Whether it’s for psychological refuge, racial healing, creative expression or illumination of those in the shadows, it’s undeniable that we need the arts in our lives.

While the impact of COVID makes this a particularly urgent moment for the survival of the city’s creative community, ArtsMemphis also plans to make Arts Week an annual event. 

Ballet Memphis produced an hour-long film of the classic holiday ballet, which will be offered free on the company’s website. The New Ballet Ensemble and Children’s Ballet Theater will screen films of their “Nutcracker” performances at Malco Summer Drive-in. 

Reagan Strange, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice’ is hosting a virtual Christmas concert to benefit Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. 

To celebrate the work artists and arts organizations have created in 2020 despite the pandemic, ArtsMemphis is introducing Arts Week Dec. 7-13. ArtsMemphis provides grants to 70 arts organization, and this year supplied emergency funds to individual artists.

Since 1992, Hunt was the official artist for the Beale Street Music Festival, creating a new painting for the festival each year for nearly three decades.

The new Raleigh branch library is set to open Dec. 14, replacing the 54-year-old location at 3157 Powers Rd., which is closed as the transition begins to its future home.

National Civil Rights Museum president Terri Lee Freeman is leaving in February to lead a museum in Baltimore. She arrived at the helm of the museum just as the city’s new activism began to surface.

A sprawling collection of mostly historic buildings and farmhouses makes up Charlene’s Colony in Halls, Tennessee, which is decked out with more holiday decorations than you’ve likely seen in one place.

During her six-year tenure, Freeman oversaw the museum’s year-and-a-half-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel.

We’re not just going to be home for the holidays, but also homebound by COVID-19. Still you’ll be able to see “A Christmas Carol” performed by Memphis actors and other seasonal shows.

Avid readers and outdoor enthusiasts will both enjoy a new safe and socially distant activity at Halle Park in Collierville.

The festival, considered the most prestigious festival geared around American indie film, will be screening its selections this year at satellite locations, and Memphis will be one of these “Satellite Screens.”

In a recent three-year period, the total number of dollars granted to nonprofits led by people of color in Memphis actually dropped — from 37% to 31%.

This week’s lineup includes Savannah Brister, a former contestant on “The Voice”; Jeremy Stanfill, who writes and plays soulful roots rock; and The PRVLG, a brother duo who play modern soul.

‘Your friends and family may be familiar with Memphis music past, but how much do they know about Memphis music present? This playlist includes a selection of the freshest tracks I’ve played on my WYXR show “Straight from the Source.”’

Earnestine & Hazel’s, a literal cornerstone of South Main history, culture and nightlife through good times and bad, is now for sale, as Caitlin Chittom announced on Facebook on Monday. 

The film stands as both a great Memphis story and a showcase for the city as a filmmaking location that can do more than play itself.

Soak up the beauty of a crisp autumn day through photos of Mid-South scenes including Overton Park in Midtown, Links at Galloway and Shelby Farms Park in East Memphis, and Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park in South Memphis.

A painting donated by Memphis-born artist Derek Fordjour drew a $410,000 bid to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

In a career that spans nearly three decades, Marlon “MJG” Goodwin and Premro “8Ball” Smith, are known for their reality raps about the seedy underbelly of society in the Mid-South, but rarely given credit for their ability to pair those observations with a heavy dose of imagination and sobering social commentary. 

In November and December, 19th century literary classics will be the focus on the TSC stage. Shows will also be simulcast for online ticket holders.

The billboard campaign to encourage civic engagement is sponsored by an arts-based organization called For Freedoms.

After a $500,000 restoration, the Orpheum’s organ is “better than it was in 1928.” The theater will offer a free concert by organists Tony Thomas and Vincent Astor on Nov. 19. 

The wait is nearly over for BPACC after receiving approval from the Shelby County Health Department to return in 2021. Its abbreviated winter 2021 season, including 11 performances, is slated to begin Jan. 16, with the first show “Linda Ronstadt Experience.”