Our Mission
To create joy through the power of art.
Memphis Art Museum — formerly the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee's oldest and largest art museum — has served as the city's cultural and educational anchor since 1916. Its collection of nearly 10,000 works spans 5,000 years of global human history. The museum's mission has always been to make that collection accessible to everyone in Memphis.
In December 2026, the museum opens a new 123,500-square-foot campus on the Mississippi River Bluff — increasing gallery space by 50%, adding six times more publicly accessible spaces, and creating a civic gathering place available to all Memphians.
Access and Inclusion
Free public spaces across the campus, culture-centered Community Days open to all, and free drop-in programming in the education studios ensure Memphis Art Museum brings joy to all Memphians through the power of art. The campus is fully ADA accessible, with a compliant route from Front Street to the Mississippi River, one of the only such routes in all of downtown Memphis.
Community and Education
The museum will host more than 400 events every year, serving as a platform for the diverse cultural voices and traditions of Memphis. Programs like Art Builds Creativity, Art Therapy, school tours, homeschool days, and Super Saturdays reach over 20,000 school-aged children annually, a number the new downtown facility is designed to grow well beyond.
Economic Impact
A third-party analysis projects $100 million in annual economic impact and $1.1 billion over the next decade for the region. The museum is built to strengthen the downtown core, drive year-round cultural tourism, and support the growing creative economy that Memphis is quickly becoming known for across the South.
