Blues Bash, now in June!

We've had Blues Bash in August for quite a few years now, and with rare exceptions, it's just way too steamy-sticky-hot in August. So, we're trying a June date. June 6, to be precise, which is just a few weeks away.

Here's the 411:



The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will hold its 15th Annual "Blues Bash" Friday, June 6 from 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. on the Museum front lawn.

This year’s event will feature blues guitarist and singer Bill "Howl-N-Madd" Perry of Tupelo, Mississippi. Perry’s 35-year career has taken him across the United States and abroad. He has played venues such as the New York City’s Apollo Theater and the Palladium in Hollywood, California and was one of the first singers to appear on Soul Train.

Tickets are $20 per person and include a barbecue dinner from Smokehouse of Laurel. Tickets may be purchased at the Museum or reserved by calling 601-649-6374 by Wednesday, June 4. Guests should bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the fun. In case of rain, Blues Bash will be held at the Cameron Center.

Blues Bash is sponsored by Southern Beverage Company, BancorpSouth, Cellular South, Ellis and Walters Dental Care, Gholson Burson Entrekin & Orr, PLLC, Kim’s Chrysler Toyota, The Koerber Company, Stinson Petroleum Company, Coca-Cola of Laurel, Laurel Leader-Call, Rock 104, and WDAM-TV.

Proceeds from Blues Bash support the Museum’s education program. To purchase a ticket for Blues Bash or for more information, call LRMA at 601-649-6374.



Anybody who's been to Blues Bash knows it's one of the best entertainment values in Laurel.

See you there!

The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints from the Wallace B. Rogers Collection

Our latest Gallery Walk, courtesy of WDAM TV:

Guest Blogger: Mandy Buchanan

At the Museum --

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Education Department has a busy summer art program planned with a variety of classes for all ages.

"Free Family Art" will be offered Wednesdays June 4 - July 2 from 1 - 4 p.m. in the Museum Annex. These classes will feature a variety of free art experiences for children and families. No reservations are required for these make-and-take summer classes.

LRMA will provide free art activities at the Townley Center as part of the Laurel Housing Authority’s summer program. These classes will be offered from 11 a.m. -1:30 p. m. on Mondays and Wednesdays June 2 -July 30.

"Summer Art Camp" will be held July 15 - 18. Children in K5- 3rd grade will meet from 10 a. m. - noon and 4th - 6th graders will meet from 2 - 4 p. m. The theme for this year’s camp is "Around the World with Art." Students will explore artwork from around the world and experiment with a variety of art materials. Projects will include batik, printmaking and clay. Registration is required.

We are excited about the new LRMA Seventh Street Art Studio which will open in June. In the new space we will offer pottery for children and adults and studio art classes for middle school, high school students and adults.

Pottery classes will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays June 17, 19, 24, and 26. Children in K5 - 3rd grade will meet from 10 a.m. - noon and 4th - 6th graders will meet 2 - 4 p.m. Adults will meet from 5 - 7 p.m. Participants will create functional and sculptural pottery using hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques.

Two new studio classes will be offered for ages middle school students to adult.

"Basic Drawing" will be offered in the Seventh Street Studio Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. until noon. Students will be introduced to basic drawing techniques using different drawing media. Supplies are included. Registration is required for these classes.

"Introduction to Painting" will be offered Wednesdays July 2 - 30 from 10 a.m. until noon in the Seventh Street Studio. Students will be introduced to basic painting techniques and different paint materials including watercolor, acrylic and oil paint. Registration is required.

LRMA has art programs for everyone in the family. Also, a tour of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is a great way to beat the heat on a summer afternoon!

For more information, please contact Mandy Buchanan or Angie King at 601.649.6374.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel and is open 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free.


Mandy Buchanan is the Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Guest Blogger: Donnelle Conklin, Librarian

At the Museum

Beginning on Tuesday, April 15th, LRMA Library will again host its video series featuring a new addition to the collection, “Craft in America”. The series is divided into three categories: “Memory”, “Landscape” and “Community”, and together they explore the variety and history of American craftsmanship through the work of artists working in a variety of media across the country.

One video from the series will be offered each week on Tuesdays, April 15, 22, and 29 at 2:00 p.m. in the Museum Reading Room. Each video lasts approximately 60 minutes. The Library will replay each week’s video by request for those unable to attend the Tuesday 2:00 p.m. sessions.

