Molded from mud, the golem is brought to life with ritual incantations of the Hebrew alphabet, its purpose to protect, but even with instructions placed on its tongue, the golem inevitably goes amok, twisting those intentions and bringing disaster upon those who called for it. From this Jewish parable, Rachel David gathers, “You can only rely on your community. You can’t offset your responsibilities.”
David, an Asheville-based blacksmith, turned to this story for inspiration in conceptualizing her exhibition, “Engorging Eden,” on display at the Metal Museum. “I started thinking about different parables that could be translated to working with what I’m worried about in this country and in this world,” she said in her artist talk at the opening reception for the show on February 16th. “I think that’s a really pertinent thing to remember as we are experiencing really scary things — that we are each other’s saviors. That’s something that I want to be very explicit about in all of my work.”
David primarily works in furniture, a familiar form that in itself evokes community. “We live with furniture,” David said. “And it’s conversational. … These are forms that tell stories and hold their own narratives but also are part of our narrative.”
For David, her pieces reflect our relationship with the Earth and with one another. The furniture seems to bubble with pustules and pits, a mix of metals melting off the surfaces in slivers. Each bulbous facet David shaped using a different support system. “Really all of this is planned,” David said. “Like, it has to fit; it has to work. But part of my interest is in the distortion that you can achieve in hot forming metal.”
The distortion, David said, reminds her of natural erosion formations. In her Savage Horizon Jewelry Cabinet, she pointed out, “They also look like cobblestones, which also are like city-building blocks, and I think with these really aggressive clawing shapes and then these phallic drippings, this is climate change, and this is what extractive capitalism has done to this world. Where we are in the mountains, there was a hurricane, and everything is insane.”
Indeed, many of the pieces in this show were created in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. “This piece is very much responsive to the hurricane and all of the landslides,” she said of the jewelry cabinet. “There’s 500-plus hours in this piece.”
“When we’re talking about erosion, there are a lot of implications in that word: erosion of trust, erosion of the Earth, erosion of values, and then where does that leave us?”
That’s where David expects viewers to involve themselves — literally — through reflections and refractions of the metals and selenites brought about in their shine. Mirrors, too, offer this reminder. In Family Tree, where representational ancestors and the suns and moons fill a gallery wall with circular shapes, a central mirror piece reminds us that “we are responsible for what we put in[to the world].”
Abstract tongues also roll out of these ancestral creatures, and many of David’s other pieces. “The tongue is like the idea of communication [which] has always been a big part of my work [as an activist and artist],” she said. “That’s part of my responsibility as a member of this community: to be responsible to my ancestors and to the future.”
In keeping with this responsibility, as part of her practice, David sources more than 85 percent of her metal from Asheville scrapyards. Further, she, along with Lisa Geertsen and Anne Bujold, co-founded the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths. “We foster having diversity in blacksmithing.”
David’s commitment to community is furthered in swallowed ice (table lamp), which was part of her “Pollination” series — “like a pollination of ideas when we come together and we inspire each other.” The lamp features a light bulb in the center with candles affixed to a suspending bridge-like form. “They’re reflecting each other, and they’re also holding each other … always bringing in the light.”
The symbolism in the lamp is apparent: “I’m cynical and I’m dark, but I also feel a lot of obligations to my community to be proactive and contributive. I make work sometimes [because] I have to remind myself to get out. Get out!”
“Engorging Eden” will be on display at the Metal Museum through May 11th. The exhibit is a part of the museum’s Tributaries series.
Catch Alexis Grace’s Valentine’s Day concert, featuring Raneem Imam and MROSE, at Bar DKDC this Friday. (Photo: Courtesy Alexis Grace)
Valentine’s Day Shenanigans Happy Valentine’s Day from us at the Flyer — most of us, I guess — well, me. I suppose I can’t speak on behalf of my coworkers. I’d assume they’d want to wish you a happy Valentine’s Day, but who knows? Then again, why give them the credit? Their byline isn’t up there at the top of this. They’re not about to come in clutch with these Valentine’s events right here because you’re a last-minute planner and are in need of something to do this weekend. I am. So here:
An Introduction to Fencing: Valentine’s Day Couples Edition: Nothing says I love you more than swordplay, so grab your Valentine for a special couples-only introductory presentation about the history, culture, techniques, and sport of fencing. $20. | First Congo, Friday, February 14, 6 p.m.
Valentine’s Day with Kortland Whalum: Join the Memphis Symphony Orchestra with special guest Kortland Whalum for a night of music and romance. Tickets include a post-concert reception with champagne and desserts. | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Friday, February 14, 8 p.m., $40-$100.
Electric Canvas Valentines: DJs LyeLack, Steele, KymaFaux, and Lost Cypher will wow you and your Valentine with a showcase of EDM. | Canvas, Friday, February 14, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., $5, 21+.
Valentine’s Day Dance Classes: With six classes to choose from, you’ll find the perfect way to spice up your holiday plans. Classes are beginner-friendly, couples only. | Blue Suede Ballroom Dance Studio, Friday-Sunday, February 14-16, $42/couple.
Flowers & Chocolate Pairing: Take a tour of Wiseacre’s facility and learn about hops and malt, the flowers and chocolate of the beer world. The class includes samples of Wiseacre beer paired with the best chocolate from Dinstuhl’s. | Wiseacre Brewing Company, Saturday, February 15, 1 p.m., $25.
Variations on a Theme: Love, Longing, and Lederhosen: A curating evening of music and one-act operas from Heggie, Bizet, Mozart, and more. Somehow, lederhosen will come into play. | Opera Memphis, Saturday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday February 16, 3 p.m., $25.
