MMDC sat down with Artist Yvonne Bobo, owner of Off the Walls Arts located at Warehouse Studios.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business?
My name is Yvonne Bobo. I’m a sculptor. I’ve been doing public art—large-scale metal structures since about 2000. I’ve been renting studios over the years, and this is the first time I’ve been able to own the studio where I am. I was in Cooper Young and kind of got priced out of there, so everywhere I go as the neighborhood gets better, the rents go up, and then you have to move on. This [the Medical District] is the upcoming neighborhood now. This is our new arts district. And I won’t have to leave, because now I’m a building owner!
How did you get into sculpting & metal work?
When I went to college, I really loved art, but I had a middle-class family and they really wanted me to do something more useful, so I tried business and I had no idea what they were talking about. Then, I quietly drifted to liberal arts, then went into fine arts. That’s where I found my real love was building things. I was mixed media at the time, so I was doing a little bit of everything. Woodworking was my first sort of real skillset, then when I came to Memphis, I met metal artists. I worked with Tyler French and James Summerhill, and I was just sort of surrounded by metal. I just sort of went in that direction.
What attracted you to the Medical District?
I’m a midtowner, and I live just a few blocks up Peabody, so this is my neighborhood. We’re right at the border. I call us the Edge of the Edge because we’re right on the line. I like the feel. Friends of mine had studios at Marshall Arts for years, so I’d been going over to the Medical District for a long time.
Many artists are attracted to the Medical District due to the creative culture of the area. Can you speak a bit on the elements of creative culture that you notice within the District?
I think there’s an interesting thing about artists. We’re generally attracted to affordable rents because it’s hard to make a living as an artist. In the District, there are big spaces that are affordable, and that you can build in. That always drives artist because a lot of us don’t make a lot of money, so having an area where we can all be together, we can get a little synergy going. It’s interesting about the way neighborhoods change, too. A little but of what I’m trying to preserve here is having a group of artists together since an artist owns the building—that’ll never change, so the group of artists won’t change.
Have you received any supports from MMDC to assist in your move to the District?
Yes, I received a façade grant. We actually replaced some of our doors with bifold overhead doors and MMDC helped us with some of the exterior lighting also.
You’ll soon be opening your studio to the public. What can people expect from Off the Walls Arts (gallery showings, classes, events)?
We’ll be having our Grand Opening on March 28th from 11am-3pm. Christopher Reyes will be showcasing an immersive art experience and we’ll have about 4 new artists moved into the building and will have their work on display as well. We’ll have a fashion show, the band will play, there’ll be different elements of the Off the Walls Arts artist collective showcased during the event. This will be a free, family event.
Can you explain more about the Artist Collective that will be working in Warehouse Studios?
The Artist Collective will be a core group of people who rent studio space in the building. Those people will stay here as long as the space serves them. In the future, we hope to develop the nonprofit arm of Warehouse Studios, Off the Walls Artist Collaborative. Essentially, there’s three things that go on here. We have the Yvonne Bobo Studio, which is me. Then there’s Warehouse Studios, which owns the building and houses the Artist Collective. And people rent space here. Then, there’s Off the Walls Artist Collaborative, the nonprofit that supports Christopher Reyes building out the immersive art experience. We hope to have artists that come in to build out installation-style art, so we help to support that and provide them space to build weird art that they can’t really do anywhere else. Maybe later, we’ll have some changing studios for artist. People who are in the building have already made a financial commitment to their artwork. They have a dedicated space and community. We’ll have workshops where people can come learn and do things with us, and maybe we’ll have transitional space where people can submit something and get free studio for a period of time to kind of work around. We’d like to nurture artists at all levels, that’s the goal.
For artists who would like to be part of the Artist Collaborative, is there still space available for rent?
Yes, I think with the workshops and the changing installations space, that’ll be a nice way to bring people in to work with the artists in residence, work together, do shows, and get folks involved who aren’t in the building. There are a few studios left for rent, about four. If someone is interested in renting space, they can reach out to me on the website offthewallsarts.org or at yvonnebobostudio.com.
Memphis Medical District Collaborative is all about highlighting vital connections within the District. Your work is featured around the Medical District. Can you name a few of your pieces that people can spot around the area?
I have a piece at Methodist Le Bonheur hospital, “Under the Rainbow.” It’s a dichroic piece that’s kinetic. I also have a piece in the entrance of Methodist Le Bonheur’s Community Outreach Building at 600 Jefferson. I hope to do more work in the District!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I am grateful. I think right now in Memphis, as an artist to by a building, I realized what a challenge it was financially to try to buy a commercial building. It’s difficult. Because there were a number of organizations in Memphis supporting people who are trying to do stuff to improve the neighborhoods. It was a really good time for me because MMDC helped us with the façade grant and EDGE did a matching grant with us for the work, and we also received support from DMC. We received a lot of support, which is great!
I think that speaks to you being connected with a lot of the various local community development organizations. For other folks who are looking to follow in your footsteps, can you describe that process and how you went about identifying those grant opportunities?
I actually reached out to Poplar Foundation because I knew someone there. They put me in touch with River City Capital. I already knew about MMDC. I didn’t know about EDGE, but started to investigate them. I started to see who was interested in supporting this type of work. A lot of community development organizations are interested in supporting artists because they realize how valuable supporting artists and their art is to an upcoming neighborhood. I think everyone wanted to support an artist-owned and artist-focused business because we’ll make sure to keep it that way. People are stopping by the building since we’ve installed the mural on our exterior. It’s interesting to watch people start to put up signs and start making improvements, too. I think other businesses are having a little encouragement. The work is definitely having an effect.
Warehouse Studios is located at 358 Walnut Street. You can keep up with them at offthewallsarts.org or Facebook.
