Culture
Lead: Memphis Music Initiative
Partners: Center for Transforming Communities, Innovate Memphis, Collage Dance, Orpheum, TONE, National Civil Rights Museum
Culture is defined as: (1) relating to the habits, beliefs, and traditions of a certain people, and (2) relating to the arts (as music, dance, or painting). This focus area addresses both meanings. This focus area will examine the unique cultural elements of the city that need to be preserved and cultivated to ensure that Memphis will always be Memphis including honoring and uplifting the movements for civil rights and social justice. In addition, the group will consider how to promote and expand the arts, music, and recreation as a system and economic driver in ways that are consistent with the Memphis context.
Workgroup Members
Rychetta Watkins - Project Lead
Tonya Meeks - Lead Facilitator
Amy Ruggaber - Social Policy Consultant
Nadifah Abdur-Rasheed
Julian Anderson
Ty Boyland
Santana Cooper
Madisyn Euell
Dorimar Ferrer
Lyric Franklin
Marte'cus Johnson
Ryan Jones
Stellan Knowles
Cequita Mckennley
Tydre McKenzie
Karon Samuels
Allyson Smith
Ruth Abigail Smith
Kathy Temple
Anasa Troutman
Mya Wallace
Partners
Memphis Music Initiative
Invests in youth through transformative music engagement, creating equitable opportunities for black and brown youth in Memphis.
Center for Transforming Communities
Builds up the cultural, economic, social, physical, and municipal health of neighborhoods by bridging the gap between residents and institutions and connecting the voice of a community to its power (through ethical storytelling and asset-based community development).
Innovate Memphis
Works with diverse stakeholders to collaborate across public, private, and non-profit sectors to understand the root causes of long-standing challenges and generate solutions from ideation to scale, deliver, and sustain.
Collage Dance Collective
Memphis-based Black-led professional dance company advocating for diversity in ballet and expanding access to classical training to communities of color.
Orpheum Theatre Group
Utilizes the performing arts to entertain, educate, and enlighten while preserving the historic Orpheum Theatre and the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education.
TONE
Champions black art and culture in Memphis through a range of programming and community engagement.
National Civil Rights Museum
Chronicles the American civil rights movement and tells the story of the ongoing struggle for human rights. Educates and serves as a catalyst to inspire action to create positive social change.
