Medicine Factory is an independent arts organization located in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Established in 2005, Medicine Factory is located in downtown Memphis in a warehouse, originally built in 1912 as McConnon & Co Medicine Mfg. Medicine Factory as a

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

space is unique in the MidSouth for encouraging experimentation in all media and promotion of site-sensitive work without curatorial controls. This freedom does not seem to exist in any of the areas traditional galleries. Medicine Factory was founded by local artists Julie Lewis, Phillip Andrew Lewis, and Jason Tomblin. Medicine Factory invites artists to create on-site experimental work free from the constraints of most galleries, museums, and curatorial controls. Most would define this type of work as

Installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

. Works to date have included video installations, sound sculpture,

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, various types of photographic

image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, and other media. The organization averages only a small number of shows each year. Artists are typically invited to work at the space for approximately 3 weeks with their work remaining on display for about one month. Medfac is unique to Memphis and important to the city.

Bibliography

{{reflist * The Commercial Appeal, "Freedom of Expression" by Frederic Koeppel, March 31, 2006 * Number: An Independent Arts Journal, "Editorial No.56" by Leslie Luebber

Spring/Summer 200

* Memphis Magazine, "Renovation Generation" by Chris Davis, August 2006, pg74 * Memphis Business Journal, "Artists Can Experiment with their Craft at Medicine Factory" by Andria Lisle, Nov 2006, pg37. 2005 establishments in Tennessee Art museums and galleries established in 2005 Artist-run centres Organizations based in Memphis, Tennessee