The Frances Dancy Hooks Art Award and Exhibition Features Memphis-based Artists
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis has chosen 12 pieces from an impressive group of submissions for the 2025 Frances Dancy Hooks Art Award and Exhibition. The finalist works, which focus on the theme “Art + Freedom,” will be on exhibition in the Dr. Ralph Faudree Exhibition Hall in the Hooks Institute offices during public open house events on Oct. 21 and 28.
Visitors will be able to view each of the finalist works, which provide commentary and reflection on a wide array of issues exploring personal and social change as well as freedom itself. The finalist artists are Arely Herrera, Chavela Racine, Yea That Artist, Machal Wright, LaAndrea Deloyce, Katrina Boza Leggett, Lonnie Robinson, TEO, Valarie Sparks, Denzel Johnson and Kailyn Jamille.
Named in honor of Frances Dancy Hooks, the award and exhibition are in its second year. It is designed to acknowledge the importance and impact of artists in the work of social change. The winner and finalists were chosen by a committee of fellow artists and art collectors, including Dr. Richard Lou, professor of photography at the University of Memphis; Lurlynn Franklin, artist, writer and arts educator; Marcy Stagner, social change artist; Lakeisha Edwards, executive director of the Urban Arts Commission; Dr. Linda Tharpe, art collector and member of the Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences; and Amy Ruggaber, assistant director of the Hooks Institute.
The art itself ranges from oil paintings to photography and three-dimensional mixed media. “We had an impressive group of submissions, each with a distinct style. With such varieties of topic and artistic mediums, there is truly something for everyone in the exhibition,” Ruggaber said. “Visitors will see pieces that are beautiful, challenging and engaging. I’m excited for the public to be able to experience the work of these talented Memphis-based artists.”
Public exhibition dates are Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m., featuring Memphis-based spoken word artists, who will offer their own take on the theme and Tuesday, Oct. 28, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets for each event are $10 and are available on Eventbrite.
For additional information and to reserve tickets, visit memphis.edu/HooksArtTickets.
About the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute implements its mission of advancing social change and strengethening democracy through research, service and historical preservation. 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.
Media Contact:
Amy K. Ruggaber, Assistant Director
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change
University of Memphis
