Love of Visual, Literary Art Combine at Greenfield Farm Invitational

Mississippi Lab hosts second annual Plein Air Invitational painting competition

by Clara Turnage

Lovers of visual and literary art alike are welcome at the second annual Plein Air Invitational, where artists from across the state will gather at William Faulkner‘s former mule farm to share their talent.

The Plein Air Invitational at Greenfield Farm will be open to the public at 4 pm Sunday, September 29, at Greenfield Farm, a 20-acre parcel of land east of Oxford once owned by the famous author about 13 miles east of Oxford off Highway 30. Signs will mark the turn.

Local eatery Tarasque Cucina will provide food, and Joe Stinchcomb of Bar Muse will pour drinks. Admission is free.

“We want to document this space and appreciate it, and we want to draw the public in, too, and let them appreciate this space,” said Brooke Alexander, instructional assistant professor of art at Ole Miss and co-curator of the invitational. “That’s why we’re asking the public to come at 4, so you can see the artists putting the finishing touches on their work.

“I feel like it lifts the veil a little bit … seeing how they’re applying their craft gives you an insight you don’t get when the art is on a gallery wall and finished and shiny.”

Tours of Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home in Oxford, will be available starting at 1 pm, while eight artists from across the state will create art at Greenfield Farm. Among the artists will be Ocean Springs artist Jerrod Partridge and Latrice Lawson, owner of Curious Creative LLC.

The Mississippi Lab is turning Faulkner’s former mule farm into Mississippi’s first writer’s residency, a process that will restore and develop much of the property. Before that happens, Alexander and lab director John T. Edge collaborated to preserve as much of the natural beauty of the farm as possible.

“This is a property the university is about to transform but it’s so beautiful how it is,” Alexander said. “There are structures there, but they are almost worn down and being consumed by nature.

“(Edge) was thinking of a way to connect that literary past with visual artists in the state so that there’s a lineage of artistic creation in this space from the very beginning.”

This year’s artists’ specialties range from oil painting to wood burning, mixed media and a variety of other mediums. Mark Geil, chair of the Jackson State University Department of Art, is also co-curator of the event and helped select artists from central and south Mississippi, whereas Alexander recommended artists from Oxford. See the full list of artists here.

“Remember that this is a union and celebration of the literary and visual arts coming together in ways that aren’t always seen or experienced,” Alexander said. “And remember to wear boots.”