An exhibition of local award-winning art will soon be closing at the offices of ARTSmemphis.
The show displays works by past recipients of The Emmett Award, named for the late Emmett O’Ryan, a longtime support of the arts. He was founder/owner and CEO of O’Ryan Group, and also a founding board member of Metropolitan Bank, now Renasant Bank.
The Emmett Award is a $10,000 honorarium given annually to a visual artist in Shelby County, the largest award given annually to a visual artist in the Mid-South. It was initiated in 2010 shortly after O’Ryan’s death after a plane accident.
ARTSmemphis president/CEO Elizabeth Rouse said, “We started doing this in a partnership we have with the bank. A board member and team from Metropolitan started this award in his memory to recognize all he did in this community and for his passion for art.”
Rouse said the exhibition will be coming down soon and a new show going up for the summer. It can be viewed at ARTSmemphis at 575 South Mendenhall 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
O’Ryan’s widow, Sara O’Ryan, said “Curt Gabardi, founding president of Metropolitan Bank, came to us because he wanted to remember Emmett as a founding board member of the bank.” Their daughter, Ruthie O’Ryan Lichterman, “suggested that the best way to remember her father would be through the visual arts. With that as a guideline, Curt and the Metropolitan team came up with the annual Emmett Award, now in its 16th year.”
A team from Renasant and ARTSmemphis select the winner once the nominating committee has selected their nominee for the year, Rouse says.
Artists are nominated based on their careers and what they have done in the Memphis community. Previous winners include: Brittney Boyd Bullock, Kiersten N. Williams, Lurlynn Franklin, Yvonne Bobo, Nancy Cheairs, Gerard Harris, Carl E. Moore, Beth Edwards, Frank D. Robinson Jr., Leandra Urrutia, Alan Spearman, Anthony D. Lee, and Mary Catherine Floyd.
The award ceremony usually is held at the Renasant Convention Center. The next ceremony is scheduled February 7th, 2027.
Shawn Clayton, Renasant Bank Mid-South regional president, has been involved with the Emmett Award since 2019. He hopes the award will have an impact on someone’s life. “Discovering the award may help someone discover their artistic talent,” Clayton said. “We never know what seed we could plant, what seed we’re watering.”
Sara O’Ryan said, “I am really proud of what this award has accomplished and what it has brought to the winners. I really want it to continue and bring honor to every artist who ever wins. They are so important to Memphis.”
As for Emmett O’Ryan, she said, “He would have been overwhelmed at what has been accomplished in his memory.”
