Upcoming Events
HEX Exhibit by Kaleena Stasiak
About the Exhibit:
Folklore and myths reflect the values and ideologies of the cultures they represent. By preserving and maintaining these stories throughout history, the belief systems inherent in these fables are continuously perpetuated in society. In patriarchal cultures, women are often portrayed in ways that sustain oppressive gendered relationships. Through a series of reductive relief prints, I critically examine and reinterpret the roles of women in folklore, myth, and religion, offering a contemporary feminist perspective that reclaims power from patriarchal representations.
The Depot is open for viewing:
M-F: Noon - 1 PM and 4-5:30 PM
Reception: October 2 - 5 - 6:30 PM
Special Sarahfest Thacker Mountain Radio
Join us at the Thacker Mountain Radio Show featuring band Annie and the Caldwells, musician Dawn Barnham, and author Micaiah Johnson hosted by Jim Bees along with house band Paul Tate and the Yalobushwhackers.
- Doors: 5:30
- Show: 6:00
- Book Signing: 7:00
About Annie and the Caldwells:
rom Luaka Bop: “Annie and the Caldwells are a family from Mississippi that plays a powerful disco soul, led by mother Ms. Annie Caldwell.
The band’s releases include, Can’t Lose My (Soul) [Luaka Bop, 2025].
MOJO (★★★★) “… may get you through any darkness looming… or simply get you dancing.”
Ms. Annie is backed by daughters Deborah and Anjessica, and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius is on the drums.
Their father and Annie’s husband of the last fifty years, Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr, is on guitar.
They generally play on weekends—so for their day jobs Annie runs a clothing store, Willie Jr. drives a forklift, Abel Aquirius drives hospital patients, Anjessica works in customer care for an insurance company, Toni is an elementary school teacher, and Deborah does hair.
Ms. Annie herself runs Caldwell Fashions—which has been a beloved staple for women dressing for church convocations and anniversaries since the ’80s.
About Micaiah Johnson:
Micaiah Johnson is author of The Unhaunting (Putnam), a clever and chilling take on the haunted house genre.
Charting a “middle ground between Shirley Jackson and Toni Morrison.”
“… sidesteps ghostly phenomena to keep the focus on her well-developed Black protagonists, each of whom is haunted by past traumas the house exploits for its own macabre purposes…
“This chiller will be a hit with anyone seeking a fresh take on genre conventions.” —Publishers Weekly
Johnson’s debut novel, The Space Between Worlds, was a Sunday Times Bestseller, a The New York Times Editor’s Choice and was named one of best books of 2020 and one of the best science fiction books of the last decade by NPR.
Her follow-up novel, Those Beyond the Wall, a timely look at violence during apartheid, was released in March 2024 and has been named as a Best Books of 2024 by NPR, Reactor, Esquire and Lithub.
About Dawn Barnham:
Dawn Barham is a lifelong guitar player, starting with lessons in 3rd grade after “her parents decided I wasn’t going to quit asking.”
Barham recently retired after 34 years as Director of Performing Arts at the Mississippi School for Math & Science (MSMS) in Columbus, MS. She was an instructor of Guitar Studies and director of the guitar students’ performing ensemble.
While at MSMS Barham instituted the innovative “Sights and Sounds of Mississippi” program,
As she told the National Association for Music Education, “…by the end of their two years, my performing ensembles, collectively known as the MSMS Blue Notes, are performing an exciting and dynamic program of music with ties to the birthplace of America’s music—Mississippi!
“Blues, jazz, spirituals, gospel, country, soul, and early rock and roll. Through the “Sights and Sounds of Mississippi” program, the students break down social and cultural barriers by making music together while engaging in an open and interactive conversation about diversity, culture, and history.”
Barnham is currently on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television.
Beware! Dawn Barham shreds! She is the past frontwoman for the rock band, the Juke Joint Gypsies.
Her most recent releases are the albums, “Dodging Shadows and “Broken Promises.”
Playing to Learn: The Importance of the Arts in Public Education
Join us for a panel conversation about the benefits of the arts in Mississippi’s public education system at all levels. Since its inception, Sarahfest has promoted the arts in all forms, but we haven't focused specifically on arts education. This year’s discussion will not only touch on arts education but also highlight the life skills that art students take away from their classes. On the panel will be Dawn Barham, retired performing arts teacher at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science; Allyson McGraw, visual arts specialist at Pierce Street Elementary School (Tupelo); and Nancy Maria Balach, director, UM Institute for the Arts and former chair of Music.
The panel discussion will be preceded by a short reception.
