Repair Days Puts the Metal Museum's New Overton Park Foundry to Work

The crowds came to Overton Park on Saturday, Sept. 5, for the Metal Museum's grand opening, in the building that used to be the Memphis College of Art. They walked the sculpture garden, waited in a long line for the gift shop and stood looking down into the foundry. The Memphis Flyer's opening-day coverage noted that workshops and demonstrations for all ages filled the education area and the foundry that afternoon.

From Thursday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 8, that foundry hosts the museum's biggest weekend of the year. Repair Days is the museum's largest yearly fundraiser. You bring in a metal object, from a family heirloom to something you use every day, and skilled metalsmiths repair it. The museum says this is the first Repair Days at its new home in Overton Park. For years the event meant a drive down to the river bluff. This year it's on Poplar Avenue, between the Overton Park Shell and the rest of the park.

A Building Reworked Around the Workshop

The Metal Museum calls itself the world's only museum dedicated exclusively to fine metalwork. At the new site, visitors can see artists at work in the Metals Studios, take hands-on classes and watch demonstrations, along with touring the exhibitions. The working side of the museum carries the building.

Modernist architect Roy Harrover designed the building as an art school, and LRK Architects Designers Planners handled the conversion. The Flyer quoted Tony Pellicciotti, LRK's managing director and managing principal, on what changed:

"The two most significant moves on the building are the entry and the new foundry building."

Pellicciotti credited LRK architect Krissy Flickinger, who led the design team. He told the Flyer the new foundry building is "trying to be referential to the existing one." The Flyer listed a blacksmith shop, a fabrication yard and a demonstration area as part of the foundry facility, along with larger galleries, classrooms, a library and outdoor sculpture.

The workshop also faces the park. In a December 2025 preview, WKNO described the Shell at 1928 Poplar Ave. as sitting just beyond the museum's west-facing studio windows.

On a normal week, the museum holds metalworking demonstrations at 1 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, except when a workshop is running. Repair Days runs that same workshop at full volume for four days.

How the Four Days Break Down

Repair Days raises money for the museum's year-round work. The museum says proceeds support its exhibitions, its apprenticeship program, M4 on Tour and Forging the Future, an after-school program. Museum admission is free to the public during open hours all weekend.

Here's the published schedule:

The dates matter for planning. Thursday is drop-off only and Sunday is pickup only, so anything you bring in has to come back out by Sunday's 4 p.m. close. Dropping off on Thursday or Friday leaves the most room for the work to get done. Saturday gets the most traffic. For what kinds of items the metalsmiths will take and what a repair costs, the museum takes questions at [email protected] or 901-774-6380.

Saturday Is the Free, Hands-On Day

Community Day runs Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's free and open to the public. The museum lists hands-on activities for all ages, live metalsmithing demonstrations, music, food trucks, the museum store and the current exhibitions.

The main event is the iron pour, scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. The museum notes that the timing may vary. With Repair Days at the Overton Park site this year, the pour happens next to Poplar Avenue rather than on the bluff.

Two events later in the day take planning ahead:

• Curator gallery talk, 4 to 5 p.m. An RSVP is required.
• Repair Days Art Auction, with a cocktail hour from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and the auction from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Both require an auction ticket. The auction is made up of handmade, one-of-a-kind metal pieces donated to the museum. If you can't attend in person, you can bid by registering a proxy bidder.

The museum is also accepting metal artwork donations for the auction, and volunteer sign-ups are open for metalsmiths, non-metalsmiths and students.

Parking Is the Catch

Moving to Overton Park put the museum close to Midtown's front doors. It also means sharing the park's parking. The museum's directions page warns that parking in Overton Park is limited. It asks visitors to use the signed, designated spaces and says spots can get scarcer during events. MATA Route 50 serves the park, and the museum also lists walking and biking as ways in.

That warning applies most on Saturday, Nov. 7. A free Community Day with food trucks, in a park that also holds the Memphis Zoo and the Shell, is about as busy as the parking situation gets. The Overton Park Conservancy describes the park's cultural institutions as independent organizations that share the same park. If you live within walking or biking distance and have a small item to drop off, Thursday or Friday on foot is the easiest trip of the weekend.

What's in the Galleries While You Wait

Two exhibitions opened with the building on Sept. 5, and both are still up through Repair Days.

From the Bluff to the Park: The Metal Museum's Collection Through Time fills the second- and third-floor galleries. It traces the history of the collection, with work by artists including Martha Banyas, Marilyn da Silva, Denise Wallace and John Marshall. It runs through March 21, 2027.

Strike! Pour! Create!: Works by Metal Museum Apprentices is on the first floor. It shows work by more than 20 former and current apprentices, among them Elizabeth Belz, Lewis Bōdy, Jake Brown, Michael Chmielewski, Savannah Smith and Nina Yao. It closes Jan. 31, 2027. Because Repair Days money supports the apprenticeship program, the first-floor show is a look at the work the weekend helps pay for.

Outside of Repair Days, the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1930 Poplar Ave. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 62 and up, $7 for military and for students with ID, $5 for ages 5 to 17, and free for children 4 and under and for members. On Thursdays, Tennessee residents get in free with state-issued photo ID. Children under 17 without their own ID need to come with an adult Tennessee resident, and the free admission doesn't cover guided tours. For Tennessee residents, that makes Thursday, Oct. 22, a free visit with an evening talk to follow.

The museum's original riverbluff campus, now called Metal Museum on the Bluff, is closed to the public. The museum says it will host an artist residency program there, with public programs to follow in 2027.

Fall Classes Around the Big Weekend

The same studios that handle repairs run classes the rest of the season. These dates come from the Overton Park Conservancy's event calendar:

• Thursday, Oct. 22: Forged Connections with Dr. Andrew Welton, a talk on early medieval bladesmithing, pattern-welded swords and metallurgy. It runs 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $15 to $20.
• Saturday, Oct. 24: Make Your Own: Spooky Beaded Jewelry for Halloween, 2 to 4 p.m. Ages 8 and up with an adult, $35.
• Saturday, Nov. 14: Storytime, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., suggested for ages 3 to 7. The $5 child ticket covers museum admission for the child and up to two adults.
• Saturday, Nov. 21: Two metal studio classes for ages 15 and up, $150 each. Cast Aluminum Switch Plates runs 8 a.m. to noon, and Cast Aluminum Bottle Openers runs 1 to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 28: Cast Art Holiday Tiles, in hourly sessions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ages 5 and up with an adult, $25.
• Saturday, Dec. 12: Cast Pewter Ornaments, in half-hour sessions from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Ages 5 and up with an adult, $30.
• Saturday, Dec. 19: Make Your Own: Holiday Ornament Extravaganza, 2 to 4 p.m. Ages 8 and up with an adult, $35.

The calendar also lists after-hours Forged Connections nights on Nov. 12 and Dec. 10, with tickets from $15 to $20. Those holiday sessions in late November and December are hands-on ways to make a gift in the same foundry space that handles Repair Days.

If a Repair Days trip with a brass doorknocker or a family candlestick has you thinking about the house it came from, Mia Atkinson is glad to talk Midtown with you, whether you're thinking about a move or just curious what your place is worth. Book a Call whenever it suits you.