The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art / Memphis Art Museum
An iconic cultural institution makes its case to a series of diverse and overlapping audiences.
Founded in 1916, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is Tennessee’s oldest and largest art museum. In 2026, it will relocate from Overton Park to a new riverfront site downtown. Newly renamed as the Memphis Art Museum, the $220 million, architecturally iconic facility will serve as both a cultural beacon and an economic catalyst. As the venerable institution evolved its mission, moved forward with an ambitious relocation, and faced heightened legal and public scrutiny, it turned to Coeo Strategies for strategic communications guidance.
The situation
As construction continued on the Museum’s new downtown campus, its leaders found themselves needing to tell several stories simultaneously, each with different audiences, tones, and stakes. The museum was at once:
Advancing a bold relocation plan to Memphis’ historic riverfront while launching a new name and brand identity.
Navigating a sensitive legal dispute the its planned development site.
Launching ambitious new exhibitions and community initiatives to grow and diversify its audiences.
Attracting and developing world-class curatorial talent.
Each narrative required a different type of voice: institutional yet accessible, celebratory yet rigorous, capable of delivering both relevant cultural commentary and legal nuance. The Museum needed to shape and sequence these stories in a way that built public trust, affirmed artistic purpose, and defused skepticism.
The solution
Through carefully placed coverage in outlets ranging from the The New York Times to the Memphis Business Journal and The Daily Memphian, Coeo helped position the museum as a dynamic, community-facing institution in the midst of transformation. These stories have framed Brooks not only as a preserver of cultural memory and champion of contemporary art, but also as a catalytic force for Downtown’s redevelopment as it continues its post-pandemic recovery. The cumulative result is an overarching narrative about where the museum is going - literally - that is more inclusive, influential, and future-focused than ever before.
The impact
The Hooks Brothers story generated national attention and local pride. The economic case helped unlock public funding. Smash opening events attracted new, younger audiences. And the fulsome legal defense reinforced the museum’s right to open up new access on Memphis’s most valuable public space. With Coeo’s help developing messages and placing media, the Brooks Museum is doing more than changing names and locations—its tangibly and sustainable shifting the public’s perception.
