The reception will take place from 5:30-7 pm in the Museum’s Speaker’s Gallery and will showcase original artwork created by student participants throughout a weeklong residency with Hobbs.
The University Museum, in partnership with the University of Mississippi Institute for the Arts and Sarahfest, will host a public reception on Friday, November 13, celebrating the work of the 2026 Sarahfest Artist in Residence cohort and featured artist Blair Hobbs.
Now in its sixth year, The Sarahfest Artist in Residence program brings together members of the university community to explore the intersection of art of the humanities through collaboration with professional artist, Blair Hobbs. This year’s cohort includes 10 participants from across campus, representing undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff.
The 2026 residency, themed Your Place to Land: Nature, Poetry, and Art, invites participants to explore the connections between the natural world, personal memory, poetry and visual expression.
Throughout the week, cohort members will draw inspiration from the poetry of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, using nature as a starting point to reflect on meaningful memories and translate those experiences into narrative poems.
Through workshops led by Hobbs, participants will transform their writing into original visual art, incorporating mixed media and a variety of creative materials.
Under Hobbs’ guidance, participants will transform their writing into original visual art, incorporating a variety of creative processes and mixed materials. The resulting pieces will reflect each participant’s individual interpretation of the residency theme and the relationship between personal storytelling and artistic expression.
Hobbs is currently a senior Lecturer Emerita in English at the University of Mississippi. After teaching literature and creative writing for twenty-eight years, she retired to make art full time.
Her art is represented by Spalding Nix Fine Art, Atlanta, GA; Southside Gallery, Oxford, MS; Fischer Gallery, Ridgeland, MS. Her art and an interview are forthcoming in The Flannery O’Connor Review, and her Birthday Cake for Flannery show was the subject of Jamie Quatro’s 2025 essay for The Paris Review. Additionally, Hobbs has conducted several art and poetry workshops at universities and museums, including the University of Mississippi Museum during the summer of 2026.
The November 13 reception will mark the conclusion of the weeklong residency and offer visitors an opportunity to experience the cohort’s original creations. All are invited to attend and celebrate the participants’ work and explore the connections between poetry and visual art.
The reception is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be provided.
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