[8:39] >> Good morning, colleagues in the city of Memphis and.

[8:44] I call to order the Arts & Youth Initiatives Committee,

[8:48] August 18th 2026, at 10:35 AM.

[8:55] Would you please call the roll?

[9:00] >> (Calling roll)

[9:04] >> Colleagues, we have two updates and presentations today.

[9:09] So there will be no voting today,

[9:11] but first we have an update from the urban Art

[9:16] Commission requested by Chairwoman

[9:23] Swearengen-Washington.

[9:26] Good morning, director.

[9:30] >> Good morning.

[9:32] >> If you can just say your name,

[9:34] give an address for the record, and you can proceed

[9:36] on your presentation.

[9:39] >> Lakisha Edwards, 42 North Cleveland, Memphis, Tennessee.

[9:46] Today I wanted to give a brief update on our FY27 projects

[9:54] that we will be beginning, of course, going into this fall,

[9:58] then also a quick update on FY26,

[10:02] specifically the fellowship program.

[10:05] I gave some handouts.

[10:06] They should be in front of your podiums.

[10:11] One of the things that I also wanted to mention is, of course,

[10:16] we are always going to put in this little funding overview --

[10:21] it's on the back -- of what the ordinance provides,

[10:24] can be received by Urban Art Commission,

[10:28] versus what we actually receive.

[10:30] There is a significant gap in that funding.

[10:31] We received a reduction in funding on our maintenance.

[10:34] I just wanted to make sure that I communicated that,

[10:37] just in case it wasn't widely known, simply

[10:42] because we had a lot of discussions last year, and also

[10:47] earlier this year, regarding maintenance and the need

[10:51] for a five year plan.

[10:53] I gave the five year plan -- the need for additional funding.

[10:56] Of course, I was requesting additional funding.

[10:58] Then we received a decrease, which I understand

[11:01] many departments did.

[11:02] So for this year, what I am asking

[11:05] is to use a portion of my project funds,

[11:08] actually, for some of that deferred maintenance,

[11:11] because regardless of the funding

[11:12] that we receive specifically from maintenance,

[11:16] it does not negate the fact that it needs to be done.

[11:18] The deferred maintenance that is specifically

[11:20] out of these project funds will be more so for upkeep,

[11:22] to keep our current collection from going into blight.

[11:26] There will be several opportunities

[11:28] for us to clean the pieces, to touch them up,

[11:32] and from that particular pot of money,

[11:35] it wouldn't be any new installs.

[11:37] It would simply be going through our collection, which

[11:39] we do already have a listing of those pieces that

[11:43] need that extra care.

[11:45] Also just wanted to give a shout out to MLGW and also

[11:51] public works.

[11:52] They have been amazing to work with,

[11:53] and they have been helping us with the piece that

[11:55] is in the entrance of the Tom Lee Park.

[11:59] That is going to be repaired.

[12:03] There are some pieces on it that have rusted over the years.

[12:06] I think that piece has been there 17 years,

[12:09] so of course it is time.

[12:10] We had to get some water turned on.

[12:11] We had to get some of their supplies out there.

[12:14] Was really grateful for that additional support.

[12:17] Thankfully, we do have a very good relationship

[12:20] with the different departments, so everyone pitches in to help.

[12:24] And we are grateful.

[12:25] For that piece, we wanted to, of course,

[12:29] get that one in tip top shape because of the new museum coming

[12:32] into that space.

[12:32] We have two other projects that are very close to the museum

[12:35] that we will also be completing, one of which

[12:38] is the South main tower sign revitalization.

[12:43] That's the first one on the list of your chart.

[12:45] That funding is specifically for the three towers

[12:48] that are on Main Street Mall.

[12:50] They are very outdated.

[12:53] They have not worked in several years.

[12:54] The lights are out of them.

[12:56] Urban Art Commission did not commission those projects,

[12:59] but because they are on city owned property,

[13:01] we are going to revitalize them.

[13:03] We will allow an artist to reimagine what

[13:06] those pieces can look like.

[13:09] The bottom portions will remain the same because, of course,

[13:13] we don't want to spend funding on completely tearing it

[13:15] down and starting over.

[13:17] They have already painted the bottom portion of it

[13:20] and repaired the bricks, so it is ready for us

[13:23] to reimagine the top of it, where it says South Main Mall.

[13:29] For South Main, South main association,

[13:32] some other constituents in that area

[13:34] have approached us asking about some crosswalks.

