Welcome to Memphis
A WELCOME FROM
THE MEMPHIS HOST COMMITTEE
Soon, we will welcome you to Memphis and the Mid-South: the home of the blues, gospel, soul, funk, and so much more.
You have already received details from GIA about logistics, registration, schedules, transportation, and the many practical pieces. But now, you are receiving an invitation from those of us who call this region home, who have helped shape this gathering, and who are eager for you to meet Memphis with the open mind, familial warmth, and artistic respect she deserves.
This year’s conference is intentionally different. Memphis is not simply the place where we are meeting — Memphis is a mirror, a model, a metaphor, and a movement laboratory.
Memphis and the South are a hub of innovation, a cradle of culture, and a crossroads of civilization. This city has shaped music, movement, labor, faith, food, art, organizing, and the civil rights struggle. It is a majority-Black city, a Southern city, a river city, and a city deeply connected to Mississippi, Arkansas, the Delta, and the broader regional story of struggle, brilliance, extraction, resistance, and invention.
So, we invite you to arrive differently.
Dear GIA Family,
(hey cousins from all over!)
We ask that you come ready to learn and to contribute in return. There will be no extraction without reciprocity.
Come prepared to move through our city, not just sit inside conference rooms. Come ready to listen to artists, culture bearers, organizers, institution builders, cooks, musicians, neighborhood leaders, and one another. Come with comfortable shoes, elastic waistbands, curiosity, humility, and a notebook. Yes, an actual notebook. Memphis is an incredible teacher.
This is not a conference designed for passive consumption. It is an invitation to witness and a provocation to respond.
We also invite you to spend time with the resources we are sharing before you arrive. Listen to the music. Read a little history. Watch a performance or documentary clip. Marinate on the podcasts. We are offering entry points so that when you arrive, you are not encountering Memphis as a blank slate, a warned-about morass, or a vibe. You are entering a place with memory, complexity, and something to say.
Come ready to be moved, yes. But also come ready to move differently after you leave.
With great anticipation,
The GIA Memphis Conference Host Committee
PICK A WAY IN
Spend some time with Memphis
Listen to the music. Read a little history. Watch something. Marinate on a podcast.
Podcasts, for you
Featuring Lawrence Matthews / Don Lifted & James Dukes / IMAKEMADBEATS discusses how a Black-owned arts space nourishes the arts scene and complements Orange Mound, which the episode notes as the country’s first subdivision where African Americans purchased their own homes.
Memphis Material, is a podcast celebrating the personal histories, intimate stories, and the studio practices of some of the people who help shape the creative landscape of the city.
Journalist Roundtable, this episode includes local journalists discussing the Voting Rights Act ruling, Memphis-Shelby County Schools state takeover, immigration enforcement, and related local issues
Hear the story of a Black community’s efforts, along with their allies, to stop a crude oil pipeline and protect their health, land, and drinking water.
While you’re here
Arts Memphis Event Calendar
I Love Memphis Event Calendar
Don’t be shy, check out some of the unique happenings around town. Gaze at an art exhibition, go on a photo hike, or sign up for a welding class. The city is yours, and ours!
Watch and learn…
In this half-hour documentary produced by Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP), independent filmmaker Molly Wexler, along with co-directors Joseph Carr and Matteo Servente, follows the four-year journey of the transformation of Tom Lee Park, while reflecting on the history of the Memphis riverfront as well as the heroic story of Tom Lee himself.
A historical narrative short film that brings to life the true story of Tom Lee Park, a humble Memphis river worker whose extraordinary bravery made him a local hero. The film traces his journey from quiet beginnings to an enduring symbol of courage, compassion, and perseverance, celebrating a legacy that continues to inspire nearly a century later.