"The Witch" Movie Screening
In 1630s New England, English settler William and his family—his wife Katherine, teenage daughter Thomasin, preteen son Caleb, and young fraternal twins Mercy and Jonas—are banished from a Puritan settlement over a religious dispute. They build a farm near a large, secluded forest and Katherine bears her fifth child, Samuel. While under Thomasin's care, Samuel abruptly disappears. It is revealed that a witch has stolen and killed Samuel to use his body to make a flying ointment in order to induce transvection.
Note: We are suggesting that individuals attending the film fest park in the faculty/staff garage on the northeast side of the South Oxford Center (off Elliot Drive) or the north side parking lot (Old ER lot). We will have people stationed in either lobby to give you directions.
"Midsommar" Movie Screening
A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Note: We are suggesting that individuals attending the film fest park in the faculty/staff garage on the northeast side of the South Oxford Center (off Elliot Drive) or the north side parking lot (Old ER lot). We will have people stationed in either lobby to give you directions.
“She Will” Movie Screening
The film explores the story of Veronica Ghent (Alice Krige) who after a double mastectomy, goes to a healing retreat in rural Scotland with her young nurse Desi (Kota Eberhardt). She discovers that the process of such surgery opens up questions about her very existence, leading her to start to question and confront past traumas. The two develop an unlikely bond as mysterious forces give Veronica the power to enact revenge within her dreams.
Note: We are suggesting that individuals attending the film fest park in the faculty/staff garage on the northeast side of the South Oxford Center (off Elliot Drive) or the north side parking lot (Old ER lot). We will have people stationed in either lobby to give you directions.
Folk Horror Film Fest
Friday: She Will, 7 PM
Join us for the opening of our folk horror film festival, beginning with a screening of University alum Zoe Frassinelli’s film, Oath. The evening will continue with a 7:00 PM screening of She Will.
About Zoe Frassinelli:
A graduate from the University of Mississippi with a BFA in Film Production in 2025 and currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee Zoe Frassinelli is a writer/director who is passionate about all things film-related. Oath was Frassinelli’s senior thesis film and was filmed entirely in and around the Oxford, MS area and was heavily inspired by traditional southern folklore. The entire Oath team is excited and honored to be a part of Sarahfest's Folk Horror Film Festival!
Saturday Matinee: Midsommar, 2 PM
Saturday Evening: The Witch, 7 PM
Note: We are suggesting that individuals attending the film fest park in the faculty/staff garage on the northeast side of the South Oxford Center (off Elliot Drive - go past the old ER entrance and turn right) or the north side parking lot (Old ER lot). We will have people stationed in either lobby to give you directions.
Exploring the Man in Humanity: A Conversation on Masculinity in the Films of Alex Garland
Presented by Michael Tuxhorn, Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production
'Michael 'Tux' Tuxhorn is a writer and filmmaker from Colorado Springs. As an autistic and nonbinary artist Tux’s work is often focused on how identity and perspective can shape the human experience in ways both dramatic and comedic. Tux earned their MFA in Writing and Producing for Television at Loyola Marymount University and worked in the film industry before shifting to focus on work as an educator. Tux now serves as the head of the BFA in Film Production at the University of Mississippi and continues to write for the screen with the goal of creating stories that highlight thoughtful, personal experiences from unusual perspectives.'
Film Screening and Panel Discussion: “Yield This Flesh”
Join us for a special Sarahfest screening and discussion of the film, Yield This Flesh, by Sarah Hennigan. She will be joined by fellow filmmakers Hannah Rose Richards, Tristan Biber, and Tanner Goodeill, joining via Zoom. This program is presented in partnership with the UM Institute for the Arts.
About Sarah Hennigan:
Writer, Director and Cinematographer Sarah Hennigan grew up on-set and backstage, and has been involved in the arts ever since. Passionate about bringing underrepresented voices to life on screen, Sarah focuses on documentary and narrative cinematography with work shown at the Austin Film Festival, SXSW, BFI London, and seen on PBS. As an independent writer and director, her work explores themes of generational trauma, grief, and the subconscious. Sarah earned her B.A. from Vassar College and her Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at the University of Texas at Austin. She now works as a freelance filmmaker based out of Oxford, Mississippi and serves as the Interim Chair of the Department of Theatre & Film as an Associate Professor of Film Production at the University of Mississippi.
What if you do Like Scary Movies?What Psychology Can Tell Us about Horror Films and the People Who Like Them
Join us for a lecture by Dr. Carrie Smith (Psychology) to kick off our new Isom After Dark Series. It is also a lead-in event to the inaugural Sarahfest Folk Horror Film Festival (Oct 23-24, 2026).
