IvyWild’s Moser Named Rising Star by Culinary Pros

Keri Downing Moser, owner and chef at IvyWild in Sewanee, has been named a Rising Star by StarChefs, a magazine for culinary insiders. In its recent survey of culinary professionals in Kentucky and Tennessee, Moser was selected as one of the chefs who represents the vanguard of the contemporary American dining scene. 

From Louisville to Nashville and Memphis, the StarChefs team visited chefs and artisans across eight cities and small towns, considering more than 100 candidates in Kentucky and Tennessee through in-person tastings and interviews.

“We have an amazing community of restaurants and food service professionals in Sewanee. We plan events together and promote dining in the Village,” Moser said upon learning of the award. “It is gratifying to know this award is announced nationally. I want it to draw attention to what we’re doing here. This is such an extraordinary place to live, learn, play and eat.”

In its review, StarChefs wrote: “We’ll go out on a limb. IvyWild is the best little restaurant you’ve never heard of. It’s hidden well enough in the 2,000-ish-person mountain town of Sewanee, Tennessee, but we guarantee it’s worth pulling off exit 134 for a chance to eat Chef Keri Moser’s playful, offbeat cuisine. 

“Moser sees compositions in colors and landscapes, and she works backward to edit in ingredients and techniques, building her plates with improbably good and often wild flavor combinations. Moser nods occasionally to the region’s Southern foodways—and supports them wholeheartedly as a champion of local farmers—but her food reflects a deep curiosity, an artistic bent, and a creative streak that’s unencumbered by the culinary establishment or her small-town status. She’s defining her own path, one that more chefs should dare to follow,” the review concluded.

StarChefs wrote that the dishes that “clinched it” for them were: Smoked Salmon, Cracked Wheat and Black Barley, Elberton Blue Cheese, Tomatillos, Romanesco and Chamomile-Lemon Aïoli; and Pork Shoulder, Pickled Peaches, Cornbread, Foie Gras Butter and Sorghum Vinaigrette.

Moser said, “Food is so much more than sustenance—it can be an experience, it’s exciting, it’s art, it’s community (both in and outside the restaurant) and I want to share that.” Chefs identified as Rising Stars “have strong, compelling culinary philosophies, are able to see beyond the four walls of their restaurant, and are committed to fostering a culinary community by sharing their knowledge with fellow professionals,” according to StarChef editors. “Ultimately, creativity, ambition, exquisite presentation and, most important, delicious food wins a chef the designation of StarChefs Rising Star. They are the future of American cuisine.”

“It is extremely important to me to know as much as possible about the ingredients I use to feed my friends, family and community,” Moser said. “Having a personal relationship with the farmers and food artisans makes that possible. The Cumberland Farmers’ Market and South Cumberland Food Hub are a key part of our success—they help provide optimum conditions for the farmers to succeed. Helping in the effort to make sure my community and IvyWild have access to a premium, responsible food supply is a critical goal.”

The Community Action Committee is one of Moser’s favorite food-related charities. She said, “Sewanee is a little bubble of privilege in a deeply depressed area. The CAC works to make sure there is food available for people who need it, whether that’s through boxes of groceries or organizing community meals. We host some of the community meals at IvyWild.”

IvyWild opened in 2010 in the building that once housed the old steam laundry at 36 Ball Park Road. It is open Thursday through Sunday evenings. 

Council Celebrates 50th Anniversary, Renews Garbage Collection Contract

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Jan. 27 meeting of the Sewanee Community Council, University Vice-Chancellor John McCardell announced that this meeting marked the 50th anniversary of the council. The council posed for an anniversary photograph.

At the Dec. 2, 2013, meeting of the council, they approved renewal of the current garbage collection contract with Joe B. Long through June 2015. 

The current contract for garbage collection expires on June 30. Anticipating the expiration of the contract, Barbara Schlichting, superintendent of leases, conducted a preliminary review of garbage collection and related issues. Schlichting said more information was needed in order to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) and invite bids. “Glass recycling costs $4,000 over what the glass makes,” she said by way of illustration.

Schlichting recommended the council extend the current contract for one or two years to allow time for research. Schlichting said Long agreed to a one- or two-year extension without a rate increase. The current monthly rate for residential pickup is $23.25.

Council representative Chet Seigmund said he knew of several contractors who were interested in bidding on garbage collection services in Sewanee. 

Acknowledging that time was needed for research, the council approved extending the contract with Long for one year with the stipulation the Lease Office prepare a RFP by January 2015.

