The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is offering free admission to Shelby County residents during its final month in Overton Park.
Founded 110 years ago, the museum will close its longtime home on Sept. 27 and open as the Memphis Art Museum in its new $222 million, 123,500-square-foot Downtown riverfront location on Dec. 6.
Under construction since 2023, the new museum will offer free admission to Shelby County residents "forever," according to city officials. As a preview of that policy, a celebration of the Brooks' Overton Park legacy and a thank-you to local residents, the original Brooks museum will be free to anyone with a valid Shelby County I.D. from Sept. 1-27.
Although much of the museum's collection of more than 10,000 works of art spanning over 5,000 years already is in the process of being packaged and moved to the new building on Front Street, multiple worthwhile exhibitions will remain on display at the Overton Park location through its closing date, including "Memphis College of Art, 1936–2020: An Enduring Legacy," which showcases 90 works by graduates and faculty of the former Overton Park art school.
Also on display are "David Ụzọchukwu: Bodies of Water," the Austrian-Nigerian photographer and filmmaker's debut solo museum exhibition, and "Summer Art Garden: Wax Print Wonderland," an installation by Memphian and MCA alumna Samilia Pelshak, inspired by her Nigerian-American heritage.
In addition, the Brooks will host close to a dozen events in September, including a "Craft Food and Wine Festival" (5-7 p.m. Sept. 6), with food and cocktails by more than 35 chefs; a "Bead Bar" (noon-3 p.m. Sept. 19) led by jewelry designer Adeli Gomero, who will lead a hands-on "mini-masterclass" covering the foundations and techniques of jewelry making; and a costume ball, titled "Come As Thou Art: A Broadway Musical Masquerade Ball & Runway."
“This month gives us a chance to honor what Memphians built here together,” said Zoe Kahr, executive director of Memphis Art Museum, in a statement. “I hope September feels less like a farewell and more like a homecoming, with familiar faces and galleries full of people making one more memory in Overton Park. That is the spirit we want to carry downtown.”
For more information, visit brooksmuseum.org.
John Beifuss is an entertainment writer at The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at john.beifuss@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Brooks Museum offers free admission in September
