Memphis Art & Design Week

OCTOBER 3-10, 2020

In September 2019, 3RDSPACE announced that Young Collectors Contemporary was expanding city-wide as Memphis Art & Design Week.

Produced by 3RDSPACE, Memphis Art & Design Week is a result of wanting to unite artists and arts and cultural institutions. It welcomes all to hundreds of unique and creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive, and offers behind-the-scenes access to artists, arts institutions, and the creative process.

Launched in 2015 by 3RDSPACE as part of a strategy to strengthen the arts role in the national art narrative, local community, and the creative economy Memphis Art & Design Week’s growth has been explosive.

Memphis Art and Design Week will work with partners and artists for the development of neighborhood hubs with an expanding showcase of Memphis’s creative economy.

From proposed activations, MAD Week will offer self-guided tours, free events, as well as, ticketed events.

3RDSPACE will remain the lead programmer and will still host the annual art fair showcasing emerging artists, curators, and writers at it’s central location.

Memphis Art & Design Week is for all of us. We all play a part in building the culture.

whitney hardy, Founder | september 2019

Get Involved!

Click Graphics to Complete Application

Memphis Art & Design Week is a creative festival with a goal of offering 100s of hours of unique day and nighttime events in as many communities as possible.

Memphis Art and Design Week will work with partners and artists for the development of neighborhood hubs with an expanding showcase of Memphis’s creative economy.

From proposed activations, MAD Week will offer self-guided tours, free events, as well as, ticketed events.

Make a General Donation →

Art is rooted in the community. We invite artists and organization to submit traditional and nontraditional ideas for street activations, parties, creative marketing, installations, events, experiences, tours, workshops, talks, open studios, and exhibitions.

Volunteers are essential to the flow and dynamism of Memphis Art + Design Week. Whether you’re a school group, teacher, creative professional, retiree, or art enthusiast we can’t wait to work with you!

Sponsor Memphis Art and Design Week — Sponsor

Memphis Art + Design Week sponsorship is one of the most visible in the city. Our team wants to work with your team to meet your business impact. Promotional opportunities include but are not limited to digital promotion, food and beverage sponsorship, open studio sponsors, party and experience sponsors.

Ideas, installations, and innovations from local and national artists and designers need a space to be presented. If you have a safe and cool space, and want to open your doors to the community, please complete the application and we will pair an Open Call selected artist/designer with your venue.

FAQs

We are excited to host the inaugural Memphis Art & Design Week. Help us showcase the best of art and design in Memphis, start provoking conversations, teach attendees a new skill. This is a celebration of all things art and design in Memphis. The traditional to the experimental. We welcome all to submit a proposal. We’ve put together the following common questions to provide guidance.

+ WHY HOST DURING Memphis art & DESIGN WEEK?

Memphis Art and Design Week is for the community. It is a curation of proposals from YOU, the art and design community. We know you have expertise to share, work to showcase, and ideas on how to make art, design, Memphis, and the world better. Hosting an event is your chance to be creative and engage Memphis designers, community members and visitors in an event led by you!

+ define art & Design?

Art & Design has a strong relationship. There’s a lot you can find! Google says this. We are inclusive of visual artists, graphic designers, landscape designers, architects, experimental artists, the merger of art x design x technology, and what our community continues to create and define as art and design. Submit a proposal!

+ WHat about the artists application for the art fair?

Since 2014 Young Collectors Contemporary has selected emerging artists from an open call application process and by invitation by our advisory board of art critics, collectors, curators, and more. The YCC art fair will now be the art fair housed at the hub location for the week. The art fair open call is open all Memphians and beyond with a focus on artists from underestimated non-coastal cities, women artists, black and ALAANA artists. Host an Event Proposal and YCC Art Fair Application are NOT the same.

+ WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?

Memphis Art & Design Week's programs are curated by the MAD Week Advisory Board and Committees. Unfortunately we cannot accept every event, so please keep reading to learn about what we look for when reviewing proposals.

