Covering 485 square feet, and having ceilings reaching to 10 feet, the new home of Artlab is just what artists on The U of M campus needed.
Leslie Luebbers, director of The Art Museum, said Artlab is a program designed to give the opportunity for artists to exhibit their work.
She said anyone is invited to present their proposals to the art museum at any time and all proposals will be reviewed every three months by a panel.
Luebbers said the intent is to have a new exhibit every four weeks or so.
"We'll consider anything that isn't hazardous to life, limb or sanity," she said. "We're looking for the most experimental as possible."
According to Luebbers, Artlab will be an ongoing project.
"We want to be able to put up stuff that is happening," Luebbers said. "And we want something that has a faster turnover."
Luebbers said she got the idea from The Museum of Modern Art in New York. The museum has a small gallery that is called a project space where chosen artists exhibit their works.
"It's considered cutting edge and experimental," Luebbers said.
Lisa Francisco, AMUM's assistant director, said artists have difficulty finding places to display their work.
"There just isn't that much space in Memphis," she said.
Francisco said commercial galleries have to display works that are going to bring revenue.
"With experimental and contemporary work, this is just not the case," she said.
Francisco said she hopes word of mouth, publicity and press releases get the word out to the public about the Artlab program.
According to Luebbers, AMUM will provide the publicity, installation and support for the artists who are selected to show their work. A $250 honorarium will be presented at the end of the project.
"Ideally, every year we would like to publish a catalog that encapsulates the exhibits," she said.
Luebbers said even though this is the first time AMUM has tried this program, she hopes it will become a resource for artists.