Emo Nite (Valentine’s Edition): Embrace the emo and the lover sides of you. $1 per ticket sponsors Emo Nite Gives a F*ck. | Growlers, Saturday, February 15, 9 p.m., $20/advance, $25/day of show, 18+.
Drip Edges EP Release Show Lamplighter Lounge Saturday, February 15, 3 p.m. Alex Greene wrote about the Drip Edges this week and their new EP, Kicking the Tires on the Clown Car. They’ll be doing a release show with DJ Bloody Elle and Joecephus & the George Jonestown Massacre at the Lamp this Saturday. $10 cover. Read that article here.
DDP Presents: The Wicked Xperience Dru’s Place Saturday, February 15, 6:30 p.m. This wicked drag show will have you spellbound with glamour, giveaways, and performances by Devon Davenport Phillips, Crystal Beth, Tova Uravitch, Ariel Monroe, and Betty Swallows Alnite. Dress to impress in your most Wicked look for the costume contest. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. RSVP here. $10/general admission; $10/showside table; $15/at the door/. 21+.
Read Silently with People I said what I said. Bring a friend or go solo. All you need is a book for these two events:
It’s a Bestie Silent Book Club: Wear your Valentine’s best and BYO drinks and snacks to cozy up with a good book at this FREE event! No registration required. | Novel, Sunday, February 16, 2-4 p.m.
Loflin Loves Readers Night: Bring your favorite book or current read, settle down in the Coachhouse or patio, then enjoy lo-fi music and the fireplace on the big screen while you read! Happy hour goes from 4 to 7 p.m. with discounts on drinks and snacks, too, so be sure to take advantage of that while you enjoy your book! | Loflin Yard, Thursday, February 20, 4-7 p.m.
Soulful Murder Mystery: A Locomotive Themed Murder Mystery Halloran Centre Sunday, February 16, 7 p.m. Get a clue — in general, but more specifically this Sunday at the Soulful Murder Mystery part, where you’ll be transported into a world of rhythm, deception, and hidden motives. Guests will indulge in appetizers and smooth music as suspicious characters weave through the train station. Will you discover the truth before the train pulls into the final station? I don’t know, but I know you can find out more and get your tickets ($82) here.
Sam Morril Minglewood Hall Sunday, February 16, 7 p.m. According to our intern Jake Sanders, last time comedian Sam Morril was in town, he forgot his pants. I mean, the man had sweatpants, which to me are pants — it’s in the name — but I guess they’re not “stand-up” pants. So, who knows what he’ll wear this go-around, but he’ll be at Minglewood. Tickets ($34-$61) can be purchased here. Oh, and read Jake’s article about Morril here.
Lunch & Listen: Vox’s Rachel Cohen & Oscar-winner Coach Bill Courtney Memphis Listening Lab Tuesday, February 18, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. As part of the newly launched Lunch & Listen series, the Memphis Listen Lab hosts Vox writer Rachel Cohen, author of “Why I Changed My Mind About Volunteering” that’ll be the focus of the lunchtime interview with Oscar-winner coach Bill Courtney. For background, she had disregarded individual action as an unhelpful distraction to the more important systemic change that was needed to solve our problems, but then she had a change of heart and mind. Find more information on the talk here.
There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.
Chewy has partnered with shelters across the country for Valentine’s Day foster field trips. Here is Yamaha from Broward County Animal Care enjoying a date in Florida. (Photo: Courtesy Chewy)
A few unlucky singles are in need of a date this Valentine’s day. They’re not too picky about who takes them out, as long as their date doesn’t mind a bit of drool (who wouldn’t drool over you?), the occasional woof (at least it’s not a cat call), and a bit of puppy love. And, listen, we at the Flyer aren’t going to recommend just any old single; we’re only gonna recommend the cream of the crop — and that would be the pups at the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County.
For this Valentine’s Day, singles, couples, and dog-lovers can take an adoptable pup out for a date away from the shelter as part of Chewy’s Dogs Date Out. Chewy, an online pet food and supplies retailer, has partnered with shelters like the Humane Society across the country for these Valentine’s Day foster field trips. To make the dates go smoothly, each registrant will receive a Chewy Date Kit, including Valentine’s-themed toys, treats, a leash, blanket, portable water bottle, an “Adopt Me” bandana, and a poop bag dispenser (for those first date jitters).
The 10 Memphis dogs who will be going on dates have “great behavior skills,” says Destini Johnson, the Humane Society’s events & marketing manager, and a break from the shelter will provide much-needed socialization, enrichment, and a bit of peace. Plus, it’ll boost their chances of finding a forever home, whether with their dates or just by the nature of being out and about.
(Photo: Courtesy Chewy)
For that reason, those who sign up will also receive a list of dog-friendly places they can visit to make the most of their day. Some examples Johnson gives include Shelby Farms Park, Wise Acre Brewery, City & State, and Crosstown Concourse.
So far, five of the 10 spots have been claimed, so sign up here. Each registrant will pick up their date after a brief tutorial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 14th, and each pup will need to be returned by 4 p.m. And if you can’t take a dog out on date but still need a reason to visit the shelter, the Humane Society has set up a kissing booth in the lobby. “It’s very Valentine’s-themed,” Johnson says.
“Outside of it being Valentine’s Day, this opportunity to foster a dog for a day is a thing that we already do,” Johnson adds. “People are able to come on a random Tuesday or random Thursday and do a foster field trip. … We’re really trying to incorporate opportunities for socialization.” (You can find out more about volunteering and fostering here.)