We encourage collaborative events that straddle art and design disciplines, interactive events that allow attendees to meet other people and get their hands dirty, and high quality events that offer a fresh perspective.

We love featuring big brands and design studios, but we are also very focused on highlighting small practices, studios, new ideas, and individual contributors.

All proposals are reviewed and selected by MAD Week Selection Committee.

+ EVENT TYPES

We have a variety of event types to choose from, and you can also choose to create your own format. Please see below for descriptions of each event type and examples of past successful events.

WORKSHOPS

Workshops are typically 1.5-2 hours. As with all ADW programming, workshops will be free for all attendees. Materials and AV requirements are the responsibility of the facilitator of the workshop experience. Workshops should be hands-on and accessible to the intended audience.

Past Workshop Hosts

Creative Many (Detroit)
Sotheby’s Institute (NYC)

STUDIO TOURS AND OPEN HOUSES

These can be a simple walkthrough of your studio space or a quick demonstration of what your creative firm does through interactive experiences. Make it your own and keep in mind we promote Studio Tours daily from 2pm-6pm. Many hosts provide food as a part of the experience but it is not required.

Past Studio Tours:

NexAir Private Collection
Marshall Arts Gallery & Studios
Private Collection of Dr. James Patterson

PANELS & TALKS

Panels or talks with multiple speakers should have a diverse group of perspectives and identities represented.

Past Featured Panels:

Allison Glenn, Crystal Bridges Museum of Art
Taylor Renee Aldridge, Arts.Black
Rog and Bee Walker, Paper Monday
and numerous artist talks

FEATURED EVENTS

Featured events should expose + engage all of Memphis in a dialogue as to how design impacts our lives and how we can take on a more active role in how anyone can find a place in the conversation.

Featured Event Examples :

Masterclass with De Nichols at The National Civil Rights Museum (2019)
Art & Community Masterclass with Roseann Weiss sponsored by BLDG Memphis(2018)

GET CREATIVE!

This is where you can get creative. Propose an event in a format that doesn't fit in one of the above categories. It can be an interactive installation, a new form of exploration, or anything else you imagine.

+What does it cost to participate?

MAD Week implements a hosting fee. It’s important for us to have hosts that are fully dedicated to the event and understand the value of being part of a big community collaboration. We are also looking for support for all of those involved to keep MAD Week running and free to all attendees.

We will continue to offer the same curation and host support in resources, venues, technical AV and event coaching to help make your event the best it can be!

If you are selected to participate, you must pay the fee before being added to the MAD Week schedule:

Individual - $75

Non-profit/ Studio Group/Government - $500

Corporate -See Sponsorship Details

We know we receive some of the best ideas from people in our community for whom the fee may cause financial hardship. If this is the case for you, you can request a scholarship in the application. We don’t want this fee to stop anyone from proposing or participating and will evaluate on a case by case basis.

Please also factor additional costs you may incur while hosting the event, including:

Space: MAD Week provides event space for those hosting workshops. All other event types will need to source their venue and take venue cost into consideration. In some cases, MAD Week may be able to help locate a venue.

F&B: If you are planning to have food or alcohol at your event you may need to supply event insurance and have a liquor license. Consider these in your event supply cost.

Supplies: If you are hosting a workshop that will need to bring your own supplies.

Permitting or Insurance: Please confirm with your venue what permitting or insurance is required.

+ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE CALL FOR PROPOSAL FORM?

We want to help you prepare to fill out the proposal form. You cannot save as you go so please have the following information ready when you go to submit:

Presenter Information

Presenter name, email, phone number, place of work

On whose behalf are you submitting this proposal? (yourself, a non-profit or government organization, or a company)

Social Media details

Point of contact for the event (if it's someone other than you)

Event information

Event format

Event description

Intended audience

Pre-requisites

Level of knowledge

Event location