Hooks Institute Calls for Submissions for New Art Award
The Frances Dancy Hooks Art Award, Exhibition to explore ‘The Beauty of Change’
July 30, 2024 — The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis invites submissions of visual-based artwork from Memphis-area artists on the theme “The Beauty of Change.” Named in honor of Frances Dancy Hooks, the award is the first of its kind for the Institute and is designed to acknowledge the importance and impact of artists in the work of social change.
Artists may submit up to two pieces via the Institute’s digital portal. Artworks may be two- or three- dimensional and can be of any tangible medium. Digital artworks are not accepted at this time. All pieces must weigh under 20 pounds, including any frames or appendages, and cannot be larger than 4ft x 4ft x 4ft. To be eligible, artists must be from the Greater Memphis Area and over the age of 18. There is no submission fee.
The submission form includes space for a title, piece specifications and a brief artist statement of 500 words or less. Artists of all backgrounds, experience levels and mediums are encouraged to apply.
Ten to 15 works will be chosen for the final exhibition in the gallery area of the new Hooks Institute offices in Wilder Tower on the Central Campus of the University of Memphis. The Institute will be hosting multiple public events in October specifically to showcase the exhibit. The winner will receive the Frances Dancy Hooks Art Award and a $400 prize.
Finalists and the ultimate award winner will be chosen by a diverse committee of specialists and experts in the fields of arts and culture and social change, including members of the Hooks Institute staff, the University of Memphis College of Communications and Fine Arts and members of the Memphis art community.
“Change is all around and can often require intense struggle and sacrifice, but it can also be a space of transcendent beauty and inspiration. This award and the accompanying exhibit were imagined as a way to celebrate the unique power of artists to capture and share that aspect of social change,” said Amy Ruggaber, assistant director of the Hooks Institute. “There is no better place than Memphis to highlight this, with its abundance of history, energy and artistry. That is why we wanted to highlight Memphis-based artists in the inaugural year of the award.”
The award is also intended to highlight the legacy of civil rights activist, influential leader and educator Frances Dancy Hooks. Hooks served as a trustee of the Memphis College of Art and supported the Memphis Symphony League alongside her well-known work leading the Women in the NAACP and being a national champion for African American and women’s rights.
In 2019, the Hooks Institute established the Frances Dancy Hooks Fund for Social Change Through the Arts to provide resources to support programming that highlights and promotes the role of the arts and culture in the work of social change. The fund has supported the creation of the “Fayette County, TN Civil Rights, and the Photography of Art Shay” exhibit now on display at the Memphis International Airport, alongside other arts-based programming for the community.
For additional information on the Frances Dancy Hooks Social Change Art Award and Exhibit and how to apply, visit the Hooks Institute website at memphis.edu/benhooks.
About the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute implements its mission of teaching, studying and promoting civil rights and social change through research, education and direct intervention programs. Institute programs include community outreach; funding faculty research initiatives on community issues; implementing community service projects; hosting conferences, symposiums and lectures; and promoting local and national scholarship on civil and human rights. The Hooks Institute is an interdisciplinary center at the University of Memphis. Contributed revenue for the Hooks Institute, including funding from individuals, corporations and foundations, is administered through the University of Memphis Foundation, a 501c(3) organization. Visit memphis.edu/benhooks for more information.
About Frances Dancy Hooks
Born and raised in Memphis, Frances Dancy Hooks was an educator, activist and church member, and spent her life fighting for racial and gender equality in Memphis and throughout the nation. A graduate of Fisk University, Hooks was among the first African American women to teach at Carver High School in Memphis. As part of her life of perseverance guided by faith, she participated in many of the efforts of the civil rights movement, including the historic march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. When her husband was elected executive director of the NAACP, Hooks took on her own role within the organization, including organizing and leading Women in NAACP (WIN). Through her work with the NAACP and other organizations, she influenced the trajectory of initiatives involving education, poverty and women's rights, and her work at the intersection of African American and women’s civil rights greatly influenced modern women’s history.
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