CONSULTING



Community-Engaged Design

ArtUp led a series of community-engaged design (CED) conversations with residents across the historic Orange Mound neighborhood of Memphis. The purpose of these conversations was to capture the ways in which local residents reimagine the dilapidated Melrose High School building in Orange Mound. The high school was closed in 1979 and has been vacant ever since. This once well-attended neighborhood high school has become a multi-generational symbol of disinvestment and a lively topic of discontent for residents of Orange Mound. From Fall 2017 to Spring 2018, the Community Listening Sessions engaged 400 residents, people with neighborhood interests, and individuals with roots from this historic neighborhood.

Community-Engaged Design (CED) is the process of giving residents a “mic” to amplify their voices and “drop some knowledge” about what they need. The CED forums empower disinvested communities to identify future creative placemaking initiatives in partnership with architects, local artists, and partnering organizations. Our CED forum in Orange Mound passed the mic to youth from ages 8 to 18 alongside their parents and grandparents. As a result, ArtUp created an inclusive environment that invited residents to reimagine their surroundings and seek solutions to some of their community’s most pressing challenges, which includes the vacant historic Melrose High School building in Orange Mound.

We compiled these findings into a comprehensive report and easy-to-read infographic for widespread dissemination. Most notably, the City of Memphis Tourism and Housing and Community Development departments have utilized our findings to inform their strategic plan for ongoing revitalization efforts in Orange Mound.ArtUp led a series of community-engaged design (CED) conversations with residents across the historic Orange Mound neighborhood of Memphis. The purpose of these conversations was to capture the ways in which local residents reimagine the dilapidated Melrose High School building in Orange Mound. The high school was closed in 1979 and has been vacant ever since. This once well-attended neighborhood high school has become a multi-generational symbol of disinvestment and a lively topic of discontent for residents of Orange Mound. From Fall 2017 to Spring 2018, the Community Listening Sessions engaged 400 residents, people with neighborhood interests, and individuals with roots from this historic neighborhood.