The Humane Society will also host its annual The Fast & The Furriest 5K on March 15th. The race is dog-friendly and St. Patrick’s Day-themed. Register here.
As of February 1st, the trolls have arrived at Memphis Botanic Garden. How they got there, no one knows, but they’re here to save the humans as part of a secret pact. So the story goes — or at least Thomas Dambo’s story. He’s the artist behind the larger-than-life Ronja Redeye, Kamma Can, Rosa Sunfinger, Sofus Lotus, Ibbi Pip, and Basse Buller, who have taken up residence at the garden as part of the “Trolls: Save the Humans” seasonal exhibition, on display through May 21st.
Made of reclaimed wood and natural found materials, Dambo’s trolls are scattered across the world, some in permanent installation. The one closest to Memphis is Leo the Enlightened at the Blackberry Mountain Resort in Walland, Tennessee.
Dambo has been making these trolls since 2014, and in 2023 he made his 100th. Growing up in Denmark, his parents, a bicycle smith and a teacher/seamstress, instilled in him a passion for recycling and upcycling, so he and his brother made their own toys, costumes, and tree houses out of the things they found. As he grew older, he turned his creativity to street art and graffiti, beatboxing, hip-hop, and eventually the large-scale installations that would catapult him into international fame and convey his love for sustainability, as he would only use recycled and found materials.
The trolls especially fall into that mission, says Gina Harris, Memphis Botanic Garden’s director of education and events. “They are sharing information on how to live more lightly on our Earth, which is part of the botanic garden’s mission as well — being good stewards of our environment.”
Harris hopes Dambo’s trolls inspire a similar call to action. “It’s another opportunity for kids and adults to be able to look at things kind of in a different way,” she says. “We all see these things laying around, but to look at this and think, ‘Oh my gosh, that was built out of recycled pallets,’ I’m hoping that that gives people an opportunity to stop and think maybe there’s an opportunity to do something different and to be creative.”
“Any of the events that we’ll have going on are going to be connected somehow to the trolls exhibit,” Harris adds. That includes tram tours that’ll take guests to see the trolls throughout the gardens, Troll Stroll Saturdays, a Troll Garden Party for adults, art classes, and much more.
For more information, including program scheduling and troll profiles, visit membg.org/trolls.
Dance Theatre of Harlem company artists Derek Brockington and Delaney Washington (Photo: Nir Arieli)
In the aftermath of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis, the famed ballet dancer Arthur Mitchell derailed his plans to start a company in Brazil in favor of founding one in Harlem, his birthplace. Harlem, after all, was responsible for his success, yet an under-resourced and untapped community. And so, in 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), as it was named, started with 30 children in a church basement. Two months later, that number grew to 400. Now, as Jennifer McGrath, Orpheum Theatre vice president of education, community engagement, and Halloran Centre programming, says, “Dance Theater of Harlem is one of the preeminent dance companies in the entire world. These are extraordinary artists with extraordinary talent.”
And they’re on their way to Memphis to perform at the Orpheum Friday, February 7th, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 8th, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. “We’re absolutely thrilled to have them,” says McGrath. “The artists are extraordinary, their passion, their ability to make you feel something, to be drawn into their performance, and what they give is truly extraordinary.”
While a ballet company in name (and the first Black classical ballet company), DTH’s programming often blends styles of dance. For its Memphis performances, the program includes two of artistic director Robert Garland’s pieces: New Bach and Higher Ground.
New Bach is set to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and combines ballet with street style, creating a “new and different style,” says Garland. Meanwhile, Higher Ground blends ballet and African-American and African-diaspora social dances to the music of Stevie Wonder. “This ballet looks at the current affairs of the world through the 1970s lens of his music,” the artistic director says.
Photo: Jeff Cravotta
When asked why he incorporates different styles, Garland says, “I found that the dancers that I worked with were very well-versed not only in ballet but also in other styles, and so I wanted to give them an opportunity to be on both sides of the hyphen [in African-American], both African and American.”
Also on the program are Take Me With You set to music by Radiohead and Blake Works IV set to music by James Blake. “So there’s sure to be something for everyone to connect to,” says McGrath.
The company will also lead a free community dance workshop on Saturday, February 8th, at 10 a.m. at the Halloran Centre. For it, Garland says the company members plan to use the music of John Coltrane “to do a demonstration about the rudiments and fundamentals of becoming a ballet dancer.” The free workshop is open to all ages and abilities, but space is limited. (Register here.)
“We’ve done these free community dance workshops with other dance companies, and I honestly think they’re some of my favorite days of the year that we’ve had,” McGrath says. “You know, we have 3-year-old grandbabies dancing next to their 85-year-old grandma. We’ve had everybody under the sun from professional dancers and teachers of dance companies to have somebody that maybe has never taken a dance class in their life. It’s really just about being together in community. It’s just an example of the power of the arts.”
In a further effort of community outreach and engagement, DTH, on the invitation of the Orpheum, visited Memphis this past December to teach master classes at Campus Schools, Collage Dance Collective, and Middle College High School and to perform at St. Jude Heroes Celebratory Pasta Party and First Baptist Church Broad Avenue. (Fun fact: Kevin Thomas, Collage Dance’s artistic director and co-founder, was a principal dancer for DTH before he came to Memphis.)
Overall, McGrath hopes that DTH’s visits, past and future, will inspire more support for dance in Memphis. “We know Memphis as a Music City, which it undoubtedly is,” she says. “And I come from New York, and prior to living here, I made my career in dance. And Memphis is one of the most dance-rich communities I have ever experienced.