Reporting on the plans to revitalize the downtown area, Frank Gladu, the vice president of administrative services, said the University would be working with the architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross this spring to create the next steps in the process, building on research and community input acquired over the past few years. Three workshops are planned.

The next meeting of the council is Feb. 24.

Second City in Sewanee Thursday

The Second City Improv All-Stars will take the stage at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6, in Guerry Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

An evening of fully improvised comedy from the acknowledged masters of the form, “Second City’s Improv All Stars” is an evening of improvised sketches, games, songs and general merriment. The troupe of “Second City’s Improv All Stars” amaze audiences with their talent, skill and wit, without the aid of script or set.

Second City is one of the premiere improv comedy groups in the country. Second City continues to develop the leading voices in comedy while touring the globe. Founded in Chicago in 1959, Second City has become the training ground for the comedy world’s best and brightest. The alumni list reads like a who’s who of American comedy and includes Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Bill Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Horatio Sanz, Ryan Stiles, Jack McBrayer, Tim Meadows, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and countless others. 

Not only will an evening with Second City provide audiences with the chance to see comedy stars in the making, but they will also have the opportunity to see hilarious satire and cutting-edge improvisation.

Shenanigans re-opening on Feb. 1

Nelson Byrd (left) and Bill Elder are the new owners of Shenanigans, which will open for business at 12 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1. For the first few days, there will be a limited menu but will expand after that. Regular hours will be 11:30 a.m. to “late” on Sundays, closed on Mondays, and 11 a.m. to “late,” Tuesdays–Saturdays. The grill will close each day 2–5 p.m., and at 9 p.m.

Hike All 14 in 2014 in South Cumberland State Park

The Friends of South Cumberland challenges area hikers to “Hike All 14 in 2014.” In Mary Priestley’s guide to hiking in the South Cumberland State Park, she lists 14 hikes that cover all 10 parks that make up the South Cumberland State Park in 120 miles of hiking. 

“If you hike all 14, you will have covered a lot of trail and seen some of the most spectacular scenery to be found,” said Priestley. 

The Hike All 14 challenge will kick off on Sat., Feb. 8; registration will be 9:30–10 a.m., at the State Park Visitor Center. The first of the 14 hikes, Hike 4 on the Meadow Trail, will be 10–11:30 a.m., led by Mary Priestley. Lunch at Dutch Maid Bakery will follow at 12 p.m., with a program by Tennessee Naturalist Rob Moreland. After lunch, Hike 3 at Grundy Lakes will begin at 1:30 p.m. Participants may come for any or all of these opening events. 

There is a $10 fee to sign up for the challenge that includes registration and a copy of the trail guide. Hikers can also order a Hike All 14 T-shirt with a checklist of hikes on the back. Those who join the “I Hiked Em All Club” will receive a certificate, trail map bandana and a year’s membership to the FSC. 

Everyone is invited to participate at no charge on any of the individual hikes. Scouts and other student groups are encouraged to take part. 

For more information contact Naullain Kendrick by email to <naullain@hotmail.com>.

The next scheduled hikes take place on March 22, and include Hike 6, the Greeter Falls Loop and Laurel Trail, combined with Hike 2, the Laurel Falls Loop. Tennessee Naturalists Jack Furman and Naullain Kendrick will be the leaders. 

On April 6, Mary Priestley and Naullain Kendrick will lead Hike 10, the Collins Gulf Loop. Additional hikes will be offered during Trails & Trilliums on April 12–13. 

With more than 24,500 acres in separate parcels, South Cumberland is spread out over a 100-square-mile area. Approximately 81 miles of white- and blue-blazed trails run through Savage Gulf, Fiery Gizzard and all of the other parks that make up the South Cumberland. The 14 hikes described in the guide include easy strolls and more difficult day-long treks. To receive monthly announcements about Hike 14, go to the FSC website <www.friendsofscsra.org> and sign up for the free Trail Tracker mailing list.

Fourth of July Planning Begins

It is time to start thinking about Sewanee’s Fourth of July celebration for 2014. 

The first planning meeting will be at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Sewanee Senior Center. 

At this meeting, the group will select a theme for 2014.

“We need enthusiastic and creative people to help,” said Jade McBee Barry.  New committee members are always welcome. If you cannot make the meeting but want to help, please contact Barry at (931) 636-9829 or by email, <jade​mcbee@gmail.com>.

Free Tax Return Preparation

If your annual income was less than $51,000 in 2013, the IRS program Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) offers free assistance for preparation of tax returns. IRS-certified tax preparers are ready to help at no charge. They can inform taxpayers about special tax credits for which they may qualify, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. 

