Mississippi Arts Hour

As part of The Mississippi Arts Commission’s series of interviews featuring the recipients of this year’s Governor’s Arts Awards, Melody Moody Thortis focuses on the work of the Tutwiler Quilters; known nationally for their quilts, potholders, placemats and purses.During the pandemic, the group transitioned to making masks for local hospitals and others in need. This year the Tutwiler Quilters are being honored for the Arts in Community and on behalf of the quilters, Melody spoke to the Executive Director of the Tutwiler Community Education Center, Melanie Powell.

Larry Morrisey and his Arts Commission colleague Maria Zeringue discuss the online publication Mississippi Folklife; a MAC project documenting the state’s present-day cultural heritage.Three Mississippi Folklife contributors are featured.Vish Shenoy, a sitar player based in Clinton, MS; Addie Citchens, the author of two essays about Clarksdale and Oxford-based artist, Lee Harper, creator of a diorama project called History Bones.

Sarah Story, the new Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, interviews sociologist and storyteller Dr. Brian Foster about his new book “I Don’t Like the Blues: Race, Place & the Backbeat of Black Life.” An account of Foster’s five years of research in Clarksdale, the book explores the life of Black citizens, their relationship to the blues and blues tourism, and the inequalities that still exist in the rural South. They also discuss his path to becoming a sociologist, the power of place, and his influences growing up in Mississippi.