901 Now: Memphis artist uses QR codes to spread art around town

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A Memphis artist is taking his designs to the streets.

Using just a QR code and sidewalks, he is sharing stories of the African experience in America.

“Being vulnerable, being ashamed, being afraid. I wanted people to have all of those emotions,” said artist Ephraim Urevbu.

One hundred and fifty pieces of artwork are telling both local and global untold stories — stories that artist Urevbu said are not easy to tell.

“I’m willing to dive into very difficult issues,” he said. “Issues that people shy away from. I dug up events that took place in this country 400 years ago. I dug those stories up and created artworks around them.”

That artwork is featured in his latest project, “The Naked Truth.” This art tells a series of hidden stories of a nation while exploring the realities of racial injustice.

Now he wants to share that same art beyond the walls of his gallery.

“My role was to figure out a way to bring that story to people without forcing it on them,” Urevbu said. “Letting their curious mind take control of that. And that’s what I’ve done with the tile project.”

Using QR codes, labeled on sidewalks, it’s Urevbu’s mission to take his art and stories to the streets of the 901.

“The idea is that as people begin to walk on the sidewalks, they can scan this tile and all stories, historical events that took place will be right on their phone,” Urevbu said. “In their own time, they can read it and share it.”

Urevbu has already ordered tiles from Italy for the QR codes. He said in the next couple of months, he hopes to have those QR codes in place outside his art gallery in Downtown Memphis.

To learn more about this project, click here.

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