VITA sites in our area will be the Sewanee Senior Center and Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Monteagle. This service is free, but an appointment is necessary. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (205) 504-5306 or email
<vitasewanee@gmail.com>.

Desegregation Celebration Honors Courageous Local Families * Participants Recalled Memories and Experiences From 1964

More than 200 people gathered at the Sewanee Elementary School on Jan. 19 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the Franklin County Public School System. Some guests came from as far as New Jersey, Atlanta and Asheville, N.C., to be a part of the event, which was organized by the Sewanee Civic Association.

Nine years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, eight local families sued Franklin County to force integration of the system. The plaintiffs were four black families and four white families; the participants were the Bates, Cameron, Camp, Goodstein, Hill, Sisk, Staten and Turner families. The suit, which was successful, was unique because it involved both white and black families as plaintiffs.

Marvin Goodstein, one of the original plaintiffs, spoke eloquently about the time of the lawsuit.

“Perhaps the most serious obstacle to desegregation was the word ‘But.’ People would talk about their support for the [Brown v. Board of Education] decision, and then they would say, ‘But,’ and describe a litany of concerns about it,” Goodstein said. “They were concerned that desegregation would harm the quality of education, that it would require tax increases, that it would bring about ‘undesirable’ contacts between groups of young people.

“And they were wrong. The Supreme Court’s decision was the right one,” he said. He described how the families in Franklin County joined together to bring this change to the local level.

Felder Dorn, who was president of the Sewanee Civic Association (SCA) 1963–64 and led the fund-raising effort, described how the Civic Association studied the school situation and recommended that four new classrooms be added to the Sewanee Public School. “The Kennerly School was a grossly inferior building,” Dorn said, “and we agreed that Sewanee residents would bear the cost of the school addition.”

SCA held a town meeting on March 30, 1964, to initiate a fund-raising drive for the new rooms at the school. They estimated the cost to be $50,000, he said, “all of which came right here from this community.”

Although not everyone in the community favored integration, Dorn said, people understood that it was time for it to happen. “The four rooms we added to this place stand as a monument to the vision and the generosity of a very special community,” he concluded.

Juliette Larkins Taylor, daughter of plaintiff Emma and Samuel Hill, described how hard it was to attend Clark Elementary in Winchester after the integration began, and the fear she felt on the bus and in the classroom. Her mother, however, encouraged her by word and example; Hill had been trained at the Highlander Folk School.

“As kids, aged 11 and 12, I don’t think we understood that we were a significant part of history,” said Robin Bates, a plaintiff with his parents, Phoebe and Scott Bates. “We went with our father to the black school, taking books and talking about what was happening. We knew we needed to stand up for what was right.”

Plaintiff Dora Turner’s daughter, Sandra Turner Davis, recalled being 10 years old as she entered Sewanee Public School.

“It was scary,” she said. “There were some good times, and there were some bad times, but we learned as much as we could. Sewanee people are peaceful people.”

Pam Taylor, daughter of plaintiff Sara Staten, noted that she was grateful that this event was organized to recognize and remember this important work.

“I walked into school that first day fearless because my mother was fearless,” she said. “She instilled love in us. She carried no bitterness in her heart,” Taylor said. “She knew that black children everywhere, not just in Sewanee, needed the same education,” Taylor said of her mother.

Doug Cameron, whose sister, Ann, and parents were plaintiffs in the case, recalled how much race relations had changed since 1964. “There were still water fountains and bathrooms for ‘colored’ and for ‘white’ people,” he said. 

“My favorite quote is, ‘There are times when one has to choose between what is easy and what is right,’” Cameron said, “It took courage, but our parents did what was right.” Cameron was joined on stage by his brother, Bobby Cameron, and together led the gathered crowd in singing, “Oh Freedom!”

During the question-and-answer period, members of the audience recalled their own stories from this time. 

Ruth Ramseur reminded the group of the great courage of the Rev. David Yates, rector of Otey Parish during this period, who integrated the parish before the school system. Otey Parish hosted tutoring for black students the summer before integration so that they would be ready for the new school year. This tutoring program was featured in an October 1964 issue of the magazine The Living Church.

At the site of the new historical marker outside of SES, University Vice-Chancellor John M. McCardell noted that at the same time integration was happening at public schools in Franklin County, Congress was engaged in the debate over the 1964 Civic Rights Bill. 

“This community is truly special, truly strong,” McCardell said. “If there’s anyplace to hope to see progress continue toward justice, it is here,” he said. “Courageous people in this little community stood up and prevailed,” he said. “And it shows that when a community decides to do something, it can make a difference.”