[13:37] They are also raising some private dollars

[13:40] to do some additional signs and things

[13:43] of that sort for that area, but it

[13:47] is specifically so that when someone is coming off

[13:50] of Bill Street, they have a reason

[13:51] to look down South Main to continue walking to the shops,

[13:57] celebrating the local artists that are in that space,

[13:59] as well as those local businesses and some of the newer

[14:02] hotels.

[14:03] This is also a part of tourism to ensure that we are --

[14:08] when people are coming into our downtown space,

[14:10] they actually see reasons to stay, to spend money,

[14:14] and to support our city.

[14:15] The last one for the downtown area

[14:17] is the library, which is directly beside the new museum.

[14:21] We have a set of six planters there that, unfortunately,

[14:25] right now, the unhoused are sleeping in, as well as,

[14:29] we don't have any plants in them.

[14:32] It is definitely a waste of space.

[14:35] But again, it's one of those situations where the planters

[14:37] are already there in.

[14:38] They have already been put there.

[14:40] We are not going to spend money removing them.

[14:42] But we are going to turn them into functional art

[14:44] so that we can utilize that space

[14:47] and not be an eyesore right beside this new development in.

[14:52] Any -- new development.

[14:57] Any questions so far?

[14:59] Next is the City traffic Safety Crosswalk project.

[15:02] This is a project that we are also talking with city

[15:05] departments regarding -- because we have an issue at the corner

[15:10] of Summer and Highland.

[15:11] It's actually recorded as one of our most dangerous intersections

[15:14] in the city.

[15:15] And we want to calm again, use creative placemaking

[15:19] to ensure that we are bringing light to people needing to slow

[15:23] down and knowing which parts of the street

[15:25] where they are supposed to actually be crossing.

[15:28] The cultural Heritage Mural project --

[15:30] that is a project that is near and dear to my heart.

[15:33] I just wanted to specifically set aside some funds for us

[15:37] to have at least one project that would acknowledge

[15:41] cultural history of at least one of the communities

[15:46] that are underrepresented in our public art collection.

[15:49] So that may be Indian heritage.

[15:51] It may be Asian heritage.

[15:53] But wanted to ensure that we had some funding to be sure

[15:56] that all voices are heard.

[15:58] Pine Hill Community Center is the next one on the list.

[16:01] There is a deteriorated mural that is on that wall

[16:06] that you can see from the golf course.

[16:08] We would like to remove that.

[16:09] It has been there probably -- close to 20 years.

[16:13] I think it has been there 18 years to be exact.

[16:16] We wanted to replace that one.

[16:18] Then the public art collection signage

[16:21] is because we have so many of our pieces

[16:23] that have aged and have no signage

[16:26] either because it has been removed

[16:28] or it was never placed there.

[16:30] We also have some mural projects that we just simply

[16:32] did not have the budget to create the proper signage.

[16:35] We want to make sure that the city of Memphis emblem

[16:38] is on every piece in our collection.

[16:41] The deferred maintenance -- that is the $45,000 that I am asking

[16:44] to use from our project funds for maintenance.

[16:49] Again, that maintenance is mostly

[16:51] for just basic cleaning, upkeep, painting things that

[16:55] need to be cleaned up and things that

[17:00] need just a little bit of help.

[17:01] These are no major maintenance projects,

[17:03] but this is just basic upkeep to add to the maintenance funds

[17:07] that were reduced for FY27.

[17:10] And then of course, contingency, just in case something happens.

[17:15] That brings us to 328 and then our project management fees

[17:18] are in the total that we are assigned,

[17:21] and that is the 18% by contract.

[17:23] Last but not least, I wanted to mention --

[17:28] I sent everyone a copy of our Moveable Collection catalog.

[17:31] Hopefully you received it.

[17:33] This, just in case you didn't know what you were receiving,

[17:36] is the newest version of what we are putting

[17:38] into the public libraries.

[17:39] Every library in the city of Memphis has local artists in it,

[17:43] and this is the 2026 collection that was recently purchased.

[17:50] So these are all local artists that we did a direct purchase

[17:54] program with.

[17:55] So once a year, we go and we ask artists to give us

[17:59] pieces of artwork that they have already created,

[18:02] that we don't commission, then we purchase from them to put

[18:05] them in public spaces to, again, highlight our local artists.

[18:11] The last sheet that you have that is in color --

[18:13] those are the different projects from the fellowship that was

[18:17] actually awarded in FY26.

[18:21] The first seven projects are the ones

[18:23] for each of the seven districts.

[18:25] So there is a fellow that is associated with each district

[18:28] throughout the city.

