Iris Collective is bringing Memphis creatives and organizations together to find the bridge in connecting and healing as a community. “On Stage With Iris Collective” — a series where guests experience an up-close and personal seat on stage with performers in an intimate, cabaret-style setting — presents violinist Vijay Gupta in a special performance on January 29, 2026, at Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC).
Gupta is the founding artistic director of Street Symphony, a Los Angeles-based community of musicians who present musical workshops and collaborative performances with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and incarceration.
What draws me to Iris Collective is their commitment to creating music with communities, not just for them,” says Vijay Gupta. “Memphis has a deep musical legacy and a strong sense of place, and this collaboration is an opportunity to listen, to learn, and to use music as a way to foster dignity, connection, and belonging. I’m honored to be part of a project that invites the whole community into that process.”
A 2018 MacArthur Fellow and “Genius Grant” recipient, Gupta’s residency with Iris also marks the start of an ongoing collaboration between Iris Collective musicians and local community partner, Hospitality Hub, to co-create musical experiences shaped by the needs, stories, and strengths of individuals navigating homelessness.
The concert is set to offer an engaging opportunity through music inspired by lived experience and social engagement. Attendees can expect to leave feeling moved, inspired, and more connected — both to the art itself and broader community it represents.
Additionally, as part of Gupta’s debut, Iris Collective will host a community roundtable — a space for listening and learning — bringing together arts leaders, service providers, and community members, including unhoused neighbors, to explore how Memphis can work together with greater care and respect. The goal is to offer shared conversation, not a lecture, encouraging reflection and collaboration.
The roundtable will be held at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library (January 28), followed by the on-stage concert performance at GPAC (January 29), and concluding Gupta’s residency with a community-wide “soup kitchen” performance in partnership with Hospitality Hub and local churches.
“Hospitality Hub is creating spaces where families can feel supported and seen, and Iris Collective is honored to bring music into that work,” says Rebecca Arendt, executive director of Iris Collective. “Our programs will offer moments of connection, creativity, and joy during times of transition. Vijay Gupta is the ideal artist to help us begin this partnership. His deep commitment to communities affected by homelessness and his belief in music’s power to restore dignity make him a natural fit for this collaboration.”
According to Iris, the collaboration brings together music, community care, and conversation in a way that is deeply relevant to Memphis families. By pairing a public concert with a community roundtable focused on homelessness, belonging, and the role of the arts, Iris Collective is creating opportunities for families to engage with big ideas in an approachable, meaningful way. The events invite people of all ages to see how creativity can foster empathy, connection, and healing, all of which are values that resonate across households and neighborhoods.
As a former traditional concert presenter, Iris reimagined its mission in 2021, responding to major post-pandemic shifts in arts funding, audience engagement, and community needs. Its sole focus on concerts transitioned to become a community-centered organization using music as a tool for mentorship, healing, and meaning-making.
Photo Courtesy Iris Collective
Vijay Gupta
Gupta will perform a program that bridges classical masterworks with contemporary voices, illuminating the connections between past and present:
- J.S. Bach — Partita in E Major, interwoven with György Kurtág’s Signs, Games and Messages
- Reena Esmail — Movement from Darshan
- Beethoven — Septet in E-flat Major, performed with members of Iris Collective
The program reflects Gupta’s artistic mission to “create a world in which music and story are pathways to belonging.”
Iris Collective uses music to foster mentorship, healing, and connection through partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and social service agencies, providing programs shaped by community needs.
For full details, schedule, and to learn more about Iris Collective, visit iriscollective.org.