“… And so we want to be bringing a company like Dance Theatre of Harlem, and then also get those ticket buyers to go out and support Collage and support Ballet Memphis and support new Ballet [Ensemble] and so on because we can really raise the entire ecosystem together.”
Tickets ($62.50-$97) to see Dance Theatre of Harlem perform at the Orpheum can be purchased here. Following the Saturday, February 8th, matinee performance, audience members will be invited to a Q&A session.
A 40-or-so-minute drive will take you to the site where William Faulkner died some 60 years ago in Byhalia, Mississippi. It’s a gas station now, but in its place once stood the Leonard Wright Sanatorium, a reputable place but one stigmatized with its association for treating alcoholism. Perhaps, that is why when Faulkner died in 1962, the Memphis Press-Scimitar, TheCommercial Appeal, and The New York Times reported that the author died in Oxford, his death shrouded in shame and unasked questions even today.
Hickman has been fascinated with Faulkner since taking a single-author course on him as a sophomore in college. “Faulkner’s literature is always relevant because it’s a window into human nature,” she says. She later earned her Ph.D. at Ole Miss with a concentration in Faulkner and Southern literature. “Then, I met and became good friends with novelist Joan Williams, a Memphian who’d been in a relationship with Faulkner. That opened an entirely different window. His literature and personal life converged.”
Meeting Williams also led her to writing The Romance of Two Writers about the two writers’ affair, and through it, Hickman learned of Faulkner’s “rich interior world,” which she was able to delve into deeper in her most recent release. “These extramarital affairs he sought were another form of addiction, and aspects of them were more imagined than realized, yet they kept him going,” Hickman says. “His wife, Estelle, is fascinating. A brilliant, artistic woman who had her own struggles. She actually was a patient at Wright’s before her husband.”
“I’d actually walked around the site a couple of times, once with Joan Williams, so I was familiar with it,” she adds of Wright’s Sanatorium. “There were dilapidated, small scattered cabins. … The grounds were eerie, otherworldly. Two metal lawn chairs remained positioned side by side under a favorite oak tree. You couldn’t help but imagine the patients wandering around in various states of dishevelment. Honestly, it was a bit like a Stephen King novel. I was fortunate to interview some of the last close associates of the sanatorium, and the family who purchased the property were careful guardians, photographing what was left of the original structures and preserving the records, documents they discovered under a stairwell.”
Between Grief and Nothing includes these interviews and more, including previously undisclosed medical details. “Many of my sources are new and original — and hopefully reaching a readership outside of academia,” she says.
Hickman also says that readers don’t need to be familiar with Faulkner’s life or works to read her book. “I wrote this book with a general readership in mind focusing on a propulsive narrative. … There’s this collusion — between his genius and struggles — and while his creative powers aren’t widely shared, his struggles are widely relatable.”
“I often was stuck by the mindset toward alcohol and drug addiction during Faulkner’s time. Treatment was a band-aid until the next episode. While therapy has come a long way since then, we’re still living in a culture ripe with addictions.”
To celebrate the release of her Between Grief and Nothing, Novel will host a Meet the Author event with Hickman on Saturday, February 8th, at 2 p.m. You can order a signed copy here.
Attorney Rattlebone Jones will be one of the night’s storytellers. (Photo: Courtesy Spillit)
Saturday, February 1st, is 201 Day, says Josh Campbell, creative director of Spillit Memphis. It’s named, he says, “for better or worse, for the most famous address in Memphis.” That address, of course, is 201 Poplar, location of Shelby County’s Walter L. Bailey Jr. Criminal Justice Center that houses several courts, the district attorney’s office, and the county jail. “It’s become an image and avatar for the overall justice system here in Memphis,” Campbell says. “We wanted to have a storytelling event where we can talk about these things and have conversations.”
And so, this Saturday, in partnership with the Tennessee Innocence Project and Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Spillit will host one of its “Center Stage” storytelling gatherings, with a focus on justice and injustice in Memphis. Unlike the group’s popular slam events, similar to an open mic, this Center Stage will feature a curated lineup of speakers, including local attorney Rattlebone Jones; Jessica Van Dyke, legal director at the Tennessee Innocence Project; and District Attorney Steve Mulroy. Also speaking will be Darren Price, who was exonerated this month after 20 years in prison and four years on probation, and Ricky Webb, who was exonerated after spending nearly 50 years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit.
“So those are our two big stories that we really think are important,” Campbell says of the Tennessee Innocence Project exonerees, but he adds that the other speakers will add to the conversation with stories of bureaucratic absurdity, lemonade stands, and more. “We want people to come at this topic with a lot of different things.”
The hope, Campbell says, is that the audience and speaker will find connection. “The thing about storytelling is not necessarily to find out something new about the person,” he says. “It’s really about finding that they’re not that much different from you. So when we can find common ground through stories, then we can really start working to find common ground in real life.”
Further, whenever Spillit hosts events in partnership with other organizations, as this event will with the Tennessee Innocence Project, Campbell says, “By giving that firsthand account, you’re really giving power to what those organizations do. People don’t always open up to strangers, but if I partner with an organization that has some clout in the community and some connection, then that gives us a good entry into finding out about these stories and people trusting us to present them. So really, it’s about finding people to tell stories and getting the message out there and hopefully telling the story of Memphis that people don’t think about.”
This Spillit event is free to attend and will have light refreshments. The next Spillit Slam on March 29th is themed Midterms and will be in partnership with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative.
