A unique experience in music, art and spoken word describes “Artists in Revision,” an “experiment in performance across different mediums.” The Thursday, June 30 performance featuring Alex Pieschel, Alice Pieschel and Thomas Richardson at the Columbus Arts Council’s Rosenzweig Arts Center begins at 7 p.m. in the main gallery.
The artistic trio bring diverse talents to the collaboration.
Brother and sister Alex and Alice Pieschel are Columbus natives. Both are alumni of Millsaps College. Alex has been a teacher, writer, editor and barista. He has been recording and producing his own songs independently for six years but recently released his first EP, “Waitin’ Around.” His live performances have centered primarily on acoustic folk, although he has lately been experimenting with more electronic sounds.
Alice Pieschel has drawn and painted since childhood and often partners with her brother to create artwork to accompany his songs. After living in Lima, Peru, for two years, Alice relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she teaches high school Spanish.
After finishing at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and Millsaps College, Richardson went on to earn a master’s degree in theological studies from Vanderbilt University and a master’s in teaching from Mississippi University for Women. The New Hope High School faculty member currently takes courses in MUW’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program.
Richardson’s experience in teaching is often a starting point for his poems, but his writing also explores topics from baseball to the Bible. His poetry has recently been published in Deep South magazine and Cantos.
“Thomas and I have been discussing which of his pieces work well with the themes we’ve been thinking about for the show,” Alex Pieschel said. “We have been talking a lot about Columbus as a town, as a place, its characters and textures, since we both moved back after growing up here.”
Performance, in two parts
The first segment of Thursday’s event will feature ambient music by Alex Pieschel, accompanied by live painting by his sister. Guests are invited to look and listen, but also to mix and mingle during this time.
“I’ll be performing mostly electronic arrangements and maybe some acoustic instruments as well, like guitar and violin,” said Alex. “The second part of the evening will be more of a focused performance of musical arrangements and poetry, so we’ll request that guests remain silent and attentive for this part of the show.”
Arts Council Program Manager Beverly Norris said, “There is just so much talent around our area, and it’s exciting to be able to feature these young people at the arts council. They are taking their individual talents and showing that art — in different forms — can all work together.”
Tickets
“Artists in Revision” is sponsored by Coca-Cola, Mitchell Distributing and the Mississippi Arts Commission. Tickets are $8 advance, $10 at the door and may be purchased at columbus-arts.org or by calling the Columbus Arts Council at 662-328-2787 (closed Mondays).
Refreshments and beverages will be available for purchase. Guests are invited to bring a personal bottle of wine, if desired.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.