SCA board member Lizzie Duncan unveiled the marker, with help from children attending the event. The group then moved across the street to Otey Parish’s Brooks Hall for refreshments, conversation and videotaping of oral interviews about this historic event.

“Money & Life” Film Screening on Feb. 2

The public is invited to a free screening of the award-winning documentary “Money & Life” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in Sewanee Union Theater. 

The film was produced by University of the South alumna Katie Teague, C’93. Among the experts interviewed in this film is Robin Gottfried, professor emeritus of economics at Sewanee. A discussion with Teague and Gottfried will follow the showing.

“Money & Life” (www.moneyandlifemovie.com) is a feature-length documentary that explores the ongoing economic crisis as a way to consider relationships to money at the personal, community and global levels. At the heart of the film is the question “Can we see the economic crisis not as a disaster, but as an opportunity?”

“Movies such as ‘Money & Life’ get the message out that there’s a need for change, and inspire the conversations that encourage action,” Teague said. “Rather than wait for governments to change the nature of debt, many people are creating local economies based on sharing or local currency.”

In the San Francisco Weekly, one reviewer wrote, “‘Money & Life’ does offer an engrossing history of the very concept of currency, and it raises some very salient points about our relationship with money and the treadmill we constantly run to acquire it.”

The screening and discussions are co-sponsored by the following University of the South programs: Babson Center for Global Commerce, Chapel Outreach Office, Community Engaged Learning, Cornerstone Project, the Economics Department, the Philosophy Club and the Philosophy Department; and the following community programs: Cumberland Center for Justice and Peace, the Cumberland Plateau Timebank and Otey Memorial Parish. This event is made possible by the support of the University Lectures Committee.

Sewanee Civic Association Gathers on Feb. 5

The first meeting of the Easter semester for the Sewanee Civic Association will be on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the EQB House. Social time with wine begins at 6 p.m., and dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Dinner costs $12 per person. The business meeting begins promptly at 7 p.m., followed by a brief program. The program portion of the evening is free and open to the public. Annual dues of $10 are always payable at the door.

This program will feature Steve Blount, assistant district attorney for the 12th Judicial District. He will speak about the drug treatment court’s role in the criminal justice system. Blount is a candidate for circuit court judge, part III, for the 12th judicial district.

This year, the Civic Association is celebrating 106 years of civic opportunities in the community. The association brings together community members for social and community awareness. The Civic Association is the sponsoring organization for Cub Scout Pack 152, Sewanee Classifieds and the Sewanee Community Chest. Any adult who resides in the area and shares concerns of the community is invited to participate.

For more information, go to <www.sewaneecivic.wordpress.com>.

Shenanigans Sale Final: Reopening planned for February

Shenanigans has new owners who are preparing to reopen the Sewanee restaurant in early February with a return to the fall 2010 menu. 

“This is an ambitious opening date,” said Bill Elder, one of the two owners, “but we need to get the grill frying and the taps pouring again.”

Elder and longtime friend Nelson Byrd purchased the business on Jan. 10. They have begun some renovations in the space and are hiring new staff.

“We really wanted to reopen a place that was beloved to both of us,” Elder said.

Byrd is a Sewanee alumnus, and Elder grew up spending summers in the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. Elder’s wife is a Sewanee grad.

“Our goal is to bring back Shenanigans, the way it once was. We want everyone to walk in and find it the same place it was in November of 2010. Same menu, same recipes, same smiles, and faces new and old,” Elder said.

The pair are running a crowd-sourced campaign at <indiegogo.com> to raise additional funds for some of the things that are not part of the overall business plan, including a renovated back room with expanded seating and a removable stage and sound system for the main room. 

Byrd worked at Shenanigans when he was a Sewanee student and Elder describes him as a Hall of Fame cook, but neither are in the restaurant business now. Elder is the founder and songwriter/guitarist for the funk-soul band the Dynamites. Byrd is running his family’s farm. 

“Any anxiety we had about buying Shenanigans was offset by our love for this beloved space and the important place it holds in the community,” Elder said.

Tribute to Yeatman Hike on January 17

Tennessee Naturalist Eleanor Gilchrist will lead a hike to honor the life of Sewanee professor emeritus of biology and naturalist Harry Yeatman, who died in November.

Meet Gilchrist at 3:45 p.m., Friday, Jan. 17, at the South Cumberland State Park Visitors’ Center for a relaxed stroll on the Meadow Trail. Binoculars can be helpful on this hike and bring a flashlight, as the group will return after dark. 

