'Biggest Baddest Art Show' at the Powerhouse

coming to Oxford.

From Nov. 9 to Nov. 26, the Powerhouse Community Arts Center will host the “Biggest Baddest Art Show.” 

This Artists’ Guild show will encompass the works of 41 artists with pieces focusing on a variety of media. The show is geared to benefit the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and the Powerhouse.

On Tuesday, the Powerhouse held the opening reception for the art show. This was not only served as the “grand opening,” but allowed locals to participate in holiday ornament making for the annual YAC Holiday Ornament Auction on Dec. 2. 

The ornament-making party was open to anyone in the community, and finished ornaments will be displayed at Neilson’s on the Square until auctioned. 

From photography to reclaimed wood, basketry to mixed-media painting, Oxford’s annual art show has an incredible display of local talent, available to the public at no cost at all. 

“One of the greatest things about this community here at Oxford is how closely related Oxford and the Ole Miss campus are,” said Wayne Andrews, executive director of the arts council. “When you have a campus and a town so close together, there is a bleed-over of things you can do: one of which is to attend this free art show.” 

The particular theme of this show is that all artists are members of the Artists’ Guild, a networking organization of local artists. Their goal is to “promote and encourage the creation and appreciation of fine art,” 

“The Guild’s Biggest Baddest Art Show is an opportunity for us to showcase the vitality of Oxford’s art scene by showing a few works by a wide cross-section of our members,” Suzanne McCartney, exhibit chairman, said. 

Nicole Gladden, Andi Bedsworth and Jeff Long are just some of the many artists who will showcase their talent. 

Gladden is a mixed-media artist who creates oil paintings and then adds other objects onto her works to create a 3-D effect. 

Bedsworth, an instructor at the University of Mississippi, works with wax. 

Long deals with woodworking and using reclaimed food to make rustic furniture. 

Other artists include Marilyn and Allan Innman, a mother and son who will display their paintings at the show. Allan works with mixed media, and Marilyn with acrylics and landscapes. 

Each artist was able to submit up to three pieces of art for the show.  

“Our show covers basically every medium,” Andrews said. “We’ve got sculpting, pottery, woodworking, fused glass and so much more. There were so many art pieces for this particular show, we actually had to build walls to make room.”

This art show is not only beneficial for the artists but also to locals and college students. Such a diverse art show allows college students with little money to spare to still enjoy the finer things in life.

“I strongly encourage young people to come, especially if they’ve never seen an art show,” Andrews said. “It’s really fantastic.”