Mississippi Arts Hour

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...

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, a...

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.   h...

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.mpb...

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 consid...

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 d...

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.o...

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....

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 c...

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.   htt...

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. Se...

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. Ho...

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 underl...

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 Leg...

 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...

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 th...

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...

On this episode of the Mississippi Arts Hour, Larry Morrisey speaks with writer David Johnson about his new biography of legendary Mississippi bluesman Booker “Bukka” White. Johnson tells us about his rural upbringing, the records he made in the 1930s and 40s and the revival of his career during the blues revival of the 1960sIf you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to...

This week on the Mississippi Arts Hour, Leslie talks with Governor’s Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Motion Picture, Tate Taylor. His incredible work includes The Help, Get On Up, Ma, and Palm Royale. In our conversation, he takes a deep dive into his past work, filming in Mississippi, and gives us a glimpse of what’s coming next. He even tells us about his favorite spots to visit in Missis...

Maria Zeringue speaks with 2025 Governor's Arts Awards Excellence in Traditional Arts recipients, The Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band. Sharde Thomas Mallory and Chris Mallory are the dynamic duo behind the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band. Sharde's grandfather, Otha Turner, known as the father of Fife and Drum music, continues his legacy today. In recent years, the band has grown into a worldwide b...

Lauren Rhoades sits down with 2025 Governor's Arts Awards Excellence in Visual Arts and Landscape Architecture recipient Robert Poore. With a 36-year career rooted in artistry and design, Robert has dedicated himself to landscape architecture and creative collaborations with artists and cultural institutions. Robert's visionary work is showcased in some of the state's most beloved landscapes, incl...

Kristen Brandt visits with 2025 Governor's Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Walt Grayson. Grayson is known for his career as a storyteller in broadcasting. He is a revered figure in Mississippi and has spent over five decades narrating the stories of his beloved state. He currently works as a news anchor and lifestyle/feature reporter for WJTV-12, but his career spans radio and tel...

Larry Morrisey talks with blues musician and 2025 Governor’s Arts Award recipient Eddie Cotton. Cotton is a nationally touring musician who has recorded a number of well-received albums. His latest, “The Mirror,” was released in 2024 on Malaco Records, the legendary Mississippi record label. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB.   https://donate.mpbfou...

David Lewis visits with 2025 Governor's Arts Award recipient Jane Crater Hiatt. Hiatt will receive the Stephen C. Edds Patron of the Arts Award at the 2025 Governor's Arts Awards ceremony on Thursday, February 6, at 6 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. Hiatt is a Jackson native who has served as a leader in the Mississippi arts community for decades, including at MAC. Her deep generos...