8 minute read

Noteworthy

JUNE 2020

To Adapt is to Survive

CONDE CONTEMPORARY MAKES NATCHEZ ITS NEW HOME

Photo courtesy of Stacy Conde.

When the winds of the C O V I D - 1 9 p a n d e m i c finish blowing through the small businesses of America, it remains to be seen where they will all fall to earth.

One interesting case is that of the fine art gallery Conde Contemporary, which will this month complete a relocation from Coral Gables, Florida to Natchez, Mississippi—a move that Stacy Conde, owner of the primarily Latin American gallery, is quick to acknowledge might seem counterintuitive.

But take a couple of things about our new ‘normal’ into account— namely that we’ve all gotten used to shopping online, and the vast disparity in real estate prices between Miami and Mississippi—and the gallery’s move begins to add up. Add that Conde (née Goodman), a Miami native, spent summers visiting family in rural Mississippi while growing up, and everything begins to make sense. When she was a child … “Natchez was ‘town’,” Conde said. “If you needed to go to the eye doctor or wanted to go out to eat, Natchez was the place.”

Once Conde Contemporary opens, Natchez will be the place to find works by highly regarded Latin American artists—and an artists’ teaching studio, too. “We’ve been dreaming about relocating the gallery to Natchez and opening a teaching artist residency program for years,” Conde noted, explaining that she and husband, Andres Conde, have been prioritizing the gallery’s online presence, and its participation in art fairs nationwide, since 2013. “We still see the value in brick and mortar but are no longer willing to pay the astronomical premium of doing business in Miami,” Conde said. “We really can live where we want, reduce our overhead and … invest in a community we love and assist in its recovery by utilizing the power of art as a socioeconomic driver.” Conde is referring to the successful effects of art on economic development, as demonstrated by the effects of a vibrant art economy in towns from Bilbao, Spain, to Marfa, Texas; Bentonville, Arkansas, and beyond. —James Fox-Smith

The Possibilities in Pipecleaners

TATRO ENCOURAGES AT-HOME CREATIVITY WITH AN ARTS & CRAFTS PICKUP SERIES

Photo courtesy of Will Barrios.

Some say creativity can thrive within parameters, but for children in a world of lockdowns and shut-ins, expressive energy can eventually run out of places to go. Parents––especially those spending more time at home lately––know this, and are currently bracing themselves for a summer without day camps and restrictions on usual summer play.

Thankfully, we’ve got our local toymakers to the rescue. On May 30, Will Barrios of Tatro Toy Company will launch his Arts and Crafts Pickup Series, which will run every other Saturday through July 25. Staged at local businesses around town, the events will offer arts and crafts bags bursting with “totally random fun stuff,” as Barrios put it, including things like construction paper, card stock, fabrics, beads, chalk, pipe cleaners, and more provided by donations from local nonprofits and sponsorships.

“We asked parents what we could do to help them best keep their kids engaged right now,” said Barrios. “They said this is it. The variety in the bags allows for kids to do a different activity every single day for a week or two. That’s what’s important, keeping things fresh, keeping things new.”

Tatro, which celebrated its oneyear anniversary in May, has always proclaimed a mission of “expression through imagination,” giving kids the tools to choose their own creative adventures and innovations. “We like to encourage a child to pursue how they are seeing the world, to create how they want,” said Barrios. “I personally believe that through open-ended play like this, kids discover who they are.”

Conde Contemporary will open at 334 Main Street, Natchez, by mid-June. condecontemporary.com.

The first June Arts and Crafts Pickup will take place from 2 pm-4 pm on the 13th at a to-be-determined location.