About Carrie Smith:
Carrie Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi. She is also the inaugural Isom Center Fellow. She holds a masters degree in Experimental Psychology from the College of William & Mary and a doctoral degree in Social Psychology from the University of Houston. Her research falls into three main areas: (a) The role of the self and motivation in people’s relationships (friendships, romantic and sexual relationships, families, professional relationships), especially through the lens of Self-Determination Theory, (b) Situational and individual determinants of perceptions of daily experiences, such as social interactions and sexual interactions, and (c) The influence of sex, gender, and ambivalent sexism on social perception, social interaction, and personal and professional well-being. She has presented her work at regional, national, and international conferences and has over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters to her credit. In addition to her academic endeavors, her campus service has included serving as the chair of the Diversity Committee in the Department of Psychology, volunteering on advisory boards and work groups associated with Greek Life, and working on the Non-Tenure Track Task Force on issues of shared governance.
The Unquiet Ground: Sarahfest's 10th Anniversary
Curated by UM Prof. Lance Yates, this special tenth anniversary Sarahfest Art Show will feature the work of select Sarahfest featured artists from previous years and the work of this year’s Sarahfest Residency cohort and Artist in Residence, Jon Langford.
Yates is the inaugural Sarahfest Guest Curator.
Archival Exhibit: Celebrating 10 Years of Sarahfest
The UM Department of Archives and Special Collections is hosting a curated exhibit celebrating ten years of Sarahfest.
Sarahfest Concert: Jon Langford and Friends
2025 Sarahfest Artist-in-Residence Jon Langford will be joined by Kelly Hogan and Izzy Arthurs for an evening of music to celebrate ten years of Sarahfest.
LMR Live with Jon Langford
This special edition of LMR Live will feature 2025 Sarahfest Artist in Residence Jon Langford.
Izzy at Proud Larry's
2022 Sarahfest Residency Student Cohort Alumna Izzy Arthurs with her band headlines a special Sarahfest concert at Proud Larry’s. The Golden Teacher Society will be the opening act.
Doors open at 7 PM. Concert begins at 8 PM.
Tickets required.
FILM NIGHT: “Revenge of the Mekons”
One night only screening hosted by the End of All Music.
WHERE: The Lyric Theater
WHEN: Wednesday, October 22nd
WHAT TIME: 6:30 door // 7 pm movie
OTHER INFO: All Ages, Good dogs welcome, Bring a lawn chair
TICKETS: $8
Celebrating 10 years of Sarahfest.
The film is about the British punk rock scene of the mid-‘70s and the beloved rockabilly punkers the Mekons as they face the 21st century.
The Mekons, formed in 1977 Leeds, England, have an improbable history – a surprising & influential embrace of folk & country music; with occasional forays into the art world. They work collaboratively & collectively with everything credited to the band, never to individuals. Their mind-boggling output blurs the lines between high & low art while remaining bold, unpredictable & true to the punk ethos.
SouthTalks: Talk, Q&A, and Concert with Jon Langford and Jim Sherraden
The 2025 Sarahfest Artist-in-Residence Jon Langford will be joined by master printmaker Jim Sherraden for a conversation about their artistic collaborations. The conversation will be moderated by UM Prof. John Rash (Southern Studies). The event will also include a reception and music.
SouthTalks is a series of events (including lectures, performances, film screenings, and panel discussions) exploring the interdisciplinary nature of Southern Studies. This series takes place in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory unless otherwise noted, and is free and open to the public.
Sarahfest musical artist Julie Williams on Thacker Mount
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is delighted to be a part of Sarahfest, a series of lectures, films, concerts and exhibits sponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi.
Sarahfest Art Show Reception
Join us before the Thacker Mountain Radio Show for refreshments celebrating this year's Sarahfest Art Show with Chuck Steffan.
Southtalks: “Surplussed Atlanta: The Built Environment of Homelessness”
Downtown Atlanta is known for its glass office towers and professional sports venues. It is also known for having the densest population of unhoused persons in the metropolitan area. For nearly half a century, a succession of city governments, hotel and convention interests, real estate developers and property owners, neighborhood associations, and university administrations have pursued a campaign to relocate this population from the central business district to lower-income Black neighborhoods on the south and west sides of the city—either that or put unhoused people in jail. In his talk, Chuck Steffen will place this campaign in the context of efforts to transform the downtown built environment after the Second World War. The actors who tore down and rebuilt the heart of the “City Too Busy to Hate” created a built environment in which homelessness could and would flourish.
Sarahfest Artshow - Surplussed Atlanta: The Built Environment of Homelessnessment of Homelessness
The photos gathered in this exhibition were taken between 2010 and 2017. During these years I became involved with a homeless shelter called Peachtree-Pine, which was a twenty-minute walk from my downtown office at Georgia State University. The shelter was then at the center of a political battle between downtown business interests who wanted to shut it down and the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless that fought to keep it open.