In a gray Memphis winter, Justin Bowles’ vibrant garden blooms in Tops’ window gallery at Madison Avenue Park. The garden, populated with hot pink plastic yard flamingos and bouquets of artificial dollar-store flowers and springing forth with small blue toy horses, is Bowles’ latest public art installation, this one being titled “Green Fountain.” Its purpose, the artist says, is to bring joy.
In curating her exhibit, Bowles created three paper collages: Baby Chi, My Backyard, and Wolf Garden. Baby Chi, in particular, is a depiction of her chihuahua she had for many years, a “representation of unconditional love,” she says, but in general these three collages represent her “love of nature, of gardening, of animals. … To me, those are universal things that anyone can access and anyone can experience joy from.”
Justin Bowles’ Baby Chi is one of three collages in her display. (Photo: Courtesy Justin Bowles)
The collages bring forth a world of whimsy, a secret garden for the viewer to step into, with its simple drawings and childlike aesthetic. “I don’t ever put people in my artwork because I want the viewer to be experiencing, instead of the viewer looking at another person in the artwork,” Bowles says.
With that in mind, Bowles’ environment is full of sculptural elements saturated in nostalgia. For instance, those tiny blue horses are toy horses she played with as a child. “I was so excited to find them at my mom’s house,” she says. “I was like, ‘If I paint these and put them in my installation, then I’m still enjoying them and they’re still having a life in this environment.’”
Justin Bowles (Photo: Courtesy Justin Bowles)
In another bid for nostalgia, Bowles also made large fabric strawberries that sit on the floor. “I was inspired by my grandmother and her sister who got in this crafty phrase, I think, in the ’80s, where they were making all these little fabric fruits,” she says. “So it’s like a part of my grandmother is there, too.”
But Bowles doesn’t expect the average viewer to know these small details of her life. After all, that’s the nature of public art, where more often than not, a viewer who encounters the exhibit is not seeking it out but might have just happened upon it. “Anyone can see [this space] 24/7,” Bowles says. “It’s really living a life of its own without me.”
Even so, that sense of nostalgia carries on, without biographical information, as each piece in the curated garden means something to the artist or to someone, known or unknown. Those dollar-store flowers, Bowles says, remind her of “the things people have in their homes to make it beautiful, like a form of self-expression.” A green beaded basket also sits in the garden, something she thrifted. “Somebody made this by hand, who knows how long it took them to make that,” she says. “I had to buy it. It’s a beautiful piece of art. It’s just a never-ending fascination for me as far as all the things that we collect and treasure.”
Her hope, ultimately, is that at least one of these recognizable elements, if not all, captures a glimpse of nostalgia or joy. Having created murals throughout the city and recently having sculpted a piece for the University of Memphis as a New Public Artist Fellow for the UrbanArt Commission, Bowles sees public art as a unique opportunity to do so. “You do get to interact with people that you wouldn’t normally if you have a gallery or museum show,” she says.
At this, she recalls serving Thanksgiving dinner at a shelter this year when a friend told one of the guests about her installation which had opened a few weeks prior. “She showed him a picture of it,” Bowles says. “And he said, ‘I’ve spent the night right in front of that glass.’ And he proceeded to tell me how inspiring and encouraging it was to him and all the things that he thought about while sleeping there. That was just such a blessing to me to know that somebody who I don’t know, who maybe I never would have met, and didn’t know who I was, had a positive, uplifting experience with the art that had nothing to do with me.”
Bowles goes on to say: “It was a lot of hard work making this. If I’m going to put this much hard work into it, I really want the viewer to have that experience.”
“Green Fountain” is on view through February 16th at Tops at Madison Avenue Park.
For a few weeks since mid-December, the volleyball gym at University of Memphis has been transformed into a dance studio, mats taped over the court floor, with the recognizable Tigers flags and megaphones tucked to the side. Mirrors have been rolled into the end of the court. The Pom Squad and Ambush Crew have been practicing their routines there, with rehearsals ramping up to nearly every day, hours at a time, in preparation for the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship in Orlando, January 17th to 19th.
At today’s practice, while I speak with Carol Lloyd, University of Memphis’ spirit coordinator and head dance coach, the dancers warm up, one doing aerials, flipping her legs over her heads. Another jumps, knees turned out with her toes meeting to form a diamond in the air before she lands; soon, back up she springs, another brief diamond formed.
On the other side of the mat, a group goes through a part of their routine to be performed in a mere few days. Their footsteps are sharp, measured according to counts, heads turning in unison; there’s no music, but they are in sync. They lift one of their teammates in the air, effortlessly — or, so it appears to the untrained eye. Something’s off, though they haven’t quite figured out what exactly. Should so-and-so adjust her leg? Should it be bent at the knee? Lloyd asks for feedback from the athletes, pointing out collaboration’s role in their process. They run through the counts again, and again, and again, and will again many more times. This part is only a few seconds of an entire routine that they’ve been working on since November.
“It’s so detailed,” says Lloyd. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how much goes into just dancing for this minute-50 seconds.”
The Pom Squad and Ambush Crew compete in three categories: game day, hip-hop, and pom. In a game day performance, dancers recreate the live game experience with a band, fight song, Pouncer the mascot, and lots of spirit. Pom uses poms and can be a mix of hip-hop and jazz.
Last year, the team took home the national championship for game day and placed third in hip-hop and seventh in pom. That same weekend, the university’s cheerleaders won the national championship in small coed.
