Mississippi Arts Hour

Malcolm White talks to Oxford-based artist Carlyle Wolfe. Carlyle creates works of art inspired by the nature around her. The silhouetted shapes of leaves and other flora are often the subjects of her paintings and sculptures, evoking themes of the passage of time and notions of beauty. She has a BFA in painting from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in painting and drawing from Louisiana State University and is a past MAC Fellowship recipient. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Adam Estes, a professor of music at the University of Mississippi. They talk about his work with his group, The Assembly Quartet (current MAC Roster Artists) and the upcoming saxophone conference at the university. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis talks to Oxford based fiber artist, Andi Bedsworth. Andi is also the director of the Oxford Fiber Arts Festival. Melody spoke with Andi about her background in art, theatre, teaching, and her work in the community. This week’s episode was recorded at the Southern Documentary Project offices, part of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture on the campus of Ole Miss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White travels to Oxford to talk with area sculptor and MAC Visual Arts Fellowship recipient Earl Dismuke. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Stacy Howell, the executive director of the Mary C O’Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs. Howell tells about the history of the building and gives details on the wide range of arts and cultural programming that the Center provides for residents on the Coast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An episode remembering the 2019 Governor’s Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Photography and Community Support, James Patterson. Melody Moody Thortis talks to friends and colleagues of the late photographer including guests Ron Blaylock and Laurin Stennis about their memories about his life, his art and his legacy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey talks with folklorist and 2017 Governor’s Arts Award recipient William Ferris about the Grammy nomination for his latest project, a box set of his recordings and films. They also talk about how he got started documenting local folk culture while growing up on a farm in Warren County. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White interviews Ruth Miller, textile artist and 2019 Governor’s Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Visual Arts, on Mississippi Arts Hour. Miller is known for her intricate portraits, landscapes and abstract works of art made entirely of yarn. She is a past recipient of Mississippi Arts Commission’s visual art fellowship, a 2014 Mississippi Invitational Artist at the Mississippi Museum of Art, and she has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the state and country. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis interviews Francine Thomas Reynolds and Dawn Buck of New Stage Theatre. This February, New Stage Theatre will receive a Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Theatre. The trio discusses the history of the Theatre, the role the venue has played in enhancing theatrical productions in the Jackson area and state, as well as New Stage’s upcoming show, Hell in High Water, which is set in Greenville, Miss., during the Flood of 1927 and features the music of 2017 Governor’s Arts Award recipient Vasti Jackson. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey interviews Harvey Lee Watkins Jr., leader of the Canton Spirituals, a well known gospel group that will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Governor’s Arts Awards. For more than four decades, the Canton Spirituals have mixed blues and R&B with traditional gospel, creating a sound that’s all their own. Demand for their live performances has taken them to venues across the United States and abroad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis talks to Gulf Coast artist Carmen Lugo. They discuss what it’s like being a full-time artist working in mixed media, acrylic and encaustic. Carmen describe her efforts to use visual art as imagery to explore human emotion as well as her love of nature and her experiences teaching art classes at The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey talks with dancer and choreographer Summer Baldwin. A native of northern Florida, Baldwin has been living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for several years. She is active as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and actor and is currently planning a contemporary dance festival for this coming March in Ocean Springs. She is also a member of MAC’s Artist Roster See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White interviews John Anderson, a Bay St. Louis-area architect and musician. Along with his wife Allison, he helped revitalize Bay St. Louis in the years following Hurricane Katrina with artful vision and environmentally friendly design. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis talks to Ann Madden, photographer, graphic designer, mixed media artist, and co-owner of Smith & Lens gallery in Bay St. Louis. Ann and Melody discuss Ann’s early life growing up in New Orleans and studying in France as well as inspiration for her art and her work to plan popular Bay St. Louis events such as “Frida Fest” and “Dolly Should” as part of her work with Smith and Lens. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White interviews Pascagoula restaurateur Richard Chenoweth, owner of Scranton's Restaurant and Catering. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with writer and humorist Harrison Scott Key. A native of Rankin County, Key currently teaches at the Savannah School for Art and Design. His latest book, “Congratulations – Who Are You Again?” is a memoir of his time learning to be a writer, from his earliest attempts at trying to write through to the endless book tour he took on to promote his first book. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey talks with musician, producer and MAC Roster Artist Christopher “Big Yayo” Mabry. Mabry is best known for his hit southern soul songs “Cowgirl” and “Boots On.” They talk about his family’s musical history, his early work as a musician while growing up in Holmes County and his development as a producer as well as his recent success as a performer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White interviews Hank Burdine, Mississippi Delta writer and bon vivant. He is the author the new book Dust in the Road: Recollections of a Delta Boy, a collection of his stories from Delta Magazine. The book features a forward by 2019 Governor’s Arts Award recipient Julia Reed and an epilogue by Richard Grant. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis talks to Monique Davis, the new director of the Center for Art and Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art. The Center’s mission is to use original artworks, exhibitions, programs, and engagements with artists to increase understanding and inspire new narratives in contemporary Mississippi. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A re-broadcast of a 2011 interview with Jackson photographer James Patterson, who passed away on October 21st. In the show, Larry Morrisey talked with James about the origins of his interest in photography as a child, working as the printer of Eudora Welty’s Depression era photos, and his series of portraits of Mississippi artists, for which he received an Artist Fellowship grant from MAC. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.