EPHRAIM UREVBU’S phraim Urevbu - Resident Artist
	Nubia’s If you ask Ephraim Muvire Urevbu about his life,
	REGIS LAWSON Born in 1977 in Poitiers, France, Regis Lawson...
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EPHRAIM UREVBU’S - Resident Artist

If you ask Ephraim Muvire Urevbu about his life, he will tell you "I have a very interesting story, it is full of laughter, tears, heartache, and happiness." The amazing thing , is, this statement is actually a humble one. From his impoverished beginnings in Warri, Nigeria, to his home above the Art Village Gallery, his journey has been a long one, often marked with struggle.

However, you would not know it to talk: with him.

Ephraim had a love affair with art from an early age. As a child, his first instinct was to capture the things that he saw in the world around him, from capturing the warm nature of his local culture in Nigeria, to doing caricatures of the classmates that bullied him in his adolescence as a way to blow off steam. Growing up in Nigeria, neither he nor his family had a lot of money. Ephraim spent his days both going to school and working with his mother at her timber shed to help make ends meet. He spent any additional spare time he had doing odd jobs to buy art supplies.

Soon Ephraim's talents began to blossom and become noticed. He gained entrance to one of Nigeria's elite High Schools and later went to University. After his graduation Ephraim worked for a national television network, theater, and dappled in graphic design. He soon decided that moving to America was going to be the next step, and enrolled in the Memphis College of Art.

The move to America was not an easy one. Ephraim quickly found that the American dream was slightly harder to attain than it was advertised; counter to the "land of the free and home of the brave" motto, he encountered prejudice on an almost daily basis. He found the lack of governmental support for students daunting and quickly found himself at the mercy of unrelenting superiors on the jobsite. Frustrated with the things he encountered, he transferred to Memphis State University, where he quickly found his niche, earning both his BA and MBA. He credits this time in his life for helping him find a common human thread: everyone struggles.

In his case, the struggle did not win. From his humble beginnings, Ephraim has gone on to a truly remarkable career, now beginning his 15th year as a Memphis artist. He is a true Renaissance man, doing everything from creating a gallery in which the Memphis community is invited to come and see his artistic process, to running Zanzibar, the jazz cafe and restaurant attached to the Art Village Gallery. Just a few of his other activities include (but are certainly not limited to), volunteer work for 8 different organizations in Memphis, interior design, designing commemorative purses for playboy bunnies, and serving on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Urban Arts Council, and the International Children's Hart Foundation.

You might say he's a little busy.

If you ask him what the most important thing he does is, however, he will not tell you it is anyone of these things. His mission is to revitalize the city of Memphis as a whole, shaping its future through the arts and deploying his creative energies to change not only how the residents of the city experience their culture, but also visitors. He will say, "This city has so much potential." Perhaps this is why he was a pioneer in the South Main Arts District. As the president and founder of the South Main Arts association, he works tirelessly to create a place for the arts in downtown Memphis. As one of the oldest galeries in the district, the Art Village Gallery and Ephraim has watched the community grow up around them to the cultural haven it is today. Constantly striving to bring the arts to Memphis, new galleries, intereior design firms, artitecture firms, graphis design firms and boutiques now form the core of the cultural center of South Main. To increase awareness of the arts in Memphis, Ephraim and his fellows open their galleries late every last Friday of the month for the Art Trolly Tour. This provides an opportunity for Memphians to journey to the place that is South Main, take in music, and experience a little culture.

Ephraim's gallery, located at 410 South Main, is a sight in itself to behold. A restoration project, he purchased the building and carefully crafted it into what it is today...and what it is is something special. One part gallery, one part publishing company, one part restaurant, one part bar, one part framing shop, and one part interior design studio, one might think that it gets a little crowded. However, this is not the case. It's inviting interior gives no hint at the massive amount of activity that takes place. This is Ephraim's office, his home, and his community.