Local artist Brantley Ellzey began renting his studio five years ago on the first day of summer. “I can always remember my anniversary at my studio, because, oh, Summer Avenue, first day of summer,” Ellzey says as he walks through his space. “So, typically every year, I have a celebration called Summer on Summer.”
Summer on Summer, Ellzey says, is an annual auction that benefits charities by selling artwork focused on a specific cause. This year, Ellzey decided to give artists a chance to advocate for causes they care about by creating protest signs for an exhibit dubbed “Art is Revolting! And So Should You!” Seventy artists have submitted protest signs that will be put up for auction, and Ellzey is preparing his studio to accept up to 100 pieces in total. This year’s charity is Indivisible Memphis, an organization aimed at empowering people through education and collective action.
“We’re all thinking about the world and I thought, well, you know what? Let’s just confront that head on and challenge artists to express their feelings about what’s going on through the making of a protest sign,” Ellzey says.
Local artist and auction organizer Brantley Ellzey holds up a protest sign. (Photo: Allie Maury)
In a digital age, Ellzey wants to remind people of the merits of physical protest. The act of making a material sign, he says, can be therapeutic. The online aspect of protest and revolt is one thing, but Ellzey believes that going to a protest connects artists with a long tradition. He hopes that the unique perspectives artists bring to a visual piece will motivate people to protest and bring about social change. And for many artists, including Ellzey, the subject matter is personal.
“I’m gay, and so all of the legislation surrounding the trans community and LGBTQ rights is personally affecting me. But beyond that, I think, as a gay person, I also identify with marginalized groups.”
Ellzey said that he was motivated to stop people from feeling hopeless in the face of attempts to diminish people’s rights. Through this event, Ellzey aims to use fundraising as a way to bring artists together to fight waves of disillusionment in a positive way.
“That’s what I was thinking about when I started conceiving of this event,” he says. “That I wanted to do something.”
Other local artists share this sentiment. May Todd, who is participating in the auction, sometimes drives past an intersection with a mural of Tyré Nichols, who was killed by Memphis Police Department officers in 2023. She says that, even on a mundane day, the mural and other forms of art prompt reflection.
“It’s a moment,” Todd says, “And yes, it’s a memorial, but it’s also an opportunity to think about something again.”
In a fast-paced world with so many things competing for people’s attention, Todd sees art as something with the power to take up space in people’s minds. She says that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by negative things in life, but that seeing people come together to resist these issues brings her hope. She hopes that the auction will bring this hope to others as well.
“Maybe one voice alone doesn’t do much, but when you’re standing in a group and there are a dozen signs, they start to stand out. That’s really powerful,” Todd says.
Carol DeForest, another artist Ellzey called on to participate in the event, is a sculptor and protester with decades of experience. She said that participating in the 1968 “I Am A Man” demonstrations for fair wages for sanitation workers showed her the value of collective action, but she has long since realized that provoking change requires a lifelong struggle.
“For me to find out, at this point in my life, that we have so many things to be extremely upset and angry and disheartened by again is pretty daunting,” DeForest says.
When Ellzey called on her to participate, she saw it as a call to get to the studio and take action. DeForest became familiar with the artistic aspect of protest signs through her participation in the No Kings demonstrations and believes that the auction will help artists enact positive change.
“It’s hard to believe that anything we do can really make a difference,” DeForest says, “but you’ve gotta take a little teeny hammer and chip away at the badness that’s going on.”
The auction’s beneficiary, Indivisible Memphis, aims to organize people who want to chip away at that badness through their mission of “protecting democracy, advancing equity, and holding power accountable in Tennessee and beyond.” Sandra Barrett, a steering committee member for Indivisible Memphis, said that the feeling of helplessness is not uncommon.
“Right now, so many people in this political environment feel alone, and when you feel alone, you feel powerless,” Barrett says.
Indivisible Memphis, Barrett says, is addressing this feeling. In addition to the visibility events, the organization promotes education about issues like pollution caused by data centers, hosts deputy registrar training to promote voter registration, provides mutual aid to Latino communities affected by ICE, and supports initiatives like busing people to the Tennessee State Capitol during the redistricting process.
“What we’ve discovered with these events is that they help people feel not alone. And, again, that gives them hope,” Barrett says. “Then, that hope builds courage, and courage is contagious.”
Barrett emphasizes the importance of collective action and education, saying that living during the first Civil Rights Movement when she was younger was formative in shaping her experience. She says it was educational for younger people to be bused to Nashville during the redistricting process and experience what she described as “the largest civil rights movement since 1965,” and that the proceeds from the auction will go toward funding initiatives like these.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Barrett says. “Supporting the movement locally is a very important thing to do, because that helps.”
The exhibit and auction, “Art is Revolting! And So Should You!” occurs on Sunday, June 21st, from 2-6 p.m. at Brantley Ellzey’s Summer Studio.
