Mississippi Arts Hour

Sarah Story talks to Thad Lee, an Oxford-based artist. Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and writer, known for All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (2020) and October (2003). He and Sarah discuss a recent collaboration project Lee exhibited with his wife, artist Carlyle Wolfe Lee. The exhibition at Southside Gallery in Oxford featured a series photographs and paintings inspired from the couple’s travels and explorations of nature.If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider making a contribution to MPB.  https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Poetry is alive and thriving in the Magnolia State! On the Mississippi Poetry Podcast you’ll hear poets sharing their work, telling their stories, and offering tips to help listeners flex their poetic muscles. In this episode, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil joins host and Mississippi Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce for a lively conversation about where poems come from, being a “noticer,” and her favorite sea creature.A resource for teachers and community groups can be found here: Podcast Supplement_Nezhukumatathil (ms.gov) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Story talks with photographer Ashleigh Coleman, a MAC fellowship recipient and 2020 South Arts State Fellow for Mississippi. They discuss Ashleigh’s experience living in rural Mississippi and documenting her children’s lives, finding joy and magical moments in their messes. Ashleigh’s work has been exhibited throughout the U.S and has been published in Oxford Magazine, Garden & Gun, and Southern Living.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leslie Barker talks to ASU Jazz Festival longtime organizer and ASU music professor, David Miller. This year, the ASU Jazz Festival is being honored with the Governor’s Arts Award for Arts in Community. For more than four decades, the festival has brought some of the most significant jazz performers in the history of the genre to the state, often representing the only occasion many of these musicians perform in the state. Under the direction of Dr. Miller for 35 years, the festival aims to educate students and others though workshops and discussions with artists.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Story talks with Maurice Carlos Ruffin, an author and the 2020-2021 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at The University of Mississippi. He is the author of "We Cast a Shadow," which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN/Open Book Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and International Dublin Literary Award. His latest book “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You” is a collection of stories set in New Orleans. He and Sarah talk about his residency, new book, and life as an attorney turned writer.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White interviews filmmaker Anthony Thaxton and restauranteur Robert St. John about the newly released “Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of The Islander,” a documentary and accompanying book based on the fascinating life and work of Mississippi Gulf Coast watercolorist. The documentary premiered on MPB Television on Nov. 4 and features family interviews, never-before-seen artwork and breathtaking images from Anderson’s beloved Horn Island. The companion book was released in November and is available at independent bookstores and online.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leslie Barker interviews artist, illustrator, teaching artist and Greenwood, Mississippi native, Chuck Galey. Chuck will talk about Adventures in the Imagination, an exhibition featuring his original illustrations from published books. The exhibition will be at the MAX in Meridian through March 12. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Story talks with Claire Whitehurst, an Oxford-based painter, printmaker and ceramicist. The two talk about Claire’s techniques and inspirations as well as the new book Mirror Drawings. Published by Drum Machine Editions, Claire created this bound suite of screen prints as a 2021 publishing resident at Drum Machine. They also discuss Claire’s online exhibition, Mississippi Shade with Steve Turner gallery in Los Angeles See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Daniel De Vise, author of the new biography on BB King (“King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of BB King”). De Vise talks about how King’s childhood shaped his drive to succeed, how he invented his own unique guitar style and the ups and downs of his 60+ year career. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis talks with Harry Bolick and Tony Russell, authors of the new book "Fiddle Tunes from Mississippi: Commercial and Informal Recordings, 1920–2018, a new publication from the University Press of Mississippi. Harry and Tony share their work collecting the music of Mississippi fiddlers, including many previously unheard recordings from across the state.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leslie Barker talks with one of this year’s Performing Arts Fellowship recipients, Nancy Maria Balach. Nancy Maria discusses her life in music, the crucial role of arts in education, and the University of Mississippi’s upcoming production of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Malcolm White welcomes guests Ellen Rodgers Daniels and Ralph Eubanks. Ellen Rodgers Daniels is the executive director of the Mississippi Book Festival and Ralph Eubanks is an author who presented at this year’s virtual festival. The group talks about the 2021 festival offerings, its pivot from in-person to virtual this past August as well as Ralph Eubanks’ new book “A Place Like Mississippi.” All presentations and panel discussions from the 2021 Book Festival are now available, free of charge, as videos or podcasts via bookfestival.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Tom Kersen, a professor at Jackson State University about his new book “Where Misfits Fit: Counterculture and Influence in the Ozarks.” The book looks at the distinctive culture of the Ozarks region and how it has drawn a wide range of musicians, counter-culture types and back to the land enthusiasts since it was initially settled. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis speaks with 2021 MAC Fellowship recipient, Sophie Glenn. Sophie is a furniture maker and steel fabricator who works to explore the relationship between the two. Sophie's work invites the viewer in to discover that things may not always been as they seem. They talk about the craft of metalworking, its connection to history and how it’s being transformed through Sophie's work to explore a contemporary version of this traditional work. Photo Credit: Megan Bean See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leslie Barker talks with The End of All Music record store owner, David Swider. David tells us about the origins of the original Oxford location and the new Jackson store that just opened up in Fondren. He also gives lots of great Mississippi music recommendations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Story talks with Adrienne Brown David, a painter based in Oxford, Miss. In her work, Adrienne captures black childhood in a way that is pure and uninterrupted, drawing inspiration from her four daughters and the Southern landscape. She has exhibited in New York and Oxford alike, was named one of Buzzfeed’s “26 Black Artists That’ll Help You Start Your Own Art Collection,” and her artwork was recently selected as the poster artwork for the 2021 Mississippi Book Festival.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Morrisey visits with ceramic artist and potter Stephen Phillips from Crawford, Miss. As a child, Phillips created animal figures out of mud and “fired” them in an improvised kiln. He got his official start working in clay as a student at East MS Community College and later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at MUW in Columbus. Phillips has a studio in Crawford but exhibits his work throughout the country. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melody Moody Thortis speaks with Eric Stracener. Eric --twice named best singer-songwriter by the Jackson Free Press -- talks about his new album, Ocean Springs and his creative journey throughout his musical career. You'll hear about how his inspirations and how his music and subsequent albums have continued to evolve over the years.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leslie Barker talks with one of this year’s Performing Arts Fellowship recipients, Treya Dionne Brown. Treya is a writer and professionally trained film, stage, and voice over actor. Join us as she talks about how her Hattiesburg roots have grown into a life in the arts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Story talks with Ming Ying Hong, an interdisciplinary artist based in Starkville. She has exhibited throughout the U.S. and was recently named the South Arts Mississippi State Fellow. A professor of drawing at Mississippi State University, her work explores bodies at the margins, questioning the way we define, categorize, and assign power to them.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.