Melia Dicker interviews Kristen Ley, owner of design studio Thimblepress, which has grown from an Etsy shop to an international retailer. She shares how she's built a business on her core values and offers advice for aspiring arts entrepreneurs

As part of MAC’s current strategic planning research, Larry Morrisey reaches out to artists and arts organizations from around the state to learn about their challenges and ways that MAC can assist them more in the coming years. Included in the show are Ashley Studio Pottery in Tupelo, the Delta Arts Alliance and the Ohr O'Keefe Museum of Art.

Malcolm White interviews Ed Croom. Croom is the author of "The Land of Rowan Oak: An Exploration of Faulkner's Natural World," a photographic documentary of the plants and landscape around Faulkner's home in Oxford. Croom is president of Croomia Botanical Scientific and Regulatory Consulting, and he previously was a full-time faculty member at the University of Mississippi

Turry Flucker and Jennifer Joy Jameson talk to folklorist, author, and filmmaker Bill Ferris, a Vicksburg native. Bill is this year’s recipient of a Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement Award. He talks about his pioneering path documenting Southern cultures, his time with the National Endowment for the Humanities, and more.

Turry Flucker speaks with filmmaker and writer Maximus Wright. Maximus is directing his first feature film, Soul Damage. Maximus is dedicated to telling the stories that need to be told and creating a platform for the next generation of Mississippi talent.

Larry Morrisey visits with musician McKinney Williams, aka “The Blues Man.” Williams is best known for his appearance in a series of local commercials, but he has a long history in music, including performing with his family’s gospel group while growing up in rural Holmes County and later forming his own family group with his children.

Turry Flucker talks to Laura Smith Taylor, president of the Jackson Friends of the Library and a staff architect at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Laura has always been interested in writing and architecture, earning a Master of Science in Architectural Studies – Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate degree in architecture from Mississippi State University. The Jackson Friends of the Library work to support the eight city of Jackson public libraries within the Jackson Hinds Library System. They hold book sales, help with the summer reading program and host the APPLAUSE! series.

Malcolm White talks to Thacker Mountain Radio host Jim Dees about his new book The Statue and the Fury – A Year of Art, Race, Music and Cocktails. The book chronicles the pivotal events that took place in Oxford in 1997. They also discuss hosting the Thacker Mountain Radio show and life the university town of Oxford.

The Mississippi Arts Hour starts the new year with an arts preview for the spring. Larry Morrisey talks with folks from The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education in Ocean Springs, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra in Jackson, and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council in Oxford about their upcoming concerts, festivals and other events.

Malcolm White talks to singer/songwriter Eric Stracener. Stracener talks about growing up in a musical family, his music style that embodies rock n’ roll, country and folk elements and his day job-- being a lawyer.