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Episode 26 - Ida Floreak is a painter living in New Orleans, LA. Her work deals with ecological anxieties paired with reverence for the natural world. She explores what it means to be human in a time of ecological disaster, where to find hope and our place in the recovery, as well as the universal human trait of worship. Humanity is an ancient and vital part of the planets ecology - our belief systems and rituals are an integral facet of nature. Drawing from a classical tradition with influences in the Italian Renaissance and medieval reliquaries, she examines the importance of acknowledging a world and systems greater than oneself, and finding the sacred in the smallest artifacts of nature. 

Sarah catches up with the Mississippi Book Festival’s Executive Director Ellen Daniels & Deputy Director Jordan Perry about the upcoming festival 8/20/22 in Jackson, MS!  Having served as the festival’s Literary Director for the past three years, Ellen continues to draw on her longtime love of books—and her extensive relationships with the publishing industry—in her new role as Executive Director. In addition to her prior work as a gallery assistant at Fischer Galleries and her own fine art photography training, Ellen also brings more than a decade of experience at Lemuria Books to her leadership position. Having spent most of her career in the non-profit sector, Jordan brings to the festival nearly a decade of experience in fundraising, capacity-building, and event logistics. Through her work with the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Mississippi Arts Commission, she’s seen first-hand the breadth and impact of our state’s rich cultural heritage and looks forward to building on the festival’s success to broaden its reach even further. Follow along @msbookfestival for announcements of authors & panelists! 

Veronica Roberts - the new Executive Director of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford! Veronica has had an incredible curatorial career. She was working the Blanton in Austin since 2013 as the curator of modern and contemporary art. At the Blanton, she put on a number of notable exhibitions: national touring displays of “Nina Katchadourian: Curiouser” and “Converging Lines: Eva Hesse and Sol LeWitt”; work uplifting Texan artists like Vincent Valdez and Donald Moffett; and a collaboration with the UT Austin’s Black Studies program to bring Charles White’s work on campus. Roberts also worked with Ellsworth Kelly to create “Austin,” a 2,715-square-foot stone chapel-sculpture with colored glass windows that opened in early 2018. Before the Blanton Museum, Roberts held curatorial positions at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum. She also served as Director of Research for the Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing Catalogue Raisonné. Roberts earned her master’s from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her bachelor’s in art history from Williams College.

Joy Young, Ph.D. serves as the Vice President of Programs for South Arts and has more than 25 years of experience in the arts as an entrepreneurial performing artist, arts administrator, and academic. Joy’s work as a performing artist included owning a successful music studio and performing as a recitalist, sanctuary soloist, and studio and background vocalist. Her 14-year tenure with the South Carolina Arts Commission was highlighted by serving on the executive leadership team as the agency Director of Administration, Human Resources, and Operations. Prior to joining South Arts, Joy served as the Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. Joy enjoys sharing her experiences from the field in the classroom by preparing the next generation of arts administrators in the Master of Arts in Arts Administration at Winthrop University to be adaptive leaders. Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Arts in Voice Performance, and the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. Her research interests include arts leadership, program assessment and evaluation, and organization and leadership adaptations amid dynamic environmental paradigms.