Reserve your arts and crafts bags at tatrotoy.com/summer for $5 a bag or a $20 summer pass, which gets you a bag on each of the five pickup dates through the end of July. —Jordan LaHaye

Pandemic Diaries DISPATCHES FROM COUNTRY ROADS STAFF

Since March, readers of our “This Week” e-newsletter might have noticed a shift in content. Included with our typical roundup of weekend events, we’ve also started offering glimpses into each member of our editorial team’s individual experiences during this historic time. In mini-essays telling of drive-by birthdays, the art of Zoom hangouts, the exercise of letter-writing, and even an ode to Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance, we’ve enjoyed documenting a little of what our last few months have been like, and connecting through the empathy of this confusing collective moment. So in this space, we’ve decided to feature the various ways in which we and the rest of our staff have been spending our time, in hopes that you’ll return the sentiment. We’d love to hear your reflections, your funny stories, and your rambles describing your experience these past three months, and we may even decide to share some! Send us an email at jordan@countryroadsmag.com. Sign up for our “This Week” e-newsletter at subscribe. countryroadsmagazine. com/newsletters.

Growing up, my only real exposure to gardening was not “gardening”— it was weeding my mother’s garden as a chore … so I “hated” gardening. When I got married and moved to St. Francisville, I landed on my husband’s beautiful property, once owned by a legendary gardener from this area, no pressure. Suffice it to say that after two and a half years, quarantine gave me the time and the desire to create and complete three—going on four— gardens that I feel would make Miss Jackie proud. So far everything is alive, but I am still not looking forward to when it is time to weed. —Heather Gibbons

With very little traffic going by and perfect weather, listening to the morning chirps on the front porch and watching more than a handful of blue jays torment the neighborhood cats kept us giggling. Well, that and experimenting with tequila and fried cheese tacos, which is, let me tell you ... life changing. Well worth the Google. —Heather Gammill

Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine, but during the quarantine, I've taken it to a whole new level. According to my Goodreads, I've devoured twenty six books so far this year, most of those in March and April. Besides reading at a mad pace, I've been enjoying time with my husband, playing video games, making ungodly amounts of watercolor paints (and selling quite a bit too, I'm happy to say!), and taking advantage of the Google Chrome extension Netflix Party with friends. —Kourtney Zimmerman

In March, I (with sporadic assistance from teenaged children) built a deer-proof vegetable garden, and adopted a puppy. In April, I took to grinding my own flour to make mediocre sourdough bread. By May, I was onto homemade venison jerky. Bathtub gin is only a matter of time. I still haven’t had a haircut. —James Fox-Smith

I've been spending much more time with my family back in Luling, playing with two new puppies, and remodeling my childhood home. I've also been enjoying evening walks on the levee, online shopping, and steadily making my way through the Netflix recommended gallery. —Baylee Zeringue

During quarantine I’ve cooked so much more —dinners every night for two months straight. I’ve gained a lot of satisfaction from this, setting a pretty table with linens and flowers. And perhaps it’s been important to me to be in control of something. Also, I’ve gardened my little green heart out. It was a joy to have so much extra time to plan and play in the dirt. In good times, I get great happiness from my time in the garden. What I’ve found is that in hard times it calms me, gives me room to breathe deeply, keeps me sane. This April, in a low-lying, wet area, I created a Louisiana Iris bed. Throughout the month I gathered and dug new plants to add. Specifically, some luminescent treasures from my Aunt Edna in Natchez. Oh, and I’ve gone ridiculous lengths of time not washing my hair … But they say that is good for it, right? —Ashley Fox-Smith

Something that has pre-occupied me a lot during this time has been finding ways to celebrate the milestones of this year, even though they look different. I’ve spent so much, very rewarding, energy writing cards, ordering gifts, and dreaming up ways to make all of the graduations, the birthdays, the baby showers special with decorations and drive-thrus and handwritten notes. If this has taught me anything, it’s that love can be shown in infinite ways. You just have to be creative. —Jordan LaHaye

As a movie lover, quarantine has meant time spent catching up on my constantly revolving queue, and I’ve found myself turning to films that ordinarily wouldn’t be at the top of my watchlist for a sense of comfort. Stand-up comedy, old children’s movies, and B horror flicks allow me to turn my brain off and escape into worlds full of humor, familiarity, and delightful absurdity when I need it most. —Lauren Heffker

At first, I spent much of my time deep inside books, reading only fantasies or classics safely removed from COVID-19. When I did finally emerge, it was to realize that—since I had moved back into my family home to self-isolate—I had an opportunity to spend intentional time with my family, so it was nice to play board games or sneak around the garden with my parents and siblings, just experiencing history together. —Christina Leo

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