Grantee Stories

Memphis Black Arts Alliance In the decade following Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis, many black-led organizations that faced challenges to thrive on their own, began an alliance of 19 black arts organizations led by Bennie Nelson West.  Today, the MBAA is dedicated to the “…preservation, celebration and advancement of African American arts, culture and literature…”  according to West’s successor, current executive director,... Read More

Opera Memphis Opera Memphis has a national reputation for working to ensure that opera is accessible to all. This reputation is rooted in the 1950s, when world-renowned vocal performer Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave did her part to ensure that opera in Memphis was accessible to everyone in the community.  Talbert- McCleave broke with convention by extending an invitation for national touring opera singers to perform for black audiences in Memphis at what is now LeMoyne-Owen College at... Read More

Quark Theatre Quark Theater’s production of Pulitzer nominee Will Eno’s Wakey, Wakey, is described by company co-founder, Adam Remsen, as “a funny, thoughtful, at times tearful, examination of what it means to be human”. The grant from ArtsMemphis helped create a production that is more technically involved than the company’s previous stripped-down approach.  As one of ArtsMemphis’ newest operating support grantee, the company is energized as it... Read More