Winning titles isn’t unusual for U of M’s spirit squads, which include the cheer team, the Pom Squad, and the Ambush Crew, which Lloyd started last year to specialize in hip-hop during game days and compete with the Pom Squad at nationals. The cheer team holds seven national titles. The Pom Squad has 16, including nine consecutive titles from 1986 to 1994.
“It’s always harder to stay on top than it is to get there,” Lloyd says. “I always feel pressure, but pressure is a privilege almost. And they do have the pressure of [having won last year], but also we don’t really harp a lot on it.”
On the back of the mirrors that the dancers rolled into the volleyball gym, the athletes have posted a sign that says, “Go with the goal of hitting your shit, not with the goal of winning.” They even tally up how many “full-outs” they do — how many times they practice their routines as if they’re performing in front of an audience. That number will get up to the 70s by the time they leave for Orlando, the dancers say. It’s about quantifying achievements, big and small.
“In our league, everybody’s top-notch; everybody is so good and so elite,” Lloyd says. “It’s kind of hard sometimes to realize we’re one of those people, too. Especially with Memphis, because everybody knows who you are [in the college dance world] and it’s such a legacy — the Memphis dance team. Everybody knows you’re from Memphis. They look up to you; you’re a staple in dance team history.”
Photo: Courtesy Memphis Spirit
It’s a Legacy
The first national collegiate dance team championship took place in 1986, and Memphis State, as it was then, won — and it won for the next eight years.
Lloyd, a Memphis native, cheered throughout high school and was on the college’s pom team during its champion-winning streak from 1989 to 1993. She would go on to succeed her college coach Cheri Ganong-Robinson in 2004.
While, yes, winning titles marked her time on U of M’s Pom Squad, she also recalls traveling to entertain at NBA games, even going overseas. “We don’t do that any more,” Lloyd says, “and I miss some of our halftimes ’cause we used to dance for four to five minutes every single halftime and nobody left their seats. I don’t miss preparing for it because it is a lot and they do so much more now. … This sport has become so big — way more athletic, technical — so to still be one of the top teams and still keep it at that level is great.”
Other dance alumnae and current athletes agree. Bella Roy, a senior pom dancer, speaks of watching videos of older routines with alumnae at a Christmas party. “They’re like, ‘That’s me, that’s me,’ but it’s just crazy how it’s changed so much. But then, it still is so similar. It’s that crazy drive and that Memphis family; the legacy is just like no other.”
And it’s that legacy that brought Roy from Franklin, Tennessee, to Memphis initially. “I knew from a very young age, I wanted to dance in college,” she says. “Memphis has been so well-known for so long as this amazing program across the nation in the dance world, so to be a part of it is absolutely amazing.”
University of Memphis’ reputation for its dance team also attracted freshman Linda Gail Rutland. She and Roy actually attended the same dance studio back in Franklin, and now they’re on the team together, if only for one overlapping year. For both of them, dance — more precisely dancing competitively on a team — has constituted most of their lives’ passion.
“[Dancing on a team] comes to the point where, of course, you always want to win, but it’s not even about winning,” Rutland says. “It’s the memories and working for something bigger than yourself, being there for your teammates.”
“You’re all there because you chose to be there and you want to be there and you want to get better and be pushed to do good,” Roy adds. “Carol [Lloyd] is an amazing coach. She can be tough, but it’s in a good way. It’s in a great way. She gives us that tough love that we need.”
For that matter, last year the National Dance Coaches Association named Lloyd College Coach of the Year. Having accrued so many titles as a student athlete and as a coach, this one speaks to Lloyd’s particular knack for leading her teams. After all, she’s been coaching since was 18.
Today, in addition to working for U of M, she coaches for the Collierville Middle School and Collierville High School cheer teams. Before accepting her position as spirit coordinator in 2013, she also coached for U of M’s cheer team, now under the leadership of Jasmine Freeman.
“Seeing the athletes grow as individuals and as dancers, that’s always rewarding,” Lloyd says. “Plus, I mean, it’s challenging for them.”
The U of M cheer squad is known for cheers and stunts. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Spirit)
It’s a Sport
“It’s easy to get so hard on yourself when you have all these long practices and you’re sore and ‘Oh, I can’t make it to my spot’ or this or that,” Roy says. “But then the alumnae are always like, ‘Oh, you’re flipping upside down, and you’re doing 12 turns,’ and we’re like, ‘Wait, we really are good.’”
Yet neither the NCAA nor the Office of Civil Rights, which enforces Title IX, consider collegiate dance or cheer as sports, defining “sports” as activities whose purpose is competing, not “supporting” other sports on the sidelines. But the spirit squads consider themselves athletes, training hard and competing, albeit once a year, and even though they are at every football and basketball game, they’re also at community and philanthropic events because, as they would say, they’re the “face” of the university.
While they receive some athletic benefits from the school like access to training and the athletic mental performance department, U of M’s athletics website doesn’t list the Pom Squad, Ambush Crew, or cheer team under women’s sports but instead offers a link in a sidebar, along with athletic news and a composite schedule, suggesting that their status as a sport is in limbo even at their home in Memphis.
As it is, the spirit teams have to fundraise for the majority of their budget. Each year, the dancers and cheerleaders put on a golf tournament, host dance and cheer clinics, sell popcorn, offer appearances, and more.
“It takes about $120 to $140 thousand each year to cover everything that we need,” Lloyd says. For reference, according to CNBC, U of M’s athletic program is worth about $148 million. That puts the school third among the American Athletic Conference, behind East Carolina University ($153 million) and the University of South Florida ($150 million).
“We’re constantly looking for other ways to make money for them so they don’t have to keep fundraising,” Lloyd says.