[18:28] They have been doing their community service projects.

[18:31] They have gone into the communities.

[18:33] We had one, in particular, that went to a Juneteenth event

[18:37] at Douglas Park, and she had a time, to say the least.

[18:42] I can show some pictures.

[18:43] She really had a time.

[18:45] It was very good to see that the community embraced

[18:47] her and really was excited to see someone

[18:49] coming into their community that wanted to know more

[18:52] about the community itself before creating

[18:55] the artwork for them.

[18:58] That's it.

[19:03] >> Wonderful.

[19:03] Thank you for joining us and letting us

[19:06] know about all the updates in.

[19:08] Let the record show that we have been

[19:09] joined by Councilwoman Logan.

[19:12] In the queue, we have Councilman Logan and Chairwoman

[19:22] Swearengen-Washington.

[19:23] >> Thank you, chair, and thank you for the update.

[19:25] I appreciated, and for the work that you do.

[19:27] My question, first, is, how do you determine --

[19:32] I see these projects.

[19:34] What is the criteria to determine

[19:37] what the project will be?

[19:41] >> It is community-driven, and the selection committee

[19:43] determines what the final product would look like.

[19:46] So the selection committee would be the individuals, which

[19:49] are all listed on our website.

[19:51] Every project, we list the people

[19:53] that are on the selection committee

[19:54] so you know who the decision makers were.

[19:56] We always try to give residents, business owners --

[20:03] we actually send the invite to all of city council,

[20:05] and we make sure that the public knows that these meetings are

[20:08] happening.

[20:08] They are also recorded.

[20:10] And those conversations that the selection committee has

[20:14] is what forms what the artist will actually produce.

[20:22] >> How do we bridge beautification and public art?

[20:26] For instance, the neighborhood markers

[20:29] will add art plus navigating or wayfinding

[20:33] or identification signs for the different communities.

[20:35] I know we often hear -- we hear from constituents,

[20:39] as well as ourselves, as council members, that other communities,

[20:44] such as municipalities, they have beautiful flowers.

[20:47] They have different planters along their roadway.

[20:52] I think I mentioned to you before, how do we bridge --

[20:55] because we need those, or would like those,

[21:00] in the communities inside of Memphis.

[21:02] That could be seen as art, as well.

[21:06] How do we bridge those two, or have you given any consideration

[21:09] to how we can use the public art dollars and have those artists

[21:15] that you work with also make art that could serve dual purpose,

[21:23] that could help with the, that could help with bringing those

[21:27] --

[21:27] that could help with the beautification, that

[21:31] could help with bringing those things to our communities,

[21:33] as well?

[21:36] >> Those are things that we have done in previous projects.

[21:37] Many of our projects do include other aspects,

[21:39] such as the Welcome to Orange Mount sign --

[21:43] that has a planter.

[21:44] That has additional flowers.

[21:46] That has a community that actually

[21:47] committed to keeping up with what's happening in that space.

[21:50] I think we do have several projects that are dual- purpose,

[21:55] but I will say that the communities that are more

[21:59] engaged are the ones that probably get more

[22:02] of the additional add-ons, simply because they are willing

[22:07] to come together and help to maintain it,

[22:09] such as an orange --

[22:13] as in Orange Mount.

[22:15] They have a very solid selection committee

[22:16] that committed to ensuring that it would be maintained properly.

[22:18] We do have, even with the crosswalks,

[22:20] as I spoke before, that's a safety issue.

[22:23] We are working with the city to say, where do we

[22:25] have the spaces where we know we need

[22:27] to put some type of artistic design

[22:28] to draw people's attention to where

[22:31] they should cross the road, when they should slow down?

[22:34] We also have a crosswalk that's going in at downtown elementary

[22:38] because there were several complaints of people coming

[22:41] over the hill, and they didn't realize

[22:42] there was even a school there.

[22:44] So we are creating projects that are serving dual purposes

[22:49] with just about every project.

[22:53] >> So if we did have an organization in our district

[22:55] that would like to partner to do some of those things or to be

[22:59] a part of the maintenance of it, we could do more of those,

[23:02] if you could identify some nonprofits or agencies that

[23:07] wanted to help

[23:11] ?

[23:12] >> Or even CDCs.

[23:14] >> Great.

[23:15] I'm very much interested and we'll be reaching out to you.

[23:17] Thank you.

[23:23] >> Thank you, Councilwoman.

[23:24] Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington?

[23:28] >> Yes.

