9 SPRING 2025 Kate Medley, Fratesi Grocery and Service Station, Leland, Mississippi, 2023. Working as a photojournalist, it became my way of studying this complex region, the people who live here, and how the populations and priorities are shifting.” Growing up in Jackson, Medley took an interest in documenting the South in high school, when taking a summer course in photography at Millsaps College. She and her father would travel the rural roads of central Mississippi so that Medley could make images. After receiving her bachelor’s in photojournalism, Medley attended the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, where she received her master’s. Penny Kemp, The MAX’s President + CEO, said, “As soon as I learned about Thank You Please Come Again, I wanted it to come to The MAX. Kate’s work captures something so unique about Mississippi culture, continuing the legacy of our great Mississippi photographers, journalists, and folklorists—like Bill Ferris, William Eggleston, Maude Schuyler Clay, and so many others.” Thank You Please Come Again is on display February 22-May 24, 2025, and features 25 photographs from Mississippi towns and communities: Oxford, Indianola, Leland, Gunnison, Rena Lara, Jackson, Clarksdale, Sunflower, Falcon—along with communities in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and the Carolinas. But if you ask Kate, there are still many more restaurants that serve gas that she needs to get to—especially around Meridian. As a result, The MAX will be bringing Medley in as artist-in-residence for a week of leading workshops, creating new work—and, almost certainly, enjoying some good fried food. Members of The MAX are invited to preview the exhibit during an opening reception on Friday, February 21, 2025. For information about accompanying programs, please see the calendar of events, beginning on page 17.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQxNg==