Upcoming Programming
Still Life in Acrylic with KateLee Laird
January 12 - 14, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Natchez Convention Center, Lobby
211 Main Street, Natchez
Join Natchez-based artist KateLee Laird, a graduate of Louisiana State University and a painter celebrated for her dynamic live painting performances, for a hands-on still life workshop designed for middle and high school students.
In this engaging session, students will learn the fundamentals of composition, color mixing, and acrylic painting techniques while exploring how to capture light, form, and emotion on canvas. KateLee brings her signature energy and intuitive approach to the classroom, encouraging young artists to see everyday objects in a new way and express their individuality through paint.
Classes are free of charge, materials provided. Class size is limited, please register early.
Meet The MAC with Lauren Rhoades
January 30, 2026
5:30 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
Join us for Meet the MAC, presented by Lauren Rhoades, Deputy Director of Grants and Programming for the Mississippi Arts Commission. This informative session introduces attendees to the wide range of grant opportunities available through MAC and offers a clear, accessible overview of the application process.
Designed as a “grants 101,” Meet the MAC provides valuable insight into funding options for artists, arts organizations, educators, and community groups. Participants will have the opportunity to speak directly with a MAC representative, ask questions, and learn how to strengthen their future applications.
These sessions are typically scheduled in the months leading up to MAC’s annual grant cycle (December through February), though they may occur throughout the year. First-time applicants are especially encouraged to attend.
Free and open to the public.
Pop & Commercial Art with Andrés Conde
February 23-25, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
Join pop realist artist Andrés Conde for a workshop exploring the crossroads of pop and commercial art. A graduate of the University of Miami, who studied commercial art at Miami Lakes Technical School, Conde is an accomplished working artist whose paintings are held in collections around the world.
In this hands-on session, middle and high school students will learn how commercial imagery, advertising, and pop culture influence fine art today. Through guided discussion and active drawing and painting exercises in acrylic on canvas, Conde will help students develop their own visual language.
Classes are free of charge, materials are provided. Class size is limited, please register early.
Alon Skuy: Selected Works
March 20, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
We are pleased to present a curated selection of works by award-winning South African photojournalist Alon Skuy. Trained at the renowned Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, Skuy rose through the ranks of major South African publications to become Chief Photographer for The Sunday Times and The Times. Now an iWitness Fellow at Florida International University, his images bring a profound commitment to documenting life on society’s margins.
Skuy’s photographs span conflict zones, acts of resilience, and everyday moments overlooked by mainstream narrative. His work finds beauty in the endurance of individuals and the dignity of struggle. Whether capturing the subtle gestures of community life, the indignities of systemic inequality, or the quiet resistance of ordinary people, his lens remains compassionate, unflinching, and deeply human.
This exhibition is free and open to the public, and hosted in partnership with Conde Contemporary, a portion of sales will be donated to Arts Danu.
Artist Talk & Tour with Alon Skuy
March 21, 2026
11:00 am
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street Natchez
Join award-winning South African photojournalist Alon Skuy for an intimate conversation and guided tour of his exhibition, Selected Works. Trained at Johannesburg’s Market Photo Workshop and formerly Chief Photographer for The Sunday Times and The Times, Skuy’s images bear witness to conflict, inequality, resilience, and the quiet strength of life on society’s edges.
During this talk, Skuy will share insights into his creative process, the ethical and emotional dimensions of photojournalism, and the stories behind some of his most powerful photographs. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how his work balances urgency and empathy, transforming documentary images into enduring works of art.
The talk and tour are free and open to the public, space is limited, please RSVP early.
Photojournalism with Alon Skuy
March 23-25, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street
Join Alon Skuy, award-winning South African photojournalist and current iWitness Fellow at Florida International University, for a hands-on photography workshop designed for middle and high school students. Trained at Johannesburg’s renowned Market Photo Workshop, Skuy built his career with South Africa’s leading publications, rising to Chief Photographer for The Sunday Times and The Times. His powerful body of work explores conflict, inequality, resilience, and life on society’s fringes.