The spirit squads also don’t have a dedicated facility, which can add another strain on the budget and affects efficiency. The cheer team practices at an All-Star gym out in Collierville, and the Pom Squad and Ambush Crew have bounced around for the past few years, last year renting a church gym and this year using one of the university’s rec gyms until the volleyball gym opened up. “This is my fourth year, and this is our third facility that we’ve been in,” Roy says.
For each practice in the rec gym, the athletes had to tape down the 10-paneled floor mats they dance on, take up the tape back up, stack the mats on the side, and store away the mirrors and all their props like the megaphones and flags because it’s a shared space. “And that tape is extremely expensive,” Lloyd adds. “We need a facility for us.”
Rutland puts a positive spin on it: “Even though we don’t have our own facility and sometimes it is a pain, doing it with your teammates, honestly, we bond.”
University of Memphis’ spirit squads perform at every football and basketball game (men’s and women’s). (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Spirit)
It’s a Family
At today’s practice, where 20 dancers are in the pom routine being rehearsed, a few who aren’t in the number have joined to cheer their teammates on. This is typical, Lloyd says. “It’s a good group of people. They’re grateful, very respectful. They’re hella talented. They’re supportive, and that’s important with anything.”
While we speak, Lloyd will interrupt with brief corrections and praises for the individual dancers, her eyes constantly roving the mat filled with multiple performers. “When you know that someone is struggling in a certain part, you’ve got to scream for them,” she says to her athletes. “If everybody gets in their head, start yelling. The mat talk is what’s going to help everybody.”
And so they scream and shout, and so does Lloyd. “This is their family,” Lloyd says, noting that out of 43 team members who are on Pom Squad and Ambush Crew, only four are local.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Rutland says. “I got here and I don’t want to leave. It’s only my freshman year.”
In a few days, Rutland will compete in her first showcase. “I’m so excited,” she says. “Scary, freaked out, I’m so excited.” She’ll compete in the game day category. “It’s like a big party. We really just have fun the whole time. I love cheering on the school and being at the football games and the basketball games and everything, so I just can only imagine how that will feel on the nationals floor.”
Roy, meanwhile, is competing in game day, pom, and hip-hop this year, her last year competing. Hip-hop, she says, has been the dance style that has challenged her the most but the one she’s most grown in since her freshman year. “I’ve learned so much from [Lloyd] and the upperclassmen, and then Ambush Crew took it to another level,” she says. “Everybody knows Memphis hip-hop in the college dance world, so to go out there and be a part of that is so special and fun.”
Memphis has consistently placed in the top four of the hip-hop division since the division started at the competition. “It’s very captivating, telling a story, being very much like, ‘This is us, we are who we are, watch us do our thing,’” Rutland says of the Pom Squad’s hip-hop routines.
“I feel like, too, it kind of ties into our T-shirts that say, ‘I am Memphis,’” Roy adds. “Like, ‘I am the city of Memphis.’ ‘I am Memphis Pom Dance Team Ambush Crew.’ ‘I am a part of this legacy.’
“But that first time my freshman year after we finished hip-hop for semis, when I did my last little smackdown and looked up, I just held my ending pose for at least 10 seconds,” Roy recalls. “It was that moment where I was just, ‘This is what I’ve dreamed of for so long. And I don’t want to leave.’ I was like, ‘I just did this.’ And then last year, that was always my lifelong goal to win a national championship. And to say that I actually did it is crazy, but it’s so worth it. Since I was little, that’s what I wanted.”
Now, as Roy, a supply chain management major, looks to life after college, she says, “Since I’ve danced for so long, I think it’s going to be hard, that transition after college, figuring out what I’m going to do with my life. It’s been school, dance, school, dance, school, dance forever, so it’s hard to imagine a life without it, but I think I’ll continue taking dance classes here and there, doing a normal job. I have found a big passion, though, in teaching dance.”
Roy thought about professional dance in the NBA or NFL, a path that some alumnae have taken, so has Rutland, but neither are sure. “I’m set on living in the moment and enjoying my time here,” says Rutland, a finance major.
Photo: Courtesy Memphis Spirit
It’s Game-Time
The spirit squads traveled to Orlando for the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship on January 15th, both the dance and cheer teams on the heels of last year’s wins. “We’ll stay true to what we do,” Lloyd says, “just being authentic to our culture. We’re very diverse. We’re a lot of fun, but we’re also very gritty, tough, and still dominating. We don’t try to do what other people do.”
When it’s all over, they’ll fly back on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the semester begins the next day. “I’m gonna be so tired,” Roy says, “but I would say I’m still kind of on a high a week after because I get to look at everybody’s videos and see how everybody did.”
The season won’t be over after the championship; the athletes will still perform at basketball games and other events, the spirit squads’ seasons lasting all school year.
At the end of each practice, of which there will be more, the dancers come together in a circle and link pinkies. “Seniors or captains will give a little wrap-up of practice,” Roy says, “just to get everybody in a good headspace before we leave, and then we say the Lord’s Prayer.” The prayer then leads into a chant: “Five, six, seven, eight, whoo, MPDTAC.”
The MPDTAC would stand for Memphis Pom Dream Team (and) Ambush Crew. And, yes, the DT stands for dream team — not the expected dance team — because, according to Lloyd, she’s always coaching the dream team, win or lose.
Follow the Memphis Pom and Ambush Crew here and cheer team here.
To celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this MLK weekend, Volunteer Odyssey is mobilizing Memphians to engage in service projects across the city.