THE ART OF THE UNEXPECTED MULTI-LOCATION ART EXHIBITION
Nutt Auditorium + Reception
Free Admission
Queer Studies Lecture featuring Joshua Whitehead
The Queer Studies Lecture was established in 2014, connected with the development of the queer studies emphasis in the Gender Studies minor. This fall’s Queer Studies lecture will be given by Joshua Whitehead. Whitehead’s lecture will also serve as the Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement’s Native American Heritage Month Lecture.
Joshua Whitehead is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate, lecturer, and Killam scholar at the University of Calgary where he studies Indigenous literatures and cultures with a focus on gender and sexuality. He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer (Talonbooks 2017) which was shortlisted for the inaugural Indigenous Voices Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. He is also the author of Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press 2018) which was long listed for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction and the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. Whitehead is currently working on a third manuscript titled, Making Love with the Land, to be published with Knopf Canada, which explores the intersections of Indigeneity, queerness, and, most prominently, mental health through a nêhiyaw lens.
Sarahfest Concert featuring The Shindellas
The Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, This is Noteworthy (TIN), and OUTGrads announce a free Concert featuring The Shindellas at 7:30 PM on October 22, 2023, at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have our friends The Shindellas come to Mississippi as they promote their latest album,” says Becca Finley, founder, This Is Noteworthy. “Their energy, harmonies, and kindness are unparalleled. Bring on the women who spread LOVE.”
The free show will kick off the University’s Homecoming Week. In addition to the concert, The Shindellas with be participating in an LMR Live with Nancy Maria Bolach on Monday, October 23 at 1pm in the Mobley-Collins Studio Theatre at the Ford Center.
“We are excited to have The Shindellas perform as part of our annual arts and music festival, Sarahfest. The festival is made possible through collaboration such as the one we have formed with dynamic nonprofit This Is Noteworthy. We can't wait for them to share their music with our UM and larger Oxford Community. The concert will be stellar and is also a great way to kick off Homecoming Week, too!” states Theresa Starkey, associate director, Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies.
The Shindellas are a band formed under the belief that when women come together, powerful change can happen. They are advocates aligned under the tenets of sisterhood, excellence, elegance, and empowerment.
The concert is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Sarahfest Punk Pop Up: Film Screening and Concert
The Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies announces a concert and film screening pop-up on the University of Mississippi campus in partnership with the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and the Southern Documentary Project.
The event will feature a screening of Christina Huff’s documentary, “Big Clown” followed by a performance of the Memphis-based punk band, Big Clown.
The energetic show represents a modern connection to this year’s Sarahfest Art Show which focused on the Pensacola punk music scene in the 90s.
Located on campus at the Grove Stage- 218 Student Union Drive- the concert will begin at 6:00pm. The Tupelo Room in the Barnard Observatory will serve as a back-up location in the event of rain. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on Sarahfest and for assistance related to a disability, contact Kevin at (662)915-5916 or email at isomctr@olemiss.edu.
Special Sarahfest Episode of Thacker Mountain Radio (TMR)
An evening of Mississippi poetry and tunes and tales from Tennessee
A debut poet from Mississippi and two cool songwriters from Tennessee – who are also published poets. Join us for an evening of poems, songs, stories and more!
Author: C.T. Salazar (Headless John the Baptist Hitchhiking: Poems)
Music: Amelia White (Rearview Rocket) and RB Morris (Rich Mountain Bound)
Hosts: Jim Dees and our house band, the Yalobushwhackers
Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is proud to partner with the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies on this special Sarahfest edition as part of its annual arts and music festival that highlights women and minorities in the arts. Thacker Mountain Radio Hour has long been a community event that creates the space to build long-lasting relationships among community members, artists, and authors. The partnership with the Isom Center is a natural one, and we are pleased to be included in the Sarahfest lineup of events.
Air times:
Thursday, Oct. 13 – 6 pm (CT) WUMS 92.1 FM University of Mississippi
Friday, Oct. 21 – 6 am (CT) WYXR 91.7 FM Memphis, TN
Saturday, Oct. 22 – 3 pm (ET) WUTC 88.1 FM Chattanooga, TN
7pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
9pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio
hours
Price Walden (composer), Alice Anne Light (mezzo), and Kristy Kristinek (artist) pair music and visual art for a performance experience entitled “hours”. Price and Light will perform a melodrama for mezzo and piano that defies the traditional "song cycle" as Kristinek creates a visual triptych of three large canvases.
Co-sponsors: Living Music Resource and the Department of Music