This workshop introduces students to the fundamentals of visual storytelling. After a brief session on theory and composition, participants will head into downtown Natchez with Skuy and Arts Danu volunteers to capture scenes of everyday life using provided disposable cameras—ensuring everyone works with the same tools and perspective. Students’ photographs will be developed and critiqued as part of the workshop, offering an inspiring look into how photojournalists see, frame, and tell human stories.
Classes are free of charge, materials provided. Class size is limited, please register early.
People and Spaces Masterclass
with Alon Skuy
March 28, 2026
12:00 - 3:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
Arts Danu presents a three-hour masterclass with award-winning South African photojournalist Alon Skuy, a visual storyteller known for his compelling images of conflict, resilience, and the overlooked corners of everyday life. Trained at Johannesburg’s Market Photo Workshop and formerly Chief Photographer for The Sunday Times and The Times, Skuy brings a depth of experience that illuminates how people and the places they inhabit shape one another within the frame.
In People and Spaces, participants will explore the relationship between subject and environment through discussions on composition, environmental portraiture, and the ethical considerations central to photojournalism. Skuy will examine how location informs identity, how individuals can be anchored or defined by the spaces around them, and how to create images that reveal the dialogue between person and place.
The workshop includes theory, an on-location photography session in downtown Natchez, followed by a return to the classroom for group conversation about the work created.
This adult workshop is offered at $40 per person, and Alon Skuy is generously donating 100% of ticket proceeds to Arts Danu to support free, high-quality arts education for students throughout the Miss-Lou.
Students will need their own digital camera or cell phone.
Character Design with Ashley Heathcock
April 4, 2026
Kids 11:00am - 12:00 pm
Adults 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
Arts Danu welcomes Ashley Heathcock, a film and television costume designer whose work spans productions across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Heathcock’s career includes designing for major projects such as Clark Duke’s crime drama Arkansas (starring Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth, and John Malkovich), CBS’s Magnum P.I., and the stylistically bold feature Please Baby Please. Her designs draw on a strong foundation in fashion and textile manipulation, bringing texture, personality, and narrative depth to every character she creates.
In her one-hour workshop, Character Design: The Process from Script to Production, Heathcock will lead participants through how costumes emerge from the written script, evolve through research and collaboration, and ultimately become fully realized on screen. Through a visual presentation, open discussion, and two examples of her own designs, she will offer insight into how costume choices shape character, story, and world-building within film.
Heathcock will offer two sessions—one for adults and one for middle and high school students—inviting participants to step inside the creative process of a working designer and explore the imaginative craft behind bringing characters to life.
This adult workshop is offered at $20 per person, and Ashley Heathcock is generously donating 100% of ticket proceeds to Arts Danu to support free, high-quality arts education for students throughout the Miss-Lou.
Creative Writing with Ann Fisher-Wirth
May 18 & 19, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Location: TBD
Arts Danu is honored to welcome Ann Fisher-Wirth, Mississippi’s Poet Laureate, for a creative writing residency and workshop for middle and high school students. Fisher-Wirth taught in the MFA program at the University of Mississippi and directed Environmental Studies for more than three decades. She is a senior fellow of the Black Earth Institute, a Fulbright scholar, and the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2023 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Literature and Poetry.
In this engaging workshop, students will have the rare opportunity to learn directly from one of the state’s most celebrated literary voices. Through guided writing exercises, discussion, and mentorship, Fisher-Wirth will help young writers develop confidence in their own voices.
Classes are free of charge, materials provided. Class size is limited, please register early.
Reading and Book Signing with Ann Fisher-Wirth
May 22, 2026
6:00 pm
Dixon Books
514 Main Street, Natchez
Arts Danu invites you to an evening of poetry and conversation with Ann Fisher-Wirth, Mississippi’s Poet Laureate (2025–2029). Fisher-Wirth will share selections from her published works, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing.
Known for her decades of teaching at the University of Mississippi and her deep engagement with literature, community, and place, Fisher-Wirth has built a career marked by curiosity, imagination, and craft. Her poetry moves fluidly between personal reflection and broader cultural and environmental themes, offering listeners a rich and thoughtful experience.
This event is an opportunity to hear directly from a writer whose voice has shaped — and continues to shape — contemporary poetry in Mississippi and beyond.
