In April, ARTSmemphis will welcome guests back to Art by Design. The much-missed event was last scheduled for March 2020 and fell victim to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. “We discussed bringing it back sooner, but we wanted to be respectful of the community and the recovery of the post-COVID world,” says co-chair Ann Parker of Parker Design Studio. “The time is finally right to bring it back, and I am so excited.”
She’s not the only one. The event is expected to attract over 2,000 attendees from across the Mid-South. If you are like us and can’t wait to discover what’s in store, you’re in luck. We’re thrilled to offer a sneak peek of Art by Design 2024!
As in previous years, the event centers around vignettes created by Memphis’ most talented interior designers in a unique gallery showroom. More than just a home show, the event highlights the talents of interior designers, architects, landscapers, floral designers, and visual artists. Each vignette is conceived and created by an interior designer using the many creative resources available in Memphis and the Mid-South.
In addition to Ann, stylist Amy Golden and HGTV’s Design Star Contestant Carmeon Hamilton are spearheading the production. They tell us the fifth Art by Design will feature several ways to be entertained and inspired:
- General admission, Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7: Guests can explore the vignettes, talk to the designers — and do a little shopping. Keep reading to find out more!
- Dinner with the Designers, Wednesday, April 3, 6 p.m.: You can look forward to an evening garden party beginning with a cocktail hour featuring Alma del Jaguar Tequila, cocktails by Old Dominick, live music from Memphis Jazz Workshop, and designer vignette reveals, followed by a seated dinner by Chef Kelly English.
- Art of Mahjong, Thursday, April 4, 6 p.m.: Get exclusive access to the vignettes for a cocktail hour, followed by open gameplay at 60 tables of four, in honor of ARTSmemphis’s 60 grantees.
- Morning at the Marketplace, Friday, April 5, 9 a.m. to noon: Take a private guided tour around the showroom with designers and local artists; tickets include mimosas, refreshments by Muddy’s Bake Shop, and exclusive showroom access.
- Cocktails by Design, Friday, April 5, 6 p.m.: A hip, fun cocktail party with lively entertainment, craft cocktails, hors d’oeuvres — and a vignette talk by Carmeon!
- Speaker & Book Signing, Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m.: Architect John Ike will offer a special talk and sign copies of his book, presented by ARTSmemphis and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s Decorative Arts Trust. The event is free with general admission.
Presented by First Horizon, Art by Design has exciting new components originally intended to debut in 2020. This year will include a first-ever marketplace, allowing attendees to shop art, furniture, and accents featured inside and around the vignettes. To encourage and promote up-and-coming designers, 2024 also marks the first annual “Emerging Designers,” featuring four dynamic interior design newcomers who will have their own vignettes.
To build a platform for the “Emerging Designers” component, ARTSmemphis turned to Carmeon Hamilton. The creator of the brand Nubi Interiors, winner of HGTV’s Design Star: Next Gen, and star of HGTV’s Reno My Rental, Carmeon first took part in Art by Design in 2018. “It was a dream come true,” she says. “Art by Design is a wonderful start to a design career, and I wanted to offer this broad and rich experience to newcomers.”
ARTSmemphis waived the vignette fee for four Emerging Designers who submitted applications online. The designers have been in the industry for less than two years and are not a part of large design firms. “We are thrilled about what is to come for four outstanding talents: Brittney Murkson, Colin Chapman, Baylor Pillow, and Jurnee Kelley,” Carmeon said.
A graduate of the University of Memphis, Brittney has been designing for two years. “I first fell in love with design when my husband and I bought our first home and renovated it from top to bottom,” she says. “That love turned into me starting my own design company, B. Murckson Interiors.”
Brittney is currently a senior digital product owner for AutoZone.com and looks forward to creating a bold and beautiful space that highlights and celebrates black-owned companies and creatives. “I want to showcase how beautiful and dynamic my culture is,” she says.
Colin is a Memphis native with an affinity for fashion and design. A recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a degree in fashion merchandising with a minor in marketing, Colin is the creative director for Hamilton Media Inc., the visual media manager for Joseph Stores, and an adjunct professor at his alma mater.
With an eye for design that started in childhood, Colin finally got to practice his efforts under Carmeon in 2021: “I appeared on Reno My Rental as her design assistant. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to work with her on several projects across Memphis. Last fall, I completed my first solo design project. I am honored to join Art by Design this year as an Emerging Designer!”
A native of Mississippi, Baylor holds a degree in art history and economics from the University of Mississippi. “After graduating college, I thought I would take a few years off before pursuing my PhD in Art and Architectural Design Theory,” he says. “I designed websites, bartended, helped start a branding/marketing firm working as their creative director, and did some photography within two years of graduating college. In the back of my mind, though, I never really viewed interior design as a ‘real’ job.”
Thankfully, a job helping a client with a commercial interiors job in Oxford opened his eyes to the possibilities! The owner of Beep Design Consulting just hired his first employee and is looking forward to more growth in 2024 — as well as filling his Art by Design vignette with some of the vendors, textures, and pieces he admires.
Jurnee earned her undergraduate degree in visual arts from Duke University and is pursuing her graduate degree in project management at Wake Forest University. “I started my interior design journey when I joined Studio 417 in 2023. Since then, I’ve been able to dive into the world of interior design with the expert guidance of David Quarles IV,” she says.
Her goal as an Emerging Designer is to learn from others as they navigate the experience together — and, of course, to showcase her work! “I’m excited for people to interact with my design, and I hope they also get a glimpse of my personality through it,” Jurnee says. “I look forward to growing as a participant and celebrating everyone’s creativity.”
The fifth Art by Design will be from April 3 through 7, 2024, at Agricenter International with vignettes from Ami Austin Interior Design, Maggie Clarke Interiors, Hayley Davis Interiors, Driscoll Design, Tara Felice Interiors, Carmeon Hamilton and Colin Chapman of Nubi Interiors, Lovelace Studios, Elizabeth Malmo Interior Design, Lindley Martens Design, Selena McAdams & Spruce, Parker Design Studio, Paige Proctor and Lee Pruitt of Lee Pruitt Interior Design, Anthony Shaw, Caroline V. Smith Interiors, and LaQuita Tate Interiors. To purchase tickets, visit the website here.
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