By the time Brian R. Jobe and his wife Carolyn founded Tri-Star Arts in 2015, they had moved from Tennessee to Texas to New York and back to Tennessee. Finally, the two artists from Memphis and Nashville, respectively, knew that the Volunteer State was their home. “I think it was just something about Tennessee,” says Brian. “There’s just a rich history, a depth of ideas, a tangible passion among people here. It’s really fertile ground for art-making, and you see that in a much more celebrated way in the music, literary, and culinary worlds.” But the visual arts world, Brian says, lacks that same level of celebration.
And so, the couple founded the nonprofit, Tri-Star Arts, now based in Knoxville. “We wanted to support other artists here and to have malleable programs that function as tools to normalize experiences with contemporary art and show people that a lot’s already happening [in Tennessee].”
One of the first programs Tri-Star Arts implemented is the online resource, LocateArts.org, which holds a directory of current and upcoming exhibitions across the state as well as a curated artist registry. But, perhaps, its biggest endeavor yet will be the first-ever Tennessee Triennial, which begins this week after a two-year Covid-related postponement.
From Memphis to Nashville to Knoxville and Chattanooga, several artistic venues throughout the state will host exhibitions adhering to the theme: Re-Pair, authored by consulting curator María Magdalena Campos-Pons. How the venues interpret and execute this theme is up to the individual venue’s curator — a diversion from typical biennials or triennials where a single person curates all the exhibitions.
In Memphis, the four participating venues are the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art with its “Tommy Kha: Eye Is Another” exhibition, the Memphis River Parks Partnership with a sculpture of an enlarged Afro pick by Hank Willis Thomas, Tone with an exhibition by Talibah Safiya and Bertram Williams Jr., and UrbanArt Commission with its “Tend To” exhibit by Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo, Verushka Dior of the Mane Wildling, and Joel Parsons.
Ultimately, Brian says, Tri-Star Arts, in line with the triennial’s theme, hopes to connect people statewide through conversations about art. “We want to center our focus on the state as a place of a lot of activity, a lot of rich histories within each city, but also that it’s a place where a visual language can be spoken, something that is distinctly different from other forms of communication. … People have a hard time talking to one another these days. I think it’s a great moment for art to be the meeting point.”
Brian adds that even those who don’t have an arts background can and should participate in the conversation. “I just encourage everyone to trust their instincts. In a way, it’s no different than scanning the radio; you land on and listen to what you like and you’re honest with yourself about what you like. I don’t want people to feel differently about art.”
To keep up with all the triennial’s exhibits and programming, including a highlight weekend in Memphis on April 27th-29th, visit tennesseetriennial.org.
Tennessee Triennial, Various locations, Friday, January 27-May 7.