FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Maria Zeringue
Folk and Traditional Arts Director
mzeringue@arts.ms.gov
601-359-6034
Date: August 9, 2022

Mississippi Folklife Releases Special Issue

“Craft & Community During COVID” for Summer 2022

JACKSON, MS – The Summer 2022 Issue, “Craft and Community During COVID” of Mississippi Folklife is now available online at www.mississippifolklife.org. This digital journal features original writing, photography, films, and documentary work focused on present-day folklife and cultural heritage throughout the state. Mississippi Folklife is a project of the Mississippi Arts Commission.

The three features included in this issue are as follows:“Greenwood Strong” by Yolande van Heerden, is a touching account of van Heerden’s community-wide art project that she developed to spread positivity and encouragement during the early days of the pandemic. Enlisting the help of her art students, friends, and family, Van Heerden created hundreds of hand-drawn banners she displayed around her town of Greenwood, Miss.

In the personal essay “Quilting During Quarantine,” quilter Janice Mitchell discusses her mask-making efforts to help provide her community of Clarksdale with masks at the start of COVID-19. She also explores how quilting provided her some comfort during this scary time and how the limitations in fabric availability led to a creative project. Mitch used her scraps from mask-making to create a beautiful Rainbow Star quilt.

“COVID: A Tabletop Game Changer” by Alice and Cassandra O’Neal-Grotenhuis, explores the wargaming and tabletop game community in Jackson, Miss. The authors also explain how the pandemic impacted the social aspects of gameplay and how social isolation influenced the approaches to crafting game pieces.

The issue’s editorial team includes: Addie Citchens, Music Editor; Amanda Malloy, Visual Arts Editor; Emily Buhrow Rogers, Customs Editor; Emily Bryant, Digital Editor; and Maria Zeringue, Managing Editor.

Support for Mississippi Folklife comes from the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. This publication is freely accessible online at www.mississippifolklife.org.

###

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is a state agency serving more than two million people through grants and special initiatives that enhance communities, assist artists and arts organizations, promote arts education and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage. MAC is funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Mississippi, and other private sources. For more information, visit www.arts.ms.gov.