Delta Arts Alliance is ready to fire up the band, rope off the street and move in the food trucks for another throw-down, good time, ol' fashion summer BLOCK PARTY!

"We had so much fun last year planning, hosting and having this party," Fundraising Chair and Delta Arts Alliance Board Member, Heather Walker explained. "It was an absolute no-brainer we would return with this block party-feel in 2017. This was the party everybody was talking about the next day last year, so I promise you don't  want to miss this year's A Night in the Arts."

Scheduled for Saturday, June 17 at 6pm, tickets are currently on sale and available for reservation by calling the Delta Arts office at 662 843 3344.

"We are again returning with an awesome line-up of food truck vendors, thanks to the hard work of fellow Board Member, Scott Speakes," Walker continued. "We are happy to have Jimmy Sushi return because we know he received rave reviews last year. We are also welcoming back Fuel, which will present a grilled cheese extraordinaire and a flavorful taco of some sort. We are happy to host Chef Tom Ramsey this year and his twist on Cuban street food." 

Nashville's premier party band, LIPSTICK BLONDE, will provide the evening's entertainment, and have no doubt - there will be dancing! 

Also on the night's agenda: ART for AUCTION. Some of the South's best artists will have pieces up for auction, in both LIVE and SILENT auctions. 

Confirmed artists include: Rick Anderson, Jamie Tate, Leslie Turner, Vicki Wood, Lacy Barger, Ron Koehler, Lawson King...with more names being released each day. 

A full cash bar will be open throughout the evening. 

Tickets are $50. Tickets with the Wine Tasting Included are $65. 

"We are so grateful to all of our kind sponsors, donors and patrons. We hope those that were with us last year will be back and bring all their friends. Those that couldn't make it last year, we are ready and waiting for you," Walker added. "Delta Arts Alliance is a special organization and we do such amazing work. I am honored to help in the fundraising efforts."

Funds raised from A NIGHT IN THE ARTS will go to support Delta Arts Alliance and its operation throughout the year. Annually, Delta Arts is able to provide quality arts education experiences to over 6,000 youth annually in six Mississippi Delta counties. 

For more information, please call 662 843 3344.

Delta Arts Alliance is thrilled to be recognized as the June Charity Burger of the Month at local Cleveland eatery, Hey Joe's, for the third year running. 

To date, this philanthropic partnership has netted $1,000. for aspiring artist scholarships through Delta Arts Alliance's after-school programming, which has grown to include dance, photography, storytelling and art. 

Delta Arts will sponsor art activities on Thursdays during the month of June, in support of its spotlight month. Artist-in-Residence of the Year, Lawson King will set up on the breezy Hey Joe's patio, each Thursday (with the exception of June 22) from 5:30pm - 7:30pm with free art activities for all. 

Here's what he's got up his sleeve:

Thursday, June 08: CLEVELAND ROCKS. 

(Artists will have the opportunity to paint rocks as part of the CLEVELAND ROCKS project.)

Thursday, June 15: STAMP MAKING

Thursday, June 29: MATISSE CUT-OUTS

On Thursday, June 22, dancers from our summer dance camps will perform their newly learned routines on the patio. 

Join the fun. Fill the belly. Help a good cause. 

Your resume was particularly attractive to our organization because of your extensive background in the arts. How has your time in the arts shaped you?

I always say that I am an artist before I am anything else. I have always loved to write, but I think that I "officially" became an artist when I joined Authoring Action, a spoken word and outreach organization based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was there that I learned the power of voice-that my words could have impact, that I, a young black woman, could take control of a room by simply opening my mouth. It was there that I learned that I am worthy of the world, and that I am fully equipped to take that which I deserve. Words are powerful things-spoken words, even more so.

 

From that sense of empowerment stemmed the often spontaneous passion that fueled rest of my artistic endeavors. I wrote and co-directed my first feature film during high school, and from then on I was certain that filmmaking is what I am meant to do. It is my passion and it will be my legacy.

 

So, to answer the question... the arts have given me a sense of fortitude, of self, of power and of place. The arts have opened the doors to passions that I otherwise would not know that I had, and I am forever grateful to those who have guided and supported me (and who continue to do so) along the way.

 

You are a week into your residency with Delta Arts Alliance. What have you learned about our organization, or taken notice of, in your first five days on the job?

 

I have learned-and have been very pleased to see-that this is a passion-driven organization. It is run and supported by people who genuinely love the arts, by those who recognize art's capacity to empower individuals from every walk of life. I have no doubt in my mind that the passion behind this organization will keep it running, growing, and thriving for years to come; I feel infinitely blessed to be a part of it, if only for eight weeks.

 

 

I want to help develop more of a multimedia presence within the organization, using videos to highlight the amazing individuals that serve and are served by DAA as well as to aid in fundraising, promotion, and the like. I want to, in whatever small way that I can, impact the youth that I will meet during the Summer Arts Camps, and support the artists that each bring a unique flavor to the organization. Lastly, I want to be open to the lasting impact that this experience will surely have on me, taking it day by day, and growing through it all.

How are you and fellow Scholars settling into the Mississippi Delta?

 

To be candid, at first we were all a bit iffy about how the summer was going to go. We drove through the city-literally, the entire city-on our first day in the house and I remember one of the guys saying, "Well, we've officially done it all!"

 

But with each day, we all find something new to love about this amazing town. We all have countless bug bites which we are not 100% sure are not deadly, we enjoy our almost daily trips to Walmart more than anyone should ever enjoy going to Walmart, we are all constantly exhausted from the (amazing!) volunteer work that we are doing (I know for certain that I have the best job :-))-yet at the end of each day, we sit together in awe of the incredible experiences that we are already having. We all feel a unique attachment to this city, and we know that we couldn't have ended up in a better place.

 

What is the craziest thing you want to do during your summer south?

 

I'm actually already doing it.

 

I've been cooking my own meals every day and I've only set the smoke alarm off in the house once.

 

Crazy, right? I know. 

Delta State University's Fielding Wright Art Center Gallery and the Mississippi Museum of Art Present Home and Away: On the Road with Marie Hull

 

To celebrate Mississippi's Bicentennial, the Mississippi Museum of Art has partnered with communities across the state to showcase Mississippi artists from the museum's permanent collection as part of Art Across Mississippi: Twelve Exhibitions - Twelve Communities. The Fielding Wright Center will host a selection of work by famed Mississippi artist Marie Hull. Marie Hull had a special connection to Delta State University's art department and its former chair, Malcolm Norwood. Marie Hull donated 75 works of art, including a number of her own paintings and artwork from her personal collection, to the university which became the foundation for the department's permanent art collection.

 

Home and Away: On the Road with Marie Hull brings together a series of paintings created during Marie Hull's travels. The artist traveled widely throughout North America as well as to France, Spain, and Morocco. She recorded her delightful impressions of the places she visited in her sketchbooks, 67 of which she left to the Mississippi Museum of Art. From this trove of private treasures the museum has selected 30 sketches for this exhibition. These sketches provide a unique glimpse into the creative process of one of Mississippi's greatest artists.

 

Home and Away: On the Road with Marie Hull opens with a public reception at the Fielding Wright Art Center Gallery on Thursday, June 8, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Representatives from the Mississippi Museum of Art will be present and able to answer questions about the artist or their bicentennial program. The exhibition will remain on view throughout the summer, until July 27. Summer gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

 

For further information visit our website at  http://www.deltastate.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/art/ or contact 662.846.4720.