Throughout the year, the nonprofit connects other nonprofits with volunteers, provides a free platform for volunteer management, and coordinates corporate volunteer opportunities. “So MLK Days of Service is a great opportunity for us to gather several small projects from a lot of nonprofits around the city,” says Volunteer Odyssey executive director Caroline Norris, “doing everything from cleaning up T.O. Fuller State Park and making it even more beautiful, to working with Thistle & Bee to paint their new clinic and get it ready for some of their clients, to packing up food at the Mid-South Food Bank.”
In total, there are 11 organizations for volunteers of all ages to serve this MLK weekend, with opportunities on Friday through Monday, at different hours through the day. “Our hope is that that will inspire every Memphian to find something, to find a way to plug in,” Norris says. “If it made them fall in love with Room in the Inn, and they had never heard of them before, and now they want to go and serve meals once a month, that can be transformational for some of these organizations.”
Photo: Courtesy Volunteer Odyssey
Spots for MLK Days of Service’s opportunities are already filling up, but Norris says not to worry. “Memphis is a last-minute kind of town, and so I know that there’s going to be spots available, especially down with the Wolf River Conservancy at T.O. Fuller State Park. They got hundreds and hundreds of spots.”
“What’s most important is rolling up your sleeves alongside your neighbors and getting your hands dirty, not just talking about what’s going on in our city, but really getting to work,” Norris says. “These organizations need people power, and so there is definitely an organization that is either the cause that you care about or is looking for the skills that you already have or simply just fits into your schedule.”
This year, for its MLK Days of Service, Volunteer Odyssey is also partnering with the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) and Leadership Memphis in promoting their celebrations. Leadership Memphis will host its MLK Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, January 18th, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hollywood Community Center, with the goal to promote health, wellness, and access to resources. In addition to offering free health screenings and activities for the kids, the fair will showcase organizations focused on healthy living.
On Monday, January 20th, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the National Civil Rights Museum will have its King Day, with free admission to the museum and a full day of activities including music, performances, children’s activities, and an online presentation. The museum is also asking for food donations to the Mid-South Food Bank in exchange for discounted admission to be used at a later date, and NCRM is hosting a blood drive. Those who donate blood will receive free admission for up to two people and an MLK Spirit of Service T-shirt (while supplies last).
“We’re really trying to amplify what our community partners need,” Norris says of Volunteer Odyssey’s partnerships with Leadership Memphis and NCRM. “And so, this collaboration with MLK Days of Service is just a beautiful vision that there’s so much good happening. … Even if you can’t participate in the MLK days of service, use this opportunity to see how you might give back the rest of the year.”
Find out more about the volunteer opportunities available below or follow the link here, where you can also register.
Photo: Courtesy Volunteer Odyssey
National Civil Rights Museum: Passionate volunteers are needed to help coordinate #KingDay2025. This year’s celebration will also mark the launch of the museum’s yearlong observance themed Community Over Chaos, highlighting pivotal anniversaries in civil rights history, including the 60th anniversary year of the Selma March and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. | Monday, January 20, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Girls Inc.: Get your hands dirty for a great cause! Girls Inc. needs volunteers to prep their urban farm for the spring. This is a great way to support a mission that inspires and empowers young girls in Memphis. | Saturday, January 18, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Sunday, January 19, 8:30-10:30 a.m.; Monday, January 20, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Wolf River Conservancy: This MLK Day of Service event will focus on preserving T.O. Fuller State Park, a historically significant site for the African-American community. Volunteers will assist with hiking trail restoration, playground surface renewal, and invasive species removal. | Saturday, January 18, 10 a.m.-noon
Thistle & Bee: Thistle & Bee is transforming lives, and you can be part of their journey! Help paint walls, organize supplies, and clean their new clinic space. Your efforts will directly support survivors of trafficking as they rebuild their lives with dignity and hope. | Saturday, January 18, 9 a.m. to noon | Sunday, January 19, 9 a.m. to noon
Memphis City Beautiful: Join Memphis City Beautiful and partners in Midtown and Orange Mound on Saturday or the Mitchell Heights community on Sunday. Volunteers will plant native trees, clean-up intersections, and help create more inviting spaces in our city. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and get ready to dig in. | Saturday, January 18, 10 a.m.-noon, Sunday, January 19, 10 a.m.-noon
Overton Park Conservancy: Repair the Limestone Trail after recent storm damage. Bring a pair of work gloves and a couple of friends. Meet at the East Parkway Pavilion in Overton Park. | Monday, January 20, 9 a.m.-noon
Room in the Inn: Room in the Inn provides a welcoming, safe space for those experiencing homelessness, built on love and respect. Lend a hand with projects that directly support their mission. | multiple projects and shifts available
Shelby Farms Park: Take part in the Helping Hands project, an ongoing effort to pick up 2,025 pieces of litter by the end 2025. By volunteering, you’ll contribute to keeping one of Memphis’ most cherished green spaces clean and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. | ongoing/open availability
Mid-South Food Bank: Join the Mid-South Food Bank to pack meal boxes for the Care Like King Days of Service. Your time and effort will help fight hunger and ensure families across Memphis have access to nutritious meals. | Friday, January 17, 10 a.m.-noon
V&E Greenline: Help out on the V&E Greenline. There’s plenty to do to prepare for the spring growth. Meet at Kirby Station (1625 Tutwiler) at 9 a.m. for donuts, coffee, community, and lots of hard work. | Saturday, January 18, 9-11 a.m.
Lichterman Nature Center: Helping with trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, trash clean-up, resetting the children’s Discovery Forest, and helping to plant native plants. | Saturday, January 18, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
