Rhodes students put Memphis public art on the map

A group of Rhodes College students is putting Memphis art on the MAP. The Memphis Art Project is an effort through the college’s Visual Resources Center to document, track and share public art across Memphis’s communities with social media.

Through their website and Instagram, student urban explorers share photos of murals, sculptures, graffiti and temporary art installations. Tags for artist names, location and materials are helping to shape the city’s first comprehensive database of public art. People are encouraged to use the hashtag #memphisartproject to contribute their own photos to the initiative.

By connecting smartphones to urban exploration, MAP will change how Memphians and visitors interact with the city, according to Rosie Meindl, Curator of the Rhodes Visual Resources Center. The project also draws attention to overlooked Memphis neighborhoods, such as Orange Mound which has “a wealth of street art, both city sanctioned and of itinerant street artists.”

Ongoing projects include identifying Memphis areas that are lacking in public art and engaging with community organizations, such as the Urban Art Commission, to turn that around. Also in the works is promoting bus and bike routes that feature a lot of public art. “We’re looking for ways to make artwork more engaging. People can ride and have an art tour experience just for bus fare,” Meindl said.

“It shows how valuable these creative landmarks are and what big assets to the city. People are so driven to create them and engage with them,” she said. “We want to see the art sent to national repositories of public art.”

The MAP team is made up of five freshmen Rhodes students and one sophomore. The project was first started by Meindl’s predecessor Karen Brunsting, and it is supported by the Mellon Grant for Public Arts at Rhodes College and the Center for the Outreach and the Development of the Arts.

The project will have an official launch on April 25th in conjunction with the Vollintine & Evergreen Art Walk.