musicians to put on a performance of their compositions on Thursday, June 14, 7 pm. Sponsored in part by Amro Music.

About ICEBERG New Music:
Founded by composer Alex Burtzos in 2016, ICEBERG new music is a collective of ten young composers based in New York City. The mission of the organization is to promote the idea that substance – not surface – is the heart of music creation and perception. We live in an era where dogma is out of place; composers can, and should, draw from an unprecedentedly broad array of influences in their work – including popular music, avant-garde techniques, and everything in between. The ten ICEBERG composers hail from different schools and cultivate radically different sounds, but their contrasting musical languages belie shared emphasis on structure and depth of meaning. When these artists compose for the same ensemble and present their works during a joint concert, the result is a glimpse into the ever-widening possibilities of art music in the twenty-first century. ICEBERG is committed to radical stylistic inclusiveness, excellence of craft, dialogue with the audience, and a modernization of the concert-going experience.

About Blueshift Ensemble:
Blueshift is a Memphis-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration. By programming both new and existing classical repertoire alongside multi-genre collaborations, Blueshift aims to connect a wider audience to today’s classical music. The ensemble draws upon Memphis’s uniquely diverse musical heritage by combining classical music with popular music genres such as rock, blues, and soul and featuring local musicians, visual artists, and composers.

Workshop: So You Don't Like New Music ...
2018-06-16 09:00 - 10:00 | Crosstown Arts, East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, United States
ICEBERG New Music composer Derek Cooper will lead a workshop called “So You Don’t Like New Music … A Suggestive Way to Listen to Contemporary Classical Music.”
Free
ICEBERG New Music is a New York City-based collective of composers who will be spending a week in Memphis working with Blueshift musicians to put on a performance of their compositions on Thursday, June 14, 7 pm. Sponsored in part by Amro Music.

About ICEBERG New Music:
Founded by composer Alex Burtzos in 2016, ICEBERG new music is a collective of ten young composers based in New York City. The mission of the organization is to promote the idea that substance – not surface – is the heart of music creation and perception. We live in an era where dogma is out of place; composers can, and should, draw from an unprecedentedly broad array of influences in their work – including popular music, avant-garde techniques, and everything in between. The ten ICEBERG composers hail from different schools and cultivate radically different sounds, but their contrasting musical languages belie shared emphasis on structure and depth of meaning. When these artists compose for the same ensemble and present their works during a joint concert, the result is a glimpse into the ever-widening possibilities of art music in the twenty-first century. ICEBERG is committed to radical stylistic inclusiveness, excellence of craft, dialogue with the audience, and a modernization of the concert-going experience.

About Blueshift Ensemble:
Blueshift is a Memphis-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration. By programming both new and existing classical repertoire alongside multi-genre collaborations, Blueshift aims to connect a wider audience to today’s classical music. The ensemble draws upon Memphis’s uniquely diverse musical heritage by combining classical music with popular music genres such as rock, blues, and soul and featuring local musicians, visual artists, and composers.

Memphis Concrete
2018-06-21 - 2018-06-24 | Crosstown Arts East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
Experimental electronic music festival featuring IMAKEMADBEATS, Circuit des Yeux, Negative Gemini, Gel Set, and many more.
Tickets are $15 a day or $40 for a weekend pass. Tickets are available here.
All performances will take place at Crosstown Arts inside Crosstown Concourse.

Full schedule:
Friday 6/22
Listening Room
5:00-5:30 Noiserpuss
5:40-6:10 M. Geddes Gengras
6:20-6:50 Cloudland Canyon
7:00-7:45 Mike Honeycutt
7:55-8:40 IMAKEMADBEATS
9:00-10:00 Circuit des Yeux
Atrium
5:10-5:40 signalsundertests
5:50-6:20 Kristina Warren
6:30-7:00 Mike Doughty
7:15-9:15 The Legend of Hell House (movie with live score)
Saturday 6/23
Listening Room
4:00-4:30 STARFIGHTER YELLOW SUPEROVERDRIVE
4:40-5:10 The Pop Ritual
5:20-5:50 Leslie Deere
6:00-6:30 Aesthetic Barrier
6:40-7:10 Tavishi
7:20-8:05 George Clanton
8:15-9:00 Gel Set
9:15-10:00 Negative Gemini

Atrium
4:10-4:40 A Minor Motion Picture
4:50-5:20 Andrew Raffo Dewar
5:30-6:00 Freak Effect
6:10-6:55 Sci Fi Industries
7:15-9:15 The Day the Earth Stood Still (movie with live score)
Sunday 6/24
Listening Room
3:00-3:30 Disco Volante
3:40-4:10 Alyssa Moore
4:20-4:50 Spookstina
5:00-5:30 ???
5:40-6:25 LInda Heck
6:35-7:20 Optic Sink
7:35-8:20 Alex Zhang Hungtai
8:30-9:00 Pharmakon
Atrium
3:10-3:40 Avery Vaughn
3:50-4:20 Jack the Giant Killer
4:30-5:00 The E.G.G.G.
5:30-8:30 Woman in the Moon (movie with live score)
