TEDxUniversityofMississippi Hosts Eight Thought-Provoking Speakers

With the goal of sharing ideas worth spreading, TEDxUniversityofMississippi will host its eighth annual event at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. 

Attendees will enjoy an evening of music, art and thought-provoking, short talks addressing areas from artificial intelligence to social progress. This year’s theme is “facing forward.”

This year, the TedX event will feature an art show in the foyer of the Ford Center for guests to partake in throughout the evening. In addition to seven speakers giving insightful talks inside the auditorium, TEDX will be highlighting the work of seven university arts students that think their art encapsulates the essence of “facing forward”. 

If you wish to attend this year’s TedX event, the link to reserve your free ticket is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdw9-zc2Jj7Zz1zFn7AO_HKRhoATX5FKJDpk8KF956DbMW2xg/viewform?fbclid=PAAab-LCLm6jJ4h8lKay_MBi9DRcwcoa1A-lei8YlFUA1cAnVVofakrYvuRJg.

This year’s TedX Artists

Petyon Lawler, Flower Brick

• Work medium: cone 10 stoneware, wood fired
• “My work is about the difficulties that have challenged me throughout my life and finding ways to persevere through them. I am drawn to clean, rectilinear forms but am incorporating this broken, cracked texture to emphasize the fragility of the piece. There is strength in the form as it still stands despite missing pieces of itself.”

Jenna Schmidt, Soda Fired Bottle 

• Medium: Ceramic, Brown stoneware
• “In terms of the theme ‘facing forward’, this piece helped me make some decisions on what I would like to see in upcoming work. In ceramics, and really any artistic field, we come across many failures, but its pieces like this that remind me why I keep pushing forward to find my voice as an artist. “

Somayeh Faal, I Was Here

• Medium: Mixed Media
• “This work is a combination of art and science. Printmaking on Cement is dissolved in salt with an Osmotic process, which is the natural reaction after lake dryness. I am exploring the track of salt on human life, which would appear on the surface of the earth after the dryness of lakes. So we have a chance to think about what is going on after dryness and face with future of realities that we are blind to see them.”

Adriane Honerbrink, One at a Time

• Stoneware, slip, glaze
• “This piece speaks to the theme of “Facing Forward” as I reveal only the forward element of the leaf structure. As a means to demonstrate a sort of fortification in its cylindrical shape”

Daniel Ney, Revolutions 

• Cast Aluminum and Wood
• “I think this work speaks to “Facing Forward” through visual elements reflecting directional momentum and balance in the composition.”

Anna Hite, 1 of every 3 (3) 

• Medium: letterpress and digital print 
• “This piece was made in response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade and its immediate consequences for Mississippians. Moving forward, the reproductive safety of Mississippians is in serious peril.”

Breanna Bercegeay, 

• Four works from an untitled series she is working on

“Each work is from the same series I have recently made. The positive and negative space created through intersecting planes of each sculpture allow for peak on the “inside” and “through” of each piece thus relates to the theme of the exhibition hosted by TEDx.”

TEDxUniversityofMississippi is a registered student organization dedicated to sharing the wonder of Mississippi, its innovators, creators and thought leaders. They also find speakers outside Mississippi to spark meaningful conversation in our community and beyond.

This year’s event organizers are Emma Brewer (Chief of Staff), Kathryn Matthews (Assistant Chief of Staff), Kate Hooper (Faculty Advisor), and a team of over 15 students and 4 other advisors. “These students find speakers, market and mount a live production, pursue public relations initiatives, fundraise, and more. They are highly active, building leadership and professional skills while benefiting our community,” said Kate Hooper.

TEDxUniversityofMississippi’s partners include the Office of the Provost, College of Liberal Arts, the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, Residential College South, Division of Academic Affairs, and the Croft Institute for International Studies.

For more information about TEDxUniversityofMississippi, visit tedxuniversityofmississippi.com and follow the group’s social media at @tedxunivms on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.