Sarah talks with Nell Knox, the Deputy Director at Visit Mississippi & Kamel L. King, the Bureau Manager for the Tourism Development Bureau at Visit Mississippi, our state tourism agency. Kamel King was born and raised in Jackson, MS. Kamel attended American University (Washington, D.C.) and Tougaloo College (Jackson, MS) and graduated with honors from Tougaloo College earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science/International Relations. Kamel was accepted and graduated from Mississippi College School of Law earning a law degree with emphasis on intellectual property/entertainment law.  Kamel spent 10 years as the Attorney on the Road for a 9 time GRAMMY nominated group, was a Director of Operations for both Blackberry Records, Inc. and Terminal Recording Studios (a GRAMMY award winning studio) and has had many years of experience in booking and event production. Kamel has since been Ass. Producer in the Recording Academy© endorsed “Mississippi…Celebrates Its GRAMMY© Legacy ” events, “Mississippi Night” at the L.A. GRAMMY© Museum and other tourism conferences. Kamel also is a contributing author in the American Bar Association released book "Entertainment Law: For The General Practitioner" and has been an adjunct professor of Entertainment Law with the Mississippi College School of Law. He is a practicing veteran entertainment attorney.    Kamel is most proud and passionate to currently work for Visit Mississippi as the Bureau Manager for the Tourism Development Bureau.  His bureau manages the Mississippi Blues Trail, Country Music Trail, Freedom Trail, Writers Trail and the state’s rich music and cultural branding at many trade shows and festivals.    Nell Knox is the Deputy Director at Visit Mississippi. Nell believes you cannot understand American history without understanding Mississippi’s stories, and you cannot understand Mississippi’s stories unless you visit in person. Supporting Mississippi's tourism industry is central to her career.  Nell has worked in public service for more than a decade. She began at the Mississippi Department of Archives & History as a graduate intern in marketing and joined the MDAH public relations team during the completion and grand opening of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. She went on to serve as Marketing Director for the entire agency, promoting the thirteen museums and cultural attractions the department administers.  Nell is a passionate volunteer. She has chaired events and led fundraising initiatives for the Junior League of Jackson, Briarwood Pool, the Mississippi Heritage Trust, and St. Andrews Episcopal School, and served on the board of the Mississippi Tourism Association. She presently serves on the board of directors for the Southeast Tourism Society. 

Chad Mars grew up in Jackson Mississippi, and attended the University of Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Painting in 2004. He began working as a full time painter in 2012 and has painted out of his Studio in Ridgeland for the last decade. His work captures improvised gestures, and makes the material the subject. Mars works with large homemade squeegees, paint scrapers, taping knives, and palette knives to make a web of kaleidoscopic and ribbon like strokes that constantly shift and blend into on another.

Nina Parikh has been with the Mississippi Film Office for 23 years, currently serving as the director. Established in 1973, the Film Office is one of the oldest of its kind in the world. The office’s mission is to foster the growth of the film industry in Mississippi, connect filmmakers with necessary resources and to cultivate and promote filmmaking by, for and about Mississippians. She studied filmmaking at the University of Southern Mississippi and New York University, began her career as a freelance camera assistant, worked in the industry as a producer, and teaches a film production class at Millsaps College. She produced the Mississippi made film “Ballast” which won two awards at Sundance Film Festival in 2009. She serves on the boards of 3 college-level institutions, advising on film & media curriculum development; developed the curriculum and served as director for the Canton Young Filmmakers Summer Program; and co-wrote a book about digital video for the amateur. Nina is a co-founder and board member of the Crossroads Film Festival & Society and Mississippi Film Alliance, a non-profit supporting indigenous filmmaking. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Association of Film Commissioners International, South Arts, Mississippi Book Festival, Creative Mississippi, and is a producer of TEDxJackson. Most importantly, she’s a wife and a mom to their 12 year old son.

🎙Episode 19 Art Life Stories! Sarah catches up with Earl Dismuke, a Mississippi sculptor who is dedicated to enhancing community life through the power of public art, all the while pursuing his passion of creating his own body of work.  👨‍🎓 He graduated in 2007 from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in sculpture.  🗺 Co-founder of the Yokna Sculpture Trail, a bi-annual rotating outdoor sculpture exhibition in Oxford, Miss.  Recipient of the Mississippi Arts Commission 2019 Visual Arts Fellowship Grant,  Member of the International Sculpture Center and the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance. 📍His work has been included in several international and national exhibitions, including but not limited to, the Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition in downtown New Orleans, LA, The Atlanta Beltline in Atlanta, GA, Scope Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and several gallery and museum shows. 🔍 Exhibition “Piecing it Together” is on view @msu_artgalleries in Starkville, MS!  🎧 Listen to this episode on sarahstoryartlife.com, Spotify, or Apple podcast. You can follow us on instagram @sarah_story_artlife, @earldismuke 🙏🏻 Thank you for tuning in! Please DM any questions, ideas, or comments on my instagram.

New Art Life Stories Episode 18:  Today I catch up with Hattie Sparks Collins - a creative entrepreneur with a new interior design firm Hattie Sparks where she is the owner, creative, and decorator! She is also known for her former, beautifully curated stores Hattie Sparks in New Orleans.  We discuss her influences such as art history and the places she has lived.  She shares the hustle it takes to learn and create new businesses, and the many lessons she has learned along the way. 🎧 Listen to this episode on sarahstoryartlife.com, Spotify, or Apple podcast. You can follow us on instagram @sarah_story_artlife, @hattiesparks, and learn more on hattiesparks.com 🙏🏻 Thank you for tuning in! Please DM any questions, ideas, or comments on my instagram. 

