Mississippi Arts Hour

Larry Morrisey sits down with musician and Meridian native Patrick Sansone about his radio show “Baroque Down Palace,” which has recently been added to MPB Think Radio’s Saturday night music lineup (6 p.m. on Saturdays). Sansone features a wide range of music from the 1960s and 1970s that incorporates classical or orchestral elements as part of the arrangement. “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles is a well-known example, but Sansone delves deeper, playing music by legends of the era, as well as obscure “crate digger” record finds that he has collected over the years. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director David Lewis sits down with some of the team from ‘Sipp Culture. Brandi and Carlton Turner founded and run the arts organization based in Utica. They talk about how 'Sipp Culture came to be and how community conversations drive their mission. Then they talk with Saint Allen Austin about the work he is doing for 'Sipp Culture and the Surdna Foundation for the new Rural Routes Design Lab + Studio program, which engages rural artists in transformational community-driven practice. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leslie Barker talks with photographer, Jenny Anderson. A Mississippi native and Ole Miss alum, she has spent the last eighteen years working as a photographer in New York City. Jenny’s expansive work photographing the Broadway community captures the magic both on and off-stage. The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Town & Country, and so many more have featured her stunning photography. Her new book, The In-Between: Intimate and Candid Moments of Broadway Stars gives us a rare glimpse into backstage life of some of the most legendary stages and its brightest stars. Join us for our conversation as Jenny discusses her artistic journey that started right here in Mississippi. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with Germantown High School's longtime art teacher, Sheri Shramek. During her nearly 35 years in the classroom, Sheri has seen many of her students win state and national awards in various competitions, including the Scholastic Art Awards and Congressional Art Competitions. In the interview, Sheri discusses the highlights of teaching visual arts, including painting, drawing, and art appreciation, to high school students, and the ways she helps inspire her students to express themselves through art. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Shelley Ritter, the director of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. They talk about the museum's new exhibit that digs into the history of Margaret's Blue Diamond Lounge, a legendary Clarksdale blues club that operated during the 1980s and 90s. (photo credit: Panny Flautt Mayfield). If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks with Greta Koshenina, a multidisciplinary artist, documentarian, cyanotypist, and curator based in Cleveland, Mississippi. They discuss her upcoming show, opening at the Mississippi Art Center in Jackson on July 3, and a documentary she created using archival family videos. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey travels to West Point to visit with Annie Caldwell, a gospel singer and leader of her family group, Annie and the Caldwells. The group, which includes her husband and adult children, released their third album this spring on Luaka Bop Records, David Byrne’s record label. They’ll be touring Europe and Australia this summer. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt sits down with Lauren Rhoades, a writer and editor living in Jackson, Mississippi. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Lauren has served with AmeriCorps, started Mississippi's first fermentation company, and helmed the Eudora Welty House & Garden. She is now the director of grants at the Mississippi Arts Commission. In 2022, Lauren founded Rooted Magazine, an online publication dedicated to telling unfiltered stories about what it means to call Mississippi home. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the Mississippi University for Women. Kristen sits down with Lauren to discuss her debut memoir, Split the Baby: A Memoir in Pieces, which will release on June 3, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Hattiesburg-based painter Andrea Kostyal. She describes her process of creating the “imaginary cityscapes” featured in her paintings. Kostyal also talks about the workshops she and her partners offer at the Singing River Art Studio in downtown Hattiesburg.If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with composer, conductor, and keyboardist Buck McDaniel. Originally from Columbia, MS, Buck is now based in New York City, where he has worked as Music Coordinator on the forthcoming film The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, and conducted a special choral collaboration with Sam Smith and Sharon Stone on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, among other projects. On the Arts Hour, Buck discusses his newest solo piano work, “Any Room is a Room to Read In,” inspired by Eudora Welty’s writings on creativity and place. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MAC Executive Director David Lewis speaks with Thabi Moyo, the local festival manager for the National Folk Festival. David and Thabi discuss her pursuit and cultivation of the local arts community that has led her to lead the upcoming National Folk Festival, November 7-9, 2025, in Jackson. The National Council on Traditional Arts produces the festival, and Jackson, Mississippi, will be the host city for the next three years. It is the first time the festival has ever been held in the Deep South. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Zeringue talks with photographer Adam Shemper. Shemper is a native of Hattiesburg, where his most recent exhibition “Light in These Hills: Oxford Mississippi” was on display at Prospect Gallery. He is also this year’s recipient of the Photography Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with veteran southern soul performer and Delta native Nathaniel Kimble. They talk about Kimble's musical roots in the northern Delta, his start with a radio hit, and life on the road in the southern soul circuit. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks with Benjamin Morris, poet and author of a newly released poetry collection, The Singing River. Benjamin holds a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh and is a two-time recipient of the Literary Artist Fellowship for poetry. He has also been honored by the Academy of American Poets and the Chancellor's Medal for Poetry from the University of Cambridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with poet and fiction writer Olivia Clare Friedman whose most recent collection of poetry, AN ARM FIXED TO A WING, was published by LSU Press. The poems in this book seek out the spiritual elements that haunt the everyday, the divine wing fastened to an earthly arm. Elegies and poems of nostalgia appear alongside pieces celebrating the speaker’s present moment, with the underlying knowledge that such moments slip past too easily. Friedman is director of the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. Listen as they discuss Olivia Clare Friedman's journey as an artist, the creation of her collection of poems, and her decision to return to her Southern roots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks with Chad Edwards. Chad is a photographer and wax-rubbing artist based in Laurel, MS. He is a tour manager and social media promoter for Cary Hudson of the southern rock band Blue Mountain. Chad has also been a featured artist, has done photography for HGTV’s Home Town, shared his skills through workshops at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, and has published photographs in Legends Magazine. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with quilter Stephany Brown from Jackson. Brown was taught traditional hand quilting by her grandmother. She has been actively quilting for twenty years and has recently started teaching workshops. She has also been a demonstrating quilter for the current “Of Salt and Spirit” quilt exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with writer, photographer, and teacher Nadia Alexis, whose debut collection of poetry, BEYOND THE WATERSHED, was just released by Cavan Kerry Press. The book is a moving portrayal of generational trauma, domestic violence, survival, and reclamation. Nadia was born and raised in Harlem, New York City, to Haitian immigrants, and she currently resides in Mississippi. Listen as they discuss Nadia Alexis's journey as an artist, the creation of her debut collection, and her experience as a Mississippi transplant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlights of the 2025 Governor's Arts Awards ceremony. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt speaks with Mary Anderson Pickard, writer, painter, and eldest daughter of Walter Anderson. Mary has contributed to many publications that explore different parts of Walter Anderson’s artistic practice including A Symphony of Animals, Form and Fantasy: The Block Prints of Walter Anderson, and the recently reprinted Anderson’s Alice which pairs Lewis Carroll’s classic story Alice in Wonderland with Walter Anderson's visualizations inspired by the text. Mary is herself a painter and has been dedicated to the preservation of Oldfields, the historic home built by Alfred Lewis which became the residence of the Anderson family. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.