The sprawling mixed-use complex opening next month on North Cleveland in Midtown is a high-profile example of where Memphis’ art community finds itself at the halfway mark in 2017.

When Crosstown Concourse opens there Aug. 19, it won’t just represent a new beginning that turns a former Sears distribution center into a 1.5-million-square-foot community mainstay. With tenants like Crosstown Arts moving in, the development is also a representation of how the city’s arts landscape is changing this year.

2. Bikesmith Adding New Events, Expanding to Crosstown Concourse - Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Jim Steffen is pedaling harder this year. The proprietor of The Bikesmith – an operation that includes a truck that doubles as a mobile bike shop and a retail presence inside a converted auto garage at 509 N. Hollywood St. – is making good on his ambition to do more this year.

3. Hayes Honors Memphis History, Looks Forward - Friday, February 10, 2017

In Memphis, two pieces of previously neglected history are gaining some well-deserved recognition. The first is Clayborn Temple, a historic hub of economic justice that sheltered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the sanitation workers strike of 1968. The second is the Lynching Sites Project, which honors places around town where extreme racial violence has occurred.

4. Memphis Upstanders Mural Unveiled In South Main Historic Arts District - Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Nina Katz, Lucy Tibbs and Rev. Billy Kyles are among the social justice figures in Memphis history honored in a new Downtown mural unveiled on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

5. Hattiloo’s Bandele: ‘It’s a Supply and Demand Thing’ - Friday, July 1, 2016

When you see Ekundayo Bandele in his sleek, contemporary Midtown office, dressed sharp in a tie and freshly shined shoes, phone dinging constantly, you might think he was born to be a theater impresario. 

6. UrbanArt Plans Move to Crosstown Neighborhood - Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The planned relocation next year of the UrbanArt Commission from Poplar and Highland to a storefront across from Crosstown Concourse is one of the bigger items on a lengthy and growing to-do list for the arts-focused nonprofit.

7. Expungement Fees Get Legislative Scrutiny - Thursday, March 24, 2016

It’s become a rallying cry in the movement for changes in the local criminal justice system – raising private money to pay the $450 expungement fee to wipe away the criminal records of those convicted of single, non-violent offenses who have stayed out of trouble for five years.

8. The Week Ahead: Feb. 1, 2016 - Monday, February 1, 2016

How was your weekend, Memphis? The good news is you officially made it through January. Here’s a look at what’s happening this week, from a frigid swim to a FedExForum double-header…

9. Artspace Lands Grant, Seeks Design Approval - Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Developers of the South Main Artspace Lofts are clearing major hurdles this week with final approval for the building design, a crucial tax incentive decision and a grant from a new-to-Memphis donor.

10. Events - Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Center City Development Corp. will meet Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 9 a.m. in the Downtown Memphis Commission conference room, 114 N. Main St. Visit downtownmemphiscommission.com.

11. Events - Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Beale Street Merchants Association will hold the annual Mardi Gras parade Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m. on Beale Street. The celebration will feature a fanfare of carts, horse-drawn carriages, bicycles and wagons decorated for Mardi Gras, plus beads, candy, and jazz and blues music. Visit bealestreetmerchants.com.

12. Doug Carpenter & Associates Still Growing Four Years On - Monday, August 18, 2014

Even before her recent graduation from the University of Texas at Austin, Cara Greenstein had been keeping an eye on her hometown of Memphis, paying attention to job opportunities, looking for the right place to land.

13. Chamber Launches Young Professionals Group - Thursday, July 10, 2014

Before a concert gets underway, musicians will run through a soundcheck that serves as a kind of warm-up to the main event, during which participants can make suggestions for tweaks before the big show and can make sure that everything is done that needs to be.

14. Untapped Proved Passion for History - Friday, June 6, 2014

Once the last of the food trucks departed, the tables and chairs were packed away, the beer garden cleared out and supporters exited through the courtyard archway a final time, the Tennessee Brewery returned to what it’s been for decades.

15. Brewery’s Fate Unchanged Despite Untapped’s Success - Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Tennessee Brewery Untapped, the festival-like celebration that’s turned the long-vacant brewery structure Downtown into a packed community space, is now roughly halfway through its six-week run.

Approaching the end arguably hasn’t served to diminish the enthusiasm of the crowds that still converge on the brewery’s courtyard and connected spaces each week of Untapped.

16. Untapped Potential - Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Since April 24, a crowd estimated at a few thousand people has flocked to the castle-like structure at 495 Tennessee St. for the chance to hang out at the Tennessee Brewery and enjoy a bar, food trucks, music and good company.

17. Multiple Sclerosis Society Adds Trustees - Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Mid-South Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has added 10 people from the Memphis area to its board of trustees.

They are Andrew Forsdick, owner of Addison Capital Advisors; Kerry Hayes, director of public relations for Doug Carpenter & Associates LLC; Terry Lawrence, project manager at AutoZone Inc.; Ginger Leeke, esthetician with Eden Spa; Alan Lindgren, owner of Speed of Sound LLC; Karen Malogroski, owner of Bikes Plus; Tracy Pearson, vice president and general manager, food service, International Paper Co.; Michelle Rappaport-Moore, psychotherapist with The Experiential Healing Center; Dr. N. Shah, pediatric neurologist with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital; and Suzanne Williamson, vice president of market, Boscos Corp./Roma Pomodori Inc.

