On October 24th, Contemporary Arts Memphis (CAM), a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting under-resourced student artists, opened its newly renovated home base at 652 Marshall Avenue in the Edge District.
Founded in 2022 by Memphis-born artist Derek Fordjour, CAM’s initial and primary mission was to offer a no-cost, four-week summer arts-intensive fellowship to Memphis-area high school juniors and seniors. Through this program, students spend three weeks in a sleepaway-style camp in North Memphis before spending another week in New York City. The students also receive college-level instruction, dual enrollment through the University of Memphis, and mentorship.
This new space in the Edge District will expand on Fordjour’s mission by offering ongoing support and studio space year-round for even more students, removing the barrier to access, whether that’s to the space, the cost of art supplies, or art instruction.
“Contemporary Arts Memphis is a safe space, dedicated to the growth and development of young high school students from all schools in the county,” Fordjour said at CAM’s ribbon cutting ceremony. “Public, private, charter, whatever neighborhood you’re from, it doesn’t matter. What home you live in, doesn’t matter. What matters is that you share our passion for art, and that is our currency.”
The 4,700-square-foot space includes working studio spaces, a computer lab, and an art library with books donated from leading art museums. The walls are lined with student artwork and, currently, a piece by Fordjour, with plans to rotate these student pieces and include work by a Memphis artist, courtesy of Sheet Cake Gallery.
Already, CAM has launched its Teen Art Labs program for high school students to deepen their art skills through classes at no cost. From Monday through Fridays, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and every other Saturday, students in Art Lab, fellows, and CAM alumni will have full access to the studio, including art supplies and storage for their work. Local contemporary artists will serve as mentors and instructors.
Deja Bowen, a CAM alum from the first cohort, looks forward to using this studio. “As an artist living in a house where I never had my own space to grow as a person, or an artist, a place like CAM could easily become a second home,” she said.
Now a student at the University of Memphis, she looked back on her days of completing her art assignments on her family kitchen table. “As you can imagine, I was turning my pieces into food stains, fingerprints, and all types of smears on the back and even the front.
“It didn’t help that my materials were usually cheap art supplies I would buy on Amazon or little things I brought home from school,” she continued. “Having my home be the center of all of my art making also sucked because I had no chance to talk with other artists or really seek advice that could benefit my artwork or artistic journey.
“But, with our new space, all of that will change. With this new building, I’m excited to have the opportunity to … be pushed into the art scene even more than I am now. As an alum, I look forward to watching the younger fellows flourish in our new space while growing as an arts community together.”
That’s what Fordjour imagined all along, he said, pointing out that his inspiration for CAM found its origin in his own fond memories of his high school art community. “[Bill Hicks], an art teacher at Central High School, essentially transformed his classroom into an incubator for artists,” he said. “We, his students, were abandoned misfits, the art kids who loved drawing and painting and making things. He opened his classroom for us to continue art making long after the last bell of the day. We pored over his extensive art book collection to study great works of art. He made it clear to us that we could never be competitive without putting in the extra hours outside of school.
“So we organized small groups of figure drawing, painting sessions, and very soon we were winning prizes, all on par with the student athletes. He told me, and countless others, that we could make it as artists. And we believed him. Under his tutelage, we formed friendships that would last for decades. We went into the world with confidence in our skills and ourselves, and 35 years later, he is still with us.”
Fordjour, for his part, has become a world-renowned artist. Though he now resides in New York City, he said in an interview with Memphis Magazine, “I attribute my success to having grown up in Memphis.”
Registration for the fall semester of Teen Art Labs has closed. Students can apply for CAM’s Summer Fellowship 2025 here. Learn more about CAM here.