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 ..read more

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 h ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 clas ..read more

?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 Inter ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more