The South Cumberland State Park Visitors’ Center is located on Highway 41 South between Monteagle and Tracy City. For more information call (931) 924-2980.

MLK Events in Sewanee

Sewanee will observe Martin Luther King Day with three events. All are open to the public.

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, at Sewanee Elementary School (SES), there will be an observance paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 1964 desegregation of SES. A historical marker commemorating the event will be unveiled at the ceremony. A reception will follow at Brooks Hall.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is observed on Monday, Jan. 20, as a holiday. 

The 29th annual Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration will be held on Monday, Jan. 20, in the Bishop’s Common Hearth Room, beginning with a potluck dinner at 5:30 p.m. Student performers include the Sewanee Praise choir, poet Adrian Bowie and praise dancer Yubisan Ventura. Featured speaker Marilyn Davidheiser will provide an overview of the lawsuit leading to the desegregation of SES.

At 8 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20, in Guerry Auditorium, François Clemmons, acclaimed singer, playwright and lecturer will perform. As founder/director of the world-famous Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, he performs throughout America, Europe and Asia, carrying on his vision for preserving, sustaining and commissioning new and traditional arrangements of American Negro Spirituals for future generations. 

On Monday, federal, state and local government offices will be closed. Franklin County and Marion County public schools will also be closed, as will banks and post offices. Classes will be held in Grundy County, as well as at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School and the University.

Celebration of Historic Lawsuit Sunday at SES

Members of the families who were part of the historic integration of the Franklin County School System will speak at the 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 19, celebration of the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the schools, as part of a series of community-wide events surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All members of the community are invited to attend.

The Sewanee Civic Association (SCA) has been working for months to honor the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the schools, and to offer a tribute to the Sewanee community and eight local families who played a major role in the historic integration. The families of Hill, Sisk, Staten, Turner, Bates, Cameron, Camp and Goodstein joined together in the unique suit that was comprised of four black families and four white families. The Sewanee community also provided funding to enlarge the school and began a tutoring program to ensure that all students would thrive in the newly integrated school. In 1964, the U.S. District Court issued an order to desegregate the schools and in August the system began to assimilate all children into the classroom regardless of race. 

Among those who are expected at the event are Robin Bates, Doug Cameron, Marvin Goodstein, Juliette Larkins and Sandra Turner Davis. Officials from the Tennessee Historical Commission and members of the Franklin County School board are expected to attend.

The program on Sunday will begin inside SES and then move outside, where a new historical marker will be unveiled and dedicated. 

At the conclusion of the ceremonies, there will be a reception in Brooks Hall at Otey Parish. Otey Parish was instrumental in forging community relationships for the tutoring of many students prior to enrolling at Sewanee Public School. School of Theology students and spouses helped with the adjunct teaching program .

Leading the SCA planning efforts have been Elizabeth Duncan, Susan Holmes and Cameron Swallow, with help from Frank and Barbara Hart and Barbara Schlichting.

Low Country Boil in Monteagle

The fourth annual Low Country Boil will be 4–7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Tennessee National Guard Armory (107 Armory Rd., Monteagle, on Hwy. 41 between Monteagle and Tracy City). The dinner will include shrimp, corn on the cob, cajun sausage and red potatoes, dirty rice, bread, drinks, and bread pudding in rum sauce. Bazzania! will provide entertainment for the evening.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Friends of South Cumberland, the Monteagle Food Bank and the Monteagle Mountain Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $15 per person in advance or $18 per person at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Monteagle City Hall and at various Monteagle businesses. For more information call (931) 924-5353 or email <mmtn​chamber@blomand.net>.

Nakadate’s Strangers & Relations Opens at University Gallery

The University Art Gallery presents “Laurel Nakadate: Strangers and Relations,” an exhibition of large-scale color portrait photographs drawn from Nakadate’s Star Portraits and Relations series. 

Records of first-time encounters taken at night in isolated locations, lit by moonlight and a single handheld flashlight, these photographs construct fragile, intimate relationships between artist, subject and viewer. The show opens Saturday, Jan. 18, and runs through April 6. Nakadate will talk about her work near the end of the show, on April 4.

