OUR RESEARCH
We didn’t guess what Memphis creatives need. We asked.
Centering Black Imagination for a Restorative Economy is a research study exploring what it takes to thrive as a creative right here in Memphis. Browse this page to learn about the research and how it shapes our work as Memphis Culture Coalition.
the research behind the movement
We didn't guess at what Memphis creatives need. We asked. This research, Centering Black Imagination for a Restorative Economy, is 385 Memphis voices telling us exactly what it takes to build a thriving creative economy here at home.
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Centering Black Imagination for a Restorative Economy is a research report about Memphis' Black creative and cultural economy. It looks at what's working, what's missing, and what it would take for Memphis creatives to actually thrive here. The Big We led the project, working directly with Memphis creatives as partners in the research, not just subjects of it.
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Memphis has always been a powerhouse of Black culture, from Stax Records to Ida B. Wells to Hattiloo Theatre. But talent has never been the issue. We wanted real data and real stories, straight from Memphis creatives themselves, to understand exactly what's standing between that talent and a thriving creative economy.
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We surveyed 325 Memphis creatives and sat down with 60 more in focus groups, covering music, visual art, theatre, fashion, food, and healing arts. Five Memphis creatives also helped design the research itself, making sure the questions we asked actually reflected real life here. Every finding in this report comes straight from those conversations, not outside assumptions.
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Memphis creatives are entrepreneurial, connected, and constantly collaborating with each other, even without much outside help. What's held them back is access: roughly half say they've never gotten the funding, space, or institutional support they need to turn their craft into a stable living. The talent has never been the problem. The systems around it have.
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This research is the proof behind everything Memphis Culture Coalition is asking Memphis to invest in. It turns what creatives have been saying for years into something impossible to ignore. Every recommendation in our push for a cultural plan traces straight back to what Memphis creatives told us they need.
This research was made possible by The Wallace Foundation, a national foundation supporting arts organizations founded by, with, and for communities of color as part of its ongoing initiative to advance equity across the arts. Their support gave The Big We the resources to ask Memphis creatives directly what they need and to turn those answers into real data Memphis can act on.
about the research
Are you intrigued? Read the research for yourself; no summary needed.
view the research
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