Sarah and Chris discuss a few absurd recent NFT news items. Melania’s auction fails to hit its minimum due to the crypto crash, Bieber shows off his newest NFT, and a famous Klimt is “digitally divided” into 1,000 pieces to purchase for Valentine’s Day gifts.

Episode 16: I talk with David & Mike about the re-envisioning of the planetarium in Jackson, MS! I grew up going to the planetarium so it was fun to contemplate how our view of planetariums have changed so drastically with access to new technology, new documentation of space from the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope Launch, and private citizens access to space travel.  Mike Williams: Director of Russell C. Davis Planetarium Mike Williams, Jackson native and a staunch space science education advocate and self-avowed cosmic nerd. After studying Mass Communications and Graphic Design at Jackson State, Mike embarked upon a career in music production and engineering, training at Malaco records and eventually going on to work on Grammy-nominated musical projects. Along the way his professional range grew to include web development, marketing, and video and film production, including years-long creative and marketing stints with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs Global Enterprises, production on MPB’s Emmy-winning children’s show Ed Said, projects with the Bravo!, OWN, and BET networks, Random House and Penguin Publishing, and a host of other media entities. After living in six different states and two countries, Mike arrived back in Jackson at its planetarium as a production technician, where he would 4 years later become its director. It was then that his new mission of advocacy began to crystallize, and his vision of revitalizing the planetarium began to take shape. David Lewis: Deputy Director of the Department of Human and Cultural Services for the City of Jackson, overseeing the Cultural Division. Born and raised in Belhaven, David is undeniably passionate about the city of Jackson. His commitment to finding creative ways to bring life, energy, and awareness to the great places, spaces, and people of Jackson is unwavering. A 2015 graduate of Mississippi State University, David earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. From 2016-2018, David pursued a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Jackson State University while he also worked as a Project Specialist for the Greater Jackson Arts Council. David is also a member of the Advisory Council for Downtown Jackson Partners. In his role as Deputy Director, he works with the Arts Center of Mississippi, the Russell C. Davis Planetarium, the Smith Robertson Museum, the Municipal Art Gallery, and serves as Manager of Thalia Mara Hall, where he helped usher in a 35% increase in revenue during the 2018-2019 fiscal year. David received the AIA “Friend of Architecture” award in 2018 and Visit Jackson’s SUMMIT “Friend of Tourism” award in 2020. David and his wife, Mary Lee, attend church at Redeemer Jackson and reside in Belhaven with their dogs, Sam and Jack. 🎧 Listen to this episode on sarahstoryartlife.com, Spotify, or Apple podcast. You can follow us on instagram @sarah_story_artlife, @jdavidlewis, @iammikew @jxnplanetarium  🙏🏻 Thank you for tuning in! Please DM any questions, ideas, or comments on my instagram. 

🤯 NFTs!! Episode 15 is all about (NFTs) Non-Fungible Tokens and how they relate to our everyday lives and the art world.  🌟 My husband, Chris Ragland, joins me to chat with Luciano Schipelliti! Luciano became an entrepreneur at the early age of 14 when he began doing freelance Graphic Design for small businesses, online influencers, etc. 12 months later, Luciano founded Graphics Empire, where he widened his skillset and took on Website Design & Development projects. 📈 In the years to follow, Luciano has founded over a dozen businesses, obtaining new skills and experiences along the way. Luciano's creativity as well as his extreme technology & marketing skills are largely due to the wide range of niches for his startups. 🔔In early 2017, Luciano developed his growing passion for Cryptocurrency. After mastering the inner workings of the blockchain, Luciano founded his most successful business to date, Premium Signals. In 2021, Luciano has shifted his entire focus to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) with the aim of becoming a pioneer in the space. 🎧 Listen to this episode on sarahstoryartlife.com, Spotify, or Apple podcast. You can follow us on instagram @sarah_story_artlife, @cryptoskip 🙏🏻 Thank you for tuning in! Please DM any questions, ideas, or comments on my instagram.