In the summer of 2011, Laurel Nakadate began to photograph strangers for the Star Portraits series, inviting friends of friends, Facebook “friends,” and curious members of the online community to meet her at night in remote corners of the United States and Europe. During the same time period, Nakadate also undertook DNA and genealogical research, discovering genetic ties to the descendants of slaves and pilgrims, the McCoy clan, and the early Protestant feminist Anne Hutchinson, among others. She contacted distant relatives on DNA websites, and arranged to meet them, also at night, in order to make their portraits for Relations. Her subjects, whether distant relatives or Internet contacts, appeared for their portraits without prior instructions and chose their own clothing. The results are photographic performances that record the instant that the artist and her subjects see each other for the first time, capturing the connection of strangers. This connection has been an important part of Nakadate’s work since her earliest video pieces, in which she recorded herself dancing or singing with strangers met through chance encounters. In the photographs of “Strangers and Relations,” Nakadate does not appear in front of the camera herself, except in the DNA that she shares with her diverse subjects. 

“In my early videos, I physically appeared in the work. In these new portraits, I am allowing my body, my DNA, to navigate my direction; where I will travel and whom I will meet,” she said. These strangers, who are also distant cousins, share bits of DNA with me—in some ways, these images become modern-day self-portraits. I see these strangers, who are also relatives, as little glimmers of the ancestors who connected us hundreds of years ago. 

Nakadate was born in Austin, Texas, in 1975 and was raised in Ames, Iowa. From 1999 to 2001, while completing her MFA in photography at Yale University, she began to create provocative works in video, photography, performance and film that challenge conventional perceptions of power, seduction, tenderness and trust. Nakadate’s early relationship to the fixed single viewpoint of the camera (as both artist and subject), her insistence on simple production values, and her upending of public and private ritualistic behaviors, anticipated the amateur video aesthetic of YouTube diaries and Internet blogs. A major monograph, “365 Days: A Catalogue of Tears,” featuring a year-long photographic “performance,” in which the artist forced herself to cry each day during the year 2010, was recently published by Hatje Cantz and the Zabludowicz Collection, London.

She has participated in solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries worldwide, including a critically acclaimed ten-year survey, “Laurel Nakadate: Only the Lonely” at MoMA PS 1 in 2011. Her works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Cincinnati Art Museum; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Princeton University Art Museum; the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College; the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; and other distinguished institutions. The artist has also received widespread acclaim for two feature-length films, “Stay the Same Never Change,” which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and “The Wolf Knife” (2010), which was nominated for Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards and was the featured work in the Believer Magazine’s 2012 annual film issue. 

Sewanee’s University Art Gallery is located on Georgia Avenue. The gallery is free, accessible, and open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays and 12–4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. For more information call 598-1223 or go to <www.sewanee.edu/gallery>.

Theatre Sewanee Presents DanceWise Jan. 29–31

Theatre Sewanee presents “DanceWise: Point of Departure,” Wednesday through Friday, Jan. 29–31. All performances are at 7:30 p.m. at the Tennessee Williams Center on the Sewanee campus. 

Under the artistic direction of Courtney World, visiting assistant professor of dance, DanceWise takes dance at Sewanee in a new direction. This 60-minute concert will showcase the talent of three emerging student choreographers—Elizabeth Beilharz, Josie Guevara-Torres and Clara Guyton—side-by-side with choreography and performances by World, including a solo tap dance. Collaborations include a dance for camera conceived with filmmaker Catalina Jordan Alvarez, and a duet with guest artist and co-choreographer Heather Acomb.

Admission is free, but seating is limited. To reserve tickets, email <mcook@sewanee.edu> or call 598-3260. More information about each dance follows.

“Cycles of Life,” choreographed by Elizabeth Beilharz, is inspired by the fragile relationship and transient unity between nature and man. Performed by Josie Clark, Sasha Green, Clara Guyton and Noni Hill.

“Confessions of a Bottomless Heart,” choreographed by Clara Guyton, is a duet danced by Max Hagan and Karen Bjerre, exploring the extremes of a compulsive but compassionate heart and the consequences thereof.

“Five Stages of Anger” is an intense paso doble-inspired percussive dance choreographed by Josie Guevara-Torres. The sound score is created by the movement of the dancers, Daryl Curry, Clara Guyton, Brittany Macon, Sandy Milien and Katherine Sharp.

“Not One Thing” choreographed by Courtney World, is inspired by drawings and symbolism from Ensō Zen Circles of Enlightenment by Audrey Yoshiko Seo. Danced by Virginia Flowers, Clara Guyton, Noni Hill, Elizabeth Layman and Fridien Tchoukou.

“Harmonic Inspiration” choreographed by Derick Grant, is a lively solo tap dance arranged and performed by Courtney World. An intriguing blend of traditional rhythm jazz tap performed to the classical music of Antonio Vivaldi.

