Black Arts Alliance plans ambitious celebration of Memphis talent, plus new culture center

John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·4 min read
An artist's concept of the proposed Soulsville Cultural Arts Center, as prepared by Self+Tucker Architects.
An artist's concept of the proposed Soulsville Cultural Arts Center, as prepared by Self+Tucker Architects.

From the silver screen to laptop cartoons. From the Pulitzer Prize to "Whoop That Trick."

In commemoration of its 40th anniversary, the Memphis Black Arts Alliance will host its most high-profile public event yet, a "Memphis Black Arts Legacy Honors & Ball" fundraiser that will recognize more than a dozen local artists representing multiple avenues of imaginative expression.

Set for Dec. 17, the event is not only an extravagant celebration of creativity but a stage-setter for a campaign to develop a new rehearsal hall and performance space in South Memphis to showcase Black arts.

Tentatively dubbed the Soulsville Cultural Arts Center, the proposed $15-million project on South Bellevue would provide space as well as encouragement for emerging Memphis artists to develop plays, music, visual artwork and other projects, according to Lar'Juanette Williams, the alliance's executive director.

Lar'Juanette Williams
Lar'Juanette Williams

"When you think Memphis, you think about artists," said Williams, who marks her seventh anniversary as MBAA head this month. "The area is so packed with talent, and it's known throughout the world, it has global impact.

"And not just South Memphis and Soulsville, with all that Stax talent. We're out in Cordova, we're in Millington, we're in West Memphis. Como, Coldwater, we're all in this together."

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Much of that talent will be recognized at the Dec. 17 "legacy honors" gala, which focuses mostly on artists who are not just active but perhaps at the height of their creativity and influence.

Honorees will include writer/producer Katori Hall, creator of the cable series "P-Valley" and a Pulitzer Prize-winner for the play, "The Hot Wing King"; Grammy-winning music producer Boo Mitchell; actress Elise Neal, whose credits include "Rosewood" and "Logan"; and animator Munirah Safiyah Jones, whose witty cartoons debuted on the internet before landing her a deal with the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Katori Hall.
Katori Hall.

Also being honored will be vocalist Evvie McKinney, a winner of the music competition series, "The Four"; hip-artist Al Kapone, whose song "Whoop That Trick," composed for the movie "Hustle & Flow," has become the de facto anthem of the Memphis Grizzlies; B.B. King Blues Club music director Jimmy Kinard; drummer Charles Streeter; LeMoyne-Owen College music professor Ashley Davis; vocalist and American Idol finalist Lil Rounds; producer/arranger/musician Kurt "KC" Klayton; popular novelist Angela K. Austin; visual artist Mosal Morszart; dancer/choreographer Eric Henderson; makeup artist Faizah Husniyah; designer/stylist Rekeitha Morris; and actress Alexis Tidwell-Bailey, who has toured in such production as "The Wiz" and "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical."

In addition, Bennie Nelson West will be recognized with a special tribute. West founded the MBAA in 1982, in a repurposed firehouse at 985 S. Bellevue that remains the organization's headquarters (the proposed cultural center would be built adjacent to the firehouse). "It's one of the few brick-and-mortar African-American organizations here that still stands," Williams said. "And the only one created by a woman that still stands."

Al Kapone and his band perform during the Beale Street Music Festival's opening night at the Fairgrounds at Liberty Park on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Al Kapone and his band perform during the Beale Street Music Festival's opening night at the Fairgrounds at Liberty Park on Friday, April 29, 2022.

Intended to serve as an incubator and network for Black arts, the nonprofit MBAA — which has three full-time employees and an annual operating budget of about $350,000 — currently devotes much of its energies to what Williams calls "arts reach": after-school programs that connect artists with kids in economically disadvantaged communities. Said Williams: "It does young people a lot of good to meet people who grew up right down the street from them who followed their dream and have gone on to be successful."

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The Memphis-born Williams — a Whitehaven High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in speech/communication from the University of North Texas and a master's in sociology from the University of South California — said she hopes the gala will generate enthusiasm for the MBAA's expansion, prior to the launch of an official fundraising campaign for the proposed arts center, which would complement an area already notable for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy.

"We've proven longevity, we've proven sustainability," Williams said. "If people invest in this, I honestly believe so much would come from it that would impact not only this city but the world. That's the Memphis way."

The Memphis Black Arts Legacy Honors & Ball

Saturday, Dec. 17, the Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main.

6 p.m., in the lobby: "The Arts-A-F!RE Celebration Experience." 7 p.m., in the auditorium: The "Honors & Awards" ceremony.

Tickets: $50-$140.

For tickets and more information, visit memphisblackarts.org.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Black Arts Alliance plans celebration of city's talent