High Ground News Environmental Justice Initiative
In partnership with Urban Art Commission


Who Can Apply

Any artist from the Memphis area can apply. Residence in one of the four target neighborhoods—Klondike Smokey City, Hollywood Hyde Park, The Heights, and Orange Mound—is a plus but not required.

Any visual media is acceptable (for example: illustration, photography, comic art, painting). Artists will be selected by High Ground News and Urban Art Commission, and will receive a stipend.


How to Apply

Complete this online application form and email us 3 to 5 pictures of art you have created by Friday, February 18, 2022.

If you need a paper copy of the application form, or if you have questions, send us an email or call 901-246-3808.


What It’s About

High Ground News is working with Urban Art Commission on a series of stories about environmental justice at the neighborhood level.

Environmental justice is a response to environmental racism and focuses on how harm to the environment uniquely affects marginalized communities. Examples of environmental racism include placing dumps and factories in communities of color, and the health disparities created by unequal access to healthy food and clean water. 

Four of High Ground’s community correspondents are writing articles about environmental issues that have affected where they live. We are seeking four artists to provide visuals for each of these stories. The articles and accompanying art will be published online through High Ground News and also will be available in print.


About the organizers

High Ground News publishes sidewalk-level, solutions-oriented journalism for Memphis. We are focused on visionary people, businesses, and organizations making changes in our city.
Our signature On The Ground series embeds High Ground journalists in Memphis neighborhoods that are typically under-represented in traditional media. We strive to elevate resident voices and work alongside them whenever possible. We work to help all Memphians better understand the city’s diverse communities and their unique histories, assets, and challenges. 

Urban Art Commission 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.