[23:29] I wanted to share that, colleagues,

[23:31] as a percent for our ordinance requires that the Urban Art

[23:35] Commission receive 1% of the annual CIP in an amount

[23:41] not to exceed $1 million.

[23:43] And within the FY27 CIP budget being over $110 million,

[23:49] their allocation should have been $1 million.

[23:52] However, our former engineering administration would

[23:59] historically only advocate $400,000 to them.

[24:03] So they are in the back working on a resolution.

[24:07] I may have to just bring it back for executive.

[24:10] But I would like to transfer $512,000 in unused CIP

[24:17] allocations from project GA07018,

[24:21] which is FYMSCS upgrades, because we haven't been

[24:27] utilizing those funds.

[24:28] And this is something that we could have and evenly

[24:30] distribute between all of the districts

[24:32] and add some beauty into some of the spots that needed.

[24:40] >> You said you were going to bring this to the executive

[24:44] later?

[24:45] >> Yes, because I thought they would be up here by now,

[24:46] but they are not up here yet.

[24:48] So we may have to do it executive.

[24:51] >> Okay.

[24:52] Thank you, chairwoman.

[24:53] Is that all?

[24:55] We'll be looking forward to that resolution later.

[25:01] Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton?

[25:05] >> Thank you.

[25:06] Jonathan, can you pull up that picture for me, please?

[25:09] This is at -- in Raleigh.

[25:16] I think this is your district.

[25:18] I just heard our chairwoman say that she is

[25:20] going to allocate some funding.

[25:22] This needs to be fixed.

[25:28] >> I've already reached out.

[25:29] We didn't get a response.

[25:31] >> I'm responding right now.

[25:32] I'm sitting in this place because that

[25:34] isn't our community.

[25:36] Our constituents sit there, and we

[25:38] need that fixed ASAP, for weatherization reasons

[25:45] and just for presentation, as well.

[25:46] I guess after we get this resolution

[25:48] and we look at what needs to be done,

[25:50] we need to get that fixed ASAP.

[25:55] >> Yes, ma'am.

[25:57] >> It's what?

[25:58] It's on order?

[26:01] Perfect, perfect.

[26:05] >> Yes.

[26:05] When it was brought to our attention, and as he spoke it,

[26:08] there were a lot of people that were concerned and readily

[26:11] looking to fix it.

[26:13] Of course, we have some drawbacks to it

[26:16] not being our particular property,

[26:18] but I'm very happy to hear that it is already being ordered.

[26:21] We did look into it and got some quotes.

[26:24] Yes.

[26:25] There are several other projects that are in queue.

[26:33] How would you all like to see those updates?

[26:35] Because, of course, I sent emails,

[26:38] but I know you get a million emails.

[26:40] Would you like for me to come quarterly?

[26:42] Because I can create a presentation of our current

[26:47] maintenance projects, our current projects that are

[26:49] in queue so that -- if I had a presentation today,

[26:53] that would have been in my queue,

[26:55] and it would have been able to say, we have that in line.

[27:03] >> Director Collins, is a quarterly maintenance update --

[27:08] whether you want it by email, you want her in person --

[27:11] would you --

[27:13] I'm sorry, Edwards.

[27:14] I know another Lakeisha.

[27:30] >> This is so important.

[27:31] This is part of the presentation of our city

[27:33] and what it looks like.

[27:35] >> And we are tracking it.

[27:36] We send it actually to the engineering division weekly.

[27:38] We give a weekly report.

[27:40] I don't know who sees it or who has access to it,

[27:44] but we do send it to the primary engineers, specifically Michael

[27:48] Swindell and Deborah Higgins.

[27:49] But we send it to them every Wednesday.

[27:55] >> Is that possible to send that report to council, as well?

[28:00] >> Yes.

[28:02] >> Okay.

[28:04] Director Edwards?

[28:06] Okay.

[28:09] Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton, and thank you, director Edwards.

[28:17] There's only two lakisha's in my phone.

[28:22] You all are the only two in.

[28:24] Can you talk about -- when you see things like what

[28:27] Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton put up,

[28:31] who is actually in charge of repairing or maintaining that?

[28:36] Because that's a bus stop with a UAC artwork

[28:46] that's on a city sidewalk.

[28:47] Who's in charge of that, when we see things like that?

[28:52] >> Excellent question.

[28:52] When that came through, I reached out to the director,

[28:54] and we spoke about it.

[28:56] He said, yes, it has already come to his attention.

[28:58] We couldn't replace that window.