Additionally, books from the Library’s collection of Japanese print books will be on display in glass cases during the Museum’s exhibit, The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints from the Wallace B. Rogers Collection. The two cases will be located in the Museum Reading Room, and will run for the duration of the print exhibition.

For more information, please contact Librarian Donnelle Conklin at 601-649-6374 or dconklin@lrma.org.

not the usual

This is a little out of the ordinary for us here at Live from LRMA, but Cole Pratt was a good friend of the museum and an essential member of the arts community in New Orleans and the Gulf South. He was a Mississippi native, too.

Cole Pratt, 53, art gallery owner
Monday, April 21, 2008
By Doug MacCash
Staff writer

Cole Pratt, the affable owner of Cole Pratt contemporary art gallery on Magazine Street, died Saturday at Touro Infirmary as a result of a heart attack April 13. He was 53.

Born in Greenwood, Miss., Mr. Pratt was a lifelong art lover. His mother, Rita Pratt, recalled that "when he first picked up a pencil, he started to draw." Though Mr. Pratt studied studio arts at Delta State University, he never considered himself talented. He once jokingly told his longtime companion, Roy Malone, that after five years the university agreed to "give him a degree if he promised not to paint."

Instead of creating art, Mr. Pratt's talent lay in selling it. After working at Bryant Galleries in Jackson, Miss., and New Orleans in the 1980s, and Wyndy Morehead Fine Arts in New Orleans in the early 1990s, Mr. Pratt struck out on his own, opening a gallery in a corner storefront at 3800 Magazine St. in December 1993.

The space was small, but sunny, with a welcoming, neighborhood feel -- a contrast with the cooler tone of many Julia Street galleries.

"Cole consciously chose not to be on Julia," said Erika Olinger, the director of Cole Pratt Gallery for 14 years. "He believed Magazine was a great shopping street. He wanted the gallery to be amidst other stores. He didn't want art buying to be intimidating. He wanted an environment where the average customer could be walking by the store and be enticed to come in."

Mr. Pratt dedicated his space exclusively to Southern artists, but he did not restrict the style of art he showed. Everything from the traditional plein air paintings of Phil Sandusky to the illusionistic abstractions of Richard Johnson was welcome.

Artist Randy Asprodites said that Mr. Pratt was unusual among art dealers in that he made himself an authority on each artist he represented.

"The first day he wanted to know everything about me," Asprodites said. "It was rare. He asked real questions about my work and me as an artist."

Collector and friend Jim Lestelle said that Mr. Pratt's interest in his individual artists was matched by his interest in individual clients.

"He was good at recognizing what your interests were," Lestelle said. "He would show you art that you'd like and would be meaningful to you."

Cole Pratt was one of the first art galleries to reopen after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Mr. Pratt sold a painting to a collector on Oct. 8, while there were still National Guard patrols in the streets. He was among the first to recognize the unexpected art-buying boom that followed the storm, making 2006 his best-selling year.

Mr. Pratt is survived by his mother, Rita Pratt. Memorial arrangements are pending. Contact Cole Pratt Gallery at (504) 891-6789 for information.

. . . . . . .

Click here for the original link to Doug MacCash's obituary.

Emerging Artists: High School Clothesline Show

These images are from our Emerging Artists: High School Clothesline Show which took place on Thursday afternoon, April 17. This show allows area high school students to showcase their work on the front lawn of the museum. Local students played their music during the show, adding to the festive atmosphere. This show is held every spring near the end of school, and it is a great opportunity for people from the community to see what talented local students are doing.

A few installation photos of The Floating World

For the opening reception, we have borrowed a lovely 45-year-old juniper bonsai for the night, which you see in the photos. The reception is from 7-9, and the galleries are looking gorgeous.

The Floating World

Our latest exhibition, The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints from the Wallace B. Rogers Collection opens tomorrow, April 10! We are going to have some great educational activities in the gallery for kids and adults, including origami. The exhibition will be open until July13, and we have a beautiful exhibition catalogue that is hot off the press. Be sure to stop by on Friday, April 11 for our Symposium from 10-12 in the American Gallery.

a little local art-related news

News from the Mississippi Arts Commission:


The top four contestants at the 2008 Poetry Out Loud Mississippi Finals.

Pictured from left: Winner Grant Cochran from Washington School, Verneshia Heidelberg from Laurel High School, David Hudson from Ridgeland High School and runner-up Shaniqua Wesley from Water Valley High School.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with the State Arts Agencies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. By encouraging high school students to memorize and perform great poems, Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. This exciting new program, which began in 2005, helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

More information at the MAC website.