Sheet Cake Opens Its Doors

A New Contemporary Art Gallery Comes To The Edge

Sheet Cake, a contemporary art gallery, opens December 1, 2023 located at 405 Monroe Avenue in the Edge District. 

Founded by Lauren Kennedy, a former long-time Executive Director of the UrbanArt Commission, Sheet Cake provides an important space for artists in and beyond Memphis to share their work, and a welcoming environment for patrons and art collectors. The gallery intentionally celebrates women, queer artists and artists of color, highlighting the breadth and richness of work made in and of the American South. 

“I am proud to continue engaging with and supporting the local arts ecosystem through this gallery and program,” Kennedy, the Owner & Director of Sheet Cake, said. “Sheet Cake augments ongoing efforts to provide opportunities for local artists to thrive and for Memphians to have accessible experiences viewing and buying art.”

For Sheet Cake’s inaugural exhibition, artists featured include Joel Parsons (Memphis), Clare Torina (New York), Roger Allan Cleaves (Memphis), Brittney Boyd Bullock (Memphis), Althea Murphy-Price (Knoxville), Anthony Sonnenberg (Fayetteville, AR), Renata Cassiano Alvarez (Fayetteville, AR), Ariel Dannielle (Atlanta), Alexis Pye (Houston, TX), Stephanie Howard (Greenville, SC), Melissa Dunn (Memphis), Khara Woods (Memphis), Erin Harmon (Memphis), and Kong Wee Pang (Memphis). 

“I am thrilled to be working with such an incredibly talented group of artists in the next year of the gallery’s program,” Kennedy said. “Each artist represents something vital to the spirit of Sheet Cake and this first show will give people a good taste of what to expect from the gallery.”

All 14 artists will participate in solo or two person shows at Sheet Cake beginning January 2024 through spring 2025. Joel Parsons and Clare Torina will open the first joint show on January 12, 2024. 

Sheet Cake’s opening is another example of the growing arts scene in Memphis. With many exciting exhibitions open now and coming over the next year at local institutions, Sheet Cake is excited to add to the conversation. 

“The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is proud to support our city’s artists,” Zoe Kahr, Executive Director at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, said. “We are very excited that Sheet Cake is opening and will provide a wonderful new venue for artists and collectors to connect

The gallery’s grand opening event is being generously sponsored by the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, Downtown Memphis Commission, and Rootstock Wine Merchants.

Sheet Cake is proud to be an ArtMoney partner, enabling collectors to buy the art they love and pay over time, instead of upfront. The gallery will also house a shop offering limited edition art objects and books.

Kennedy previously led the UrbanArt Commission for the last eight and a half years where she managed $6 million in public art investments, led the development of the art program for the Memphis International Airport B Concourse, and grew the organization’s visibility and engagement substantially.