[29:02] You had to replace the whole thing, which

[29:05] is already on order.

[29:08] >> When the whole thing is replaced,

[29:10] who pays for the art to go back on?

[29:13] >> We need to follow up and confirm,

[29:14] but it would likely be right here.

[29:18] >> It's Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington,

[29:21] and she says, if there's a gap in that,

[29:23] and that includes maintenance, things like this would also be

[29:26] included in the budget, even though you don't have your full

[29:30] complement?

[29:31] Thank you.

[29:32] That's all I wanted to ask you.

[29:35] Okay.

[29:36] Councilwoman Green?

[29:40] >> Thank you.

[29:40] I wanted to thank you for the opportunity

[29:42] to be at the ribbon cutting for the Chelsea Floodwall.

[29:44] If you haven't had a chance to go out and see it,

[29:47] it is gorgeous.

[29:50] The points have been made here today --

[29:53] especially Councilwoman Logan -- it's a great way for a dual

[29:57] purpose to happen, for us to incorporate something that is

[30:00] structure and safety and keeps that neighborhood from floods,

[30:03] but also infuses art.

[30:05] Mayor Young was there and spoke, and he talked about his visits

[30:09] to Detroit.

[30:10] He asked them, how do you turn things around?

[30:15] The leadership there specifically mentioned

[30:17] public art.

[30:17] He said, when you have public art from local artists,

[30:21] then people start caring about the neighborhood.

[30:23] They start caring about that one space,

[30:25] then it spreads to other spaces.

[30:26] That helps investors come because they

[30:28] can see the vision of what the neighborhood can be,

[30:32] and the people in the neighborhood

[30:33] can see the vision of what you can be.

[30:34] I love learning about all the different places

[30:36] that we have this.

[30:37] That is -- I mean, I don't even know how many hours we're put

[30:41] into the Chelsea Floodwall because it is a mile long,

[30:44] and it is double sided.

[30:46] The one section that I was standing in front of

[30:48] was the kids part, where we had students actually design and do

[30:52] panels, which is also really very, very cool.

[30:56] Thank you for letting me be a part of that.

[30:58] Thank you for doing this, because -- unto your point --

[31:01] this is the way that other places who have dug their way

[31:06] out of light issues, they have started with the public art.

[31:10] It is important that we invest in it properly.

[31:13] Thank you.

[31:16] >> Thank you, Councilwoman.

[31:18] I actually had on my list to shout out

[31:21] Director Edwards for her work in the Chelsea Green line, as well.

[31:25] It was years before we get that money to be able to do that.

[31:29] And so I'm glad that you made that a priority, and also

[31:33] the other projects that are on your list, as well.

[31:36] Did you want to add anything before we close out this item?

[31:42] >> I'm still fussing about -- can you do anything to help us

[31:45] with that?

[31:48] >> Who owns the property?

[31:50] What piece of property is it?

[31:54] >> Chief, it is on Lamar, off of Willette.

[31:58] And paint Memphis, which is one of the organizations,

[32:03] colleagues, that is asking for grant funding,

[32:06] put a big snake -- no, it's a rat.

[32:11] It's a rat -- on the wall.

[32:13] And that's right around the corner

[32:15] from Rozelle Elementary School, going to the medical district,

[32:19] and it looks horrible.

[32:20] So we want to make sure that, when people are putting murals

[32:25] up, that we are looking at it to see what the plans are,

[32:30] exactly what the art looks like.

[32:31] It can't be just a sign off.

[32:33] We really have to be engaged to know what's going on.

[32:39] >> I agree.

[32:39] There are some kind of safety points for urban Art Commission

[32:42] that prevents that from happening.

[32:44] So number one, we have a community engagement piece

[32:48] with our selection committee.

[32:52] UAC does not make those determinations.

[32:54] We actually ask the community to give their vote

[32:57] and to talk to the artist and have that direct say so.

[33:00] Number two, we have a PAOC Committee.

[33:07] They meet once a month.

[33:08] Those meetings are also public, and we submit the recordings

[33:10] every month.

[33:11] That is for a committee that there is --

[33:15] I know summer attends those meetings.

[33:17] We also have two other individuals that

[33:20] are appointed by City Council.

[33:22] One person is appointed by the mayor and myself

[33:26] and my team just there as advocates.

[33:30] That also is a place where that committee has

[33:33] to sign off on the schematic design, the final design,

[33:36] and also the fabrication.

[33:37] On top of all of that,

Public Services, Arts & Youth Initiatives Committee

Agenda

Transcript