STAINED GLASS REIMAGINED

CLICK FOR RESOURCE IMAGES & INFORMATION

Watch this video of the artist briefing for the stained glass reimagining for more details about the submission process.

These two windows, the West & the South windows will be redesigned and replaced for the restoration project.

The South window, facing I AM A MAN Plaza.

Submission for the remained windows must reflect the color pallet of the original window that remains in tact.

The West window, that faces Hernando St. from inside Historic Clayborn Temple.

Background

The Historic Clayborn Temple has been awarded a grant to restore its stained-glass windows, a critical component in the overall building restoration. As Historic Clayborn Temple prepares for Phase II of the historic preservation and restoration process, The Clayborn Team is working to reimagine the stained-glass windows as a canvas that tells the story of The Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968.

Being named a National Treasure in 2018 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation brought Historic Clayborn Temple back to the national stage and paved the way for relationships with significant national and local funders. To date, the Clayborn Temple project has received grants totaling $4.8 million. In 2019, under the leadership of a new Executive Director and governed by a new Board of Directors, Historic Clayborn Temple became an independent nonprofit organization and officially acquired the historic site from its former fiscal agent, The Memphis Leadership Foundation.

As Memphis commits billions of dollars to redevelopment and reinvestment into its future, Historic Clayborn Temple will be a powerful neighborhood anchor that brings the city together at the junction of Downtown and South Memphis. Building impactful connections across time, space, race, and class, this premier center for history and culture will play rich and important roles including space for civil rights tourism, local gatherings, cultural events, and community engagement for diverse audiences from across Memphis and around the world. Above all, Historic Clayborn Temple will be an economic engine for South Memphis doing its part to ensure that the voices and the vision of the Sanitation Workers that shaped Memphis’ past continue to shape and grow its future.

As Historic Clayborn Temple prepares for construction for the long awaited and much anticipated restoration of the building, we are continually looking for ways to share the story of the work that made this building a National Treasure. One of the most exciting ways this will happen is through the reimagined stained-glass windows.

Historic Clayborn Temple is looking for a visual artist that will redesign the massive South and West stained-glass windows to tell the story of the Sanitation Workers Strike and what happened at Clayborn Temple in 1968. We are excited to use the windows, one that looks out onto Hernando St. and the other that looks over the I AM A MAN Plaza to highlight the men and women who forged a path forward for economic justice and human dignity in their historic campaign.

Key partners in this project are The Historic Clayborn Temple board and team, The CLTV, Pearl River Glass Studio, The National Park Service, The City of Memphis, Self-Tucker Architects, AllWorld Project Management, and Bologna Consultants

Site Specifics

Located just south of Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, Clayborn Temple began its life in 1892 as Second Presbyterian Church. In 1949, the building was sold to an African Methodist Episcopal congregation who changed the property’s name to Clayborn Temple in honor of a local bishop. For the subsequent years, Clayborn Temple served as a religious institution with an active and vibrant African-American congregation and in 1968 became the organizing headquarters for The Sanitation Workers’ Strike. Everyday people, along with civil rights and labor activists, advanced the dignity and economic wellbeing for sanitation workers, with the campaign’s iconic “I AM A MAN” signs produced daily in the Temple’s basement. Over the last four decades, the “I AM A MAN” signs have become a universal symbol for human rights and human dignity. The Strike is also known for being the last campaign that Martin Luther King worked on before he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.

For decades, Clayborn Temple continued to operate as a religious and cultural institution for parishioners and visitors until closing in 1999 and falling into disrepair. Officially named a National Treasure, the building came back to life in 2018 and 2019, reopening for community gatherings and is now closed for construction preparing to open fully restored and open to the public in the near future.

Scope of the Work

The Historic Clayborn Temple has partnered with The CLTV to take on the restoration of Clayborn Temple’s stained glass windows. The selection panel expresses an interest in art that:

Animates the work of the Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968
Lifts up the unheard stories of The Strike
Tells the story of the past and the possibility of the future of Memphis

The commissioned artwork will be selected based on the above criteria. The final artwork must receive the approval of the National Park Service, The State Historic Preservation Office of Tennessee, and the selection panel. The artists selected shall be expected to collaborate closely with site engineers, landscape architects, and any necessary party for the successful installation of the project, including the community.

A predetermined color pallet has been chosen to integrate with pre-existing glass.

No prior experience with stained glass is necessary. Chosen artist will work with Pearl River Glass Studio to digitally translate the final design into stained glass.

Project Timeline

Key project dates are outlined below. Dates are best guess estimates and are subject to change.

Submissions Open January 29th - February 21st, 2021

Artist Briefing February 8th, 2021 REGISTER HERE

Finalist Notified March 1st, 2020

Finalist Submission March 1st - March 25th, 2020

Final Design Chosen March 31st, 2021

Finalist Requirements

No previous stained glass experience is required. Panelists will select three finalists. Each finalist will be given a $1500 stipend and three weeks to create their renderings. Of the three designs, the selection committee will choose one finalist to receive $10,000 and an apprenticeship with Pearl River Glass Studio to finalize their design and learn about stained glass making and installation. All finalists’ designs will be work for hire and become the property of Historic Clayborn Temple.