{"id":158658,"date":"2026-05-05T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=158658"},"modified":"2026-05-05T16:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:22:55","slug":"exhibits-lectures-highlight-faulkners-greenfield-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/exhibits-lectures-highlight-faulkners-greenfield-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Exhibits, Lectures Highlight Faulkner\u2019s Greenfield Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo documentary highlights past, beauty of future UM writers residency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This summer, two exhibits and a lecture series at the University of Mississippi<\/strong> will tell the story of Greenfield Farm<\/strong>, which was once William Faulkner<\/strong>\u2019s mule farm and will soon become the state\u2019s first writers residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past year, photographer and documentarian Thad Lee<\/strong> has chronicled Greenfield Farm<\/a>, a plot of land 15 miles northeast of Oxford<\/strong> that was once home to the Nobel Prize<\/strong>-winning author\u2019s livestock. Before welcoming its first group of new writers next year, the Mississippi Lab<\/a><\/strong> aims to highlight the farm\u2019s past with two exhibits and a lecture series that focus on Lee\u2019s work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hannah McCormick, a University of Mississippi graduate who paints and teaches in Water Valley, paints one of the remaining structures at Greenfield Farm, a tract near Oxford that was once William Faulkner\u2019s mule farm. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMississippi\u2019s story is the American story,\u201d said Mary Wise Conaway<\/strong>, project manager for the Mississippi Lab. \u201cWe hope these works become a part of how current and future generations of Mississippians understand our past: where we\u2019ve been, what we\u2019ve inherited and how this heritage shapes our collective identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first exhibit, \u201cUnvanquished Soil: A Year at Greenfield Farm<\/strong>\u201d is on display at University of Mississippi Museum<\/a> through Aug. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThad’s work bridges the gap from contemporary photography by Martin Dain<\/strong> in the 1960s to the writers residency which will revive the property,\u201d said Melanie Antonelli<\/strong>, the museum\u2019s curator and collections manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe interiors of the farmhouse also reveal interesting aesthetic choices such as paint colors or wallpaper. Whether Faulkner ever wrote on the property or not, no doubt this refuge provided inspiration and rejuvenation that fueled his work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Center for the Study of Southern Culture<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0will open a second exhibit featuring Lee\u2019s work as well as historic images from photographer Martin J. Dain<\/strong>. The exhibit opens May 26 in Gammill Gallery <\/strong>at Barnard Observatory <\/strong>and will be available through Aug. 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI encountered mystery, history, beauty and decay when walking Greenfield Farm,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI hope that comes across in these 24 photographs. The property is a strange marriage of ruins and Mississippi woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe structures, machines and artifacts that have survived the 64 years since Faulkner\u2019s death stand still, quiet and somewhat timeless. They are witnesses to the colorful and stark seasonal change that the farm\u2019s plant world undergoes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rowan Oak <\/strong>will feature a companion exhibit of paintings by the Mississippi Delta<\/strong> artist Church Going Mule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A summer brown bag lecture series will also highlight the ecology, history and importance of Faulkner\u2019s mule farm. Each of the events will be held at noon at the UM Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n