Heather Acomb, independent dance artist and former dancer with Bill Evans Dance Company, will perform in the premiere of an original collaboratively choreographed duet with Courtney World.

A new dance for camera, collaboratively conceived by Catalina Jordan Alvarez and Courtney World, is a visual dance narrative of community, life, death and transformation, featuring Vivien Kis, Charlotte LaNasa, Hilary Smith, Kathryn Snyder and Tia Strickland.

Lighting and set design are by Dan Backlund, costumes by Josie Guevara-Torres, Ruth Guerra and Jennifer Matthews, and technical direction by John Marshall, assisted by Samantha Gribben.

MGTA and Land Trust Reach Campaign Goal: New Land Adds 22 Acres to Monteagle-Tracy City Segment of the Trail

The Mountain Goat Trail Alliance (MGTA) and the Land Trust for Tennessee (LTTN) announced on Jan. 8 the successful completion of a capital campaign. As a result, 22 acres of the former Mountain Goat Railroad bed between Monteagle and Tracy City are now owned by the MGTA.

“The acquisition of this important section of railroad bed puts us closer to our ultimate goal: a multi-use path from Cowan to Palmer. We are so grateful to the Land Trust for Tennessee for collaborating with us on this effort,” said Janice Thomas, board president of the MGTA.

“The Mountain Goat Trail is an excellent economic development opportunity for the South Cumberland region,” said Jeanie Nelson, executive director of LTTN. “It also connects several amazing cultural and natural resources that are so important to the area.” 

The acquired property constitutes approximately 60 percent of the rail bed between Monteagle and Tracy City. When constructed, the trail between Monteagle and Tracy City will be approximately 5.6 miles long. Construction is due to begin this year on a three-mile section between Sewanee and Monteagle as well as two one-mile sections between Tracy City and Palmer.

The campaign raised more than $83,000 to acquire the property. Challenge gifts from the Cammack Family Foundation and Doug Ferris were instrumental in reaching the campaign goal.

A recent study by Sewanee’s Babson Center for Global Commerce predicts the trail will add $1.2 million in annual revenue to the economy of the South Cumberland Plateau. The supporting data includes studies of other rail-trail projects, local demographic statistics and formulas for calculating effects of tourism on a local economy. “The construction of the trail benefits the local communities in many ways ranging from offering a habitat for better outdoor education for local schools to offering community members a place to exercise,” the report concluded.

The Mountain Goat Trail is a rail-to-trail community outdoor recreation project to convert an abandoned railroad right-of-way into a multi-use recreational corridor between Grundy and Franklin Counties on the Cumberland Plateau. For more information visit <www.mountaingoattrail.org>.

The Land Trust for Tennessee is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, founded in 1999. Its mission is to preserve the unique character of Tennessee’s natural and historic landscapes for future generations. To date, The Land Trust for Tennessee has protected more than 91,000 acres statewide. For more information go to <www.landtrusttn.org>.

Marilyn Nelson Poetry Reading Thursday

Marilyn Nelson will give a reading from selected works at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, in Gailor Auditorium. Some of the readings will be accompanied by musician Kash Wright. Wright will set the mood with music starting at 3:50 p.m.

Sewanee Police Save Woman on Christmas Night

While on routine patrol on third shift Christmas night, Sewanee Police officer Greg Dempsey saw an abandoned car parked near the Memorial Cross. According to Sewanee Police Chief Marie Eldridge, Dempsey returned later in the night and the vehicle was still there. He looked in the car and found an apparent suicide note.

Dempsey called for assistance; members of the Sewanee Fire Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s office, as well as Sewanee interim assistant chief Tony Gilliam and officer Dan Ferguson, arrived on the scene. A search ensued and the woman was discovered in the woods in the sub-freezing weather. Her family, who had filed a missing person report on the Nashville woman, was contacted. The woman was transported to Emerald-Hodgson Hospital and then airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.

Opening Convocation Set for Noon, Jan. 17

Opening Convocation for the Easter semester at the University will be at noon, Friday, Jan. 17, in All Saints’ Chapel. Honorary degrees will be presented and new members will be inducted into the Order of Gownsmen. Louise Cowan, author, professor and pioneer in liberal arts education, will give the Convocation address and will receive an honorary degree. Poet and author Marilyn Nelson will also receive an honorary degree during the Convocation, and will give a reading Jan. 16 during her visit to the Sewanee campus.