18. Multiple Sclerosis Society Adds Trustees - Monday, November 25, 2013

The Mid-South Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has added 10 people from the Memphis area to its board of trustees.

They are Andrew Forsdick, owner of Addison Capital Advisors; Kerry Hayes, director of public relations for Doug Carpenter & Associates LLC; Terry Lawrence, project manager at AutoZone Inc.; Ginger Leeke, esthetician with Eden Spa; Alan Lindgren, owner of Speed of Sound LLC; Karen Malogroski, owner of Bikes Plus; Tracy Pearson, vice president and general manager, food service, International Paper Co.; Michelle Rappaport-Moore, psychotherapist with The Experiential Healing Center; Dr. N. Shah, pediatric neurologist with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital; and Suzanne Williamson, vice president of market, Boscos Corp./Roma Pomodori Inc.

19. Memphis in May Seeks Local Swedes for Festival - Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The 37th annual Memphis in May International Festival is a salute to Sweden, a country whose climate differs greatly from the host town but perhaps has some parallels in its rich history.

“The joke about Sweden is that nobody’s really from Sweden except for the Vikings and they’re long gone,” said Diane Hampton, executive vice president of Memphis in May. “But they all came there from other places. It’s kind of a melting pot of cultures as well – and a cold melting pot.”

20. Boscos Teams With Cyclists To Battle Multiple Sclerosis - Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Boscos Brewing Co. is preparing to launch a limited-edition ale whose sales will support the Mid-South Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

21. Events - Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Better Business Bureau will continue its 2012 breakfast series with “How to Remember Almost Anything – Even if You’re 100” Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at BBB, 3693 Tyndale Ave. Cost is free for BBB-accredited businesses and $15 for nonmembers. R.S.V.P. to Cheryl Stewart at cstewart@bbbmidsouth.org or 757-8603.

22. Events - Monday, August 20, 2012

Stax Museum of American Soul Music will host Conversations With: Wattstax 40th anniversary panel discussion Monday, Aug. 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the museum, 926 E. McLemore Ave. Cost is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Visit staxmuseum.com.

23. Hayes Returns to PR Following Role in Wharton Administration - Friday, August 17, 2012

Kerry Hayes knows a thing or two about what makes a city tick.

He spent nearly three years as special assistant to Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., where he focused on research and innovation. Hayes led the effort to secure a $4.8 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, allowing Wharton to establish an “Innovation Delivery Team” of researchers to reduce handgun violence and accelerate economic development in the inner city.

24. Former Wharton Aid Hayes Joins Doug Carpenter Agency - Thursday, July 12, 2012

Kerry Hayes, former special assistant to Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., has joined advertising, public relations and consulting firm doug carpenter & associates as director of public relations.

25. St. George’s to Host Symposium - Thursday, April 5, 2012

The public is invited to learn about the importance of entrepreneurial citizenship during St. George’s Independent School’s 2012 Educational Symposium, slated for April 14 at Memphis Bioworks Foundation, 20 S. Dudley St.

26. MED Fdtn. Names Brandenburg Director of Development - Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Joe Brandenburg has joined The MED Foundation as director of development.

Hometown: Connersville, Ind.

Education: B.A., mass communications, Western Kentucky University; master’s in public administration, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

27. Grant Brings ‘Pop Up’ Art to Underserved Areas - Friday, October 14, 2011

Sometimes art pops up in the most unlikely of places. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, three underserved neighborhoods will have the city’s best performances delivered to their doorsteps.

28. South Main Space In Artspace Crosshairs - Monday, May 23, 2011

National nonprofit group Artspace Projects Inc. has moved several steps closer to bringing a planned live/work development for local artists to the South Main Historic Arts District.

29. Survey Will Help Map Artists’ Needs - Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A project that could put the “finishing touch” on development in the South Main Historic Arts District takes a step forward this week.

ArtSpace, a national nonprofit that works to create affordable live/work space for artists in cities across the country, partnered earlier this year with the city of Memphis and the Hyde Family Foundations to develop an artists’ residence along South Main.

30. Wharton Declines Forbes Radio Rebuttal - Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mayor A C Wharton Jr., who asked Memphians to write letters to Forbes after the magazine ranked the city No. 3 on its “America’s Most Miserable Cities” index, is declining an invitation to talk with the publication’s editor on a Saturday radio broadcast.

31. Wharton Infuses City Government With Global Ideas - Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Kerry Hayes’ job title shows how much has changed at 125 N. Main St. since former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton retired this summer and set off a scramble to replace him.

32. Funding Boost Moves Kroc Center Closer to Reality - Friday, April 24, 2009

No matter what happens with the overall redevelopment of the Mid-South Fairgrounds – a project that could be scaled back in light of the economy – the plan to build the Kroc Center of Memphis is gaining steam.

33. Weichert Realtors’ Chapman Recognized for Service Achievement - Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Amy Chapman, broker and owner of Weichert Realtors-Chapman & Associates, has been awarded Quality Service Certified Platinum status. It is considered the highest level of service achievement in the real estate industry.