Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Paul Fayard “…a means to an end.” it’s actually a dictionary definition, which I used when I taught art appreciation. I think it covers pretty much everything and is why supposedly MFA graduates are being hired for business. Diego Rivera said that all art is propaganda. I tend to agree.

Donna Ladd … subversive.

Jo B. Williams … often underrated and underappreciated.

Renee Shakespeare … life.

Patrick Hudson … subjective.

Demi Green … essential to telling our stories … and learning all of our stories.

Kat Hazlip … life’s imitation.

Daniel Moore … my hustle. Art is my hustle.

Jamie Grissom … drumming.

William Spell Jr. … both an obsession and the only cure for it.

Dana Hood … how, not what, is made.

Tanya Francis … thought provoking.

Shondra Macklin … in every beat of my heart shared via every brush stroke.

Carley Laney Art is necessary!

Jo Ann Crooks Hall … that which takes one’s breath away.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.