Louise Shillingburg Cowan has had a long and distinguished career in education. She is a professor emerita at the University of Dallas, served as dean of the graduate school there, founded the university’s doctoral program, and co-founded the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. She was the Fugitive Group’s official historian, resulting in her book, “The Fugitive Group: A Literary History.” Cowan is best known for her teaching and her impact on students, and continued to teach into her 90s. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush bestowed upon Cowan the nation’s highest award for achievement in the humanities, the Charles Frankel Prize. She was honored by Laura Bush in 2001 for the establishment of The Teachers Institute at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, and has been named to a list of the 20 most brilliant living Christian professors.

Marilyn Nelson is a poet, translator, children’s book author and professor emerita at the University of Connecticut. She is the author or translator of more than a dozen books, including “The Homeplace,” “The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems” and “Carver: A Life in Poems.” Her book “A Wreath for Emmett Till” presents 15 interlinked sonnets to pay tribute to Emmitt Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 for whistling at a white woman, and whose murderers were acquitted. Nelson served as the Connecticut Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2006, and she is currently Poet-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. Nelson taught at Sewanee as a Brown Foundation Fellow during the 2011 Easter semester, co-creating a course that addressed poetry, spirituality and the environment. She has received many honors, including two Boston-Horn Book Awards, the Poet’s Prize, the Printz Honor Award, three Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, and the 2012 Poetry Society of America’s Frost Medal for her “distinguished lifetime service to American poetry.”

Clemmons to Give MLK Day Concert

François Clemmons, founder of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, will give a Martin Luther King Jr. Day concert at 8 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20, in All Saints’ Chapel. The concert will follow the community potluck and celebration in the Bishop’s Common. (See page 6 for a full list of MLK events.)

Clemmons was formerly artist in residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College. He is a professionally trained operatic tenor who is perhaps best known for the role of Officer Clemmons, a friendly neighborhood policeman, on the children’s television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Born in Birmingham, Ala., Clemmons first learned of the joy of song from his mother, who sang traditional spirituals as she worked around the house. After earning his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Clemmons joined the company of the Metropolitan Opera Studio, playing more than 70 classical and opera roles around the world. He has performed his favorite role, Sportin’ Life in “Porgy and Bess,” more than 200 times and earned a Grammy award for his recording of that role.

Clemmons formed the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble to showcase the spirituals he first learned as a child. .He joined Middlebury College in 1997 and retired last spring as Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir.

Partin Announces for Grundy County Mayor

Emily Carol Partin has announced her candidacy for the office of Grundy County Mayor. 

“I believe the person holding this office is in the position to craft and pursue a vision for a better future for us all.” Partin said. “Grundy County is at a major crossroads. Adverse circumstances, such as unemployment, poor health, substance abuse and poverty, have weakened us. It would be tempting to stay on this same course, hoping for a better outcome. It won’t happen. We must all begin to accept responsibility for where we are and hold each other accountable for a better tomorrow. I want to be a part of this solution and I believe I am qualified for the task.” 

Partin graduated from Grundy County High School and has a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Her studies and vocation took her away from the Mountain for almost 20 years until the year 2000 when she returned home to care for her father. 

Once back on the Mountain, Partin worked as a mental health counselor serving Grundy County. 

“I was so dismayed at the extent of hurt and illness that I attributed to poverty, poor health and substance abuse” Partin said. “I began praying for the opportunity to bring about a broader reaching, deeper healing to our whole County, for the hometown I remembered as being a quaint place in which to live had changed dramatically. I found this could only happen if I and others became involved in the process.”

For the past three years Partin has worked for the Grundy County Schools as family resource director. She is a board member of two new projects on the Mountain: the Community Fund of the South Cumberland Plateau; and Discover Together, a collaboration between Yale University, Scholastic, Inc., the University of the South and Tracy City Elementary. Partin is an active member of the Grundy County Health Council working to reverse poor health outcomes in our area. She is the president of the Rotary Club of Grundy County and attends Tracy City First United Methodist Church serving as choir director.

“Being a part of these larger initiatives proved to me that positive change is possible when people work together,” she said.

Partin was elected to the Grundy County Commission in 2012. In that role she works to get at the root cause of issues that impact the County. “I ask questions in order to make wise decisions for the people,” she added.

“If elected Grundy County Mayor, I would tackle our economic issues, seeking to develop an infrastructure that would support growth and opportunity for all. I would continue to work on our health issues and the revolving door issue at our county jail. Most importantly, I will work to get more people of the County involved in the solutions. I believe in investing in ourselves and in our future. I believe for great things and will work to make them happen. My name is Emily Partin and I would appreciate your vote.” Partin concluded. 

For more information go to <www.facebook.com/epartinforgrundymayor>.