Free and open to the public, space is limited.
Fiber Arts with Aurora Molina
Tentative Dates
June 15 -19, 2026
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: TBD
Join Aurora Molina, acclaimed Cuban-born fiber artist and Miami-based educator, for a week-long teaching residency with Arts Danu. A graduate of Florida International University and Universidad Europea de Madrid, Molina is known for her powerful textile works that explore identity, vulnerability, and the human condition. She is also the founder of Red Thread Art Studio and co-founder of the Fiber Artists Miami Association (FAMA), both dedicated to advancing fiber art as a contemporary practice.
In this immersive workshop for middle and high school students, participants will learn the fundamentals of fiber art through hands-on sewing techniques. The residency will culminate in a student exhibition at Conde Contemporary.
Classes are free of charge, materials provided. Class size is limited, please register early.
Student Fiber Art Exhibition with Aurora Molina
Tentative Date
June 26, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Conde Contemporary
334 Main Street, Natchez
This special exhibition showcases the work of middle and high school students who participated in a week-long fiber arts residency led by acclaimed Cuban-born artist Aurora Molina.
Under Molina’s guidance, students explored the expressive potential of fabric, thread, and texture to tell stories of identity, emotion, and community.
The exhibition celebrates creativity, collaboration, and the enduring influence of an artist dedicated to elevating fiber arts as a vital form of contemporary expression.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Cooking With Regina Charbonneau
July 11, 2026
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
621 Franklin Street, Natchez
Arts Danu is delighted to welcome renowned chef and restaurateur Regina Charbonneau, often dubbed the “biscuit queen” by The New York Times, for a hands-on cooking workshop designed for middle and high school students. A seventh-generation Natchezian, Charbonneau built her career in major cities—including San Francisco and Los Angeles—cooking for celebrities, high-profile clients, and acclaimed restaurants before returning home to Natchez.
The day begins with a trip to the Natchez Farmer’s Market, where students will explore seasonal produce and learn how to recognize ripeness, freshness, and which fruits and vegetables are at their best during different times of the year. From there, the group will stop at the grocery store to gather additional ingredients and learn the importance of reading labels and making informed choices.
The workshop concludes at Regina’s cooking school, where students will work together to prepare the meal, gaining practical kitchen skills and confidence along the way.
This free workshop includes transportation and is limited to 10 students, so early registration is encouraged.
Allumer Natchez 310
November 6 & 7, 2026
Sunset to 9 pm
Downtown Natchez
Allumer Natchez is a large-scale light-based art exhibition and festival illuminating the city of Natchez. Allumer Natchez: 310 celebrates the 310th anniversary of Natchez and the 250th anniversary of the United States. This outdoor, multi-site event transforms the historic downtown into a glowing canvas for contemporary light art, inviting audiences to experience the city’s past, present, and future through luminous installations.
Featuring a curated group of regional and international artists, Allumer showcases innovative works that blend storytelling, technology, and place, revealing the layers of culture, memory, and identity that define Natchez.
Click below if you’d like to participate as an artist, in the Maker’s Market, Food Court or as a volunteer!
The exhibition is free and open to the public.
“The arts are essential. They teach students innumerable lessons—practice makes perfect, small differences can have large effects, collaboration leads to creativity. The arts also teach children that there a several paths to take when approaching problems and that all problems can have more than one solution.” - Americans for The Arts
Teaching Artist Residency.
Artists, writers, filmmakers, dancers, and photographers are invited to take part in the Arts Danu Residency Program, a unique opportunity to create and connect in Natchez, Mississippi—an architecturally rare and historically significant river town, the oldest port on the Mississippi River.
Residents are provided housing and studio space for two to six weeks to explore, produce new work, and engage with the cultural and natural landscape of the region. In exchange, artists commit to sharing their knowledge by teaching six hours per week, typically in the form of a three-day workshop (two hours per day). These sessions expand access to fine-arts education for local students who have had limited opportunities for formal arts instruction.
Arts Danu residencies foster cultural exchange, mentorship, and mutual inspiration—supporting the growth of artists while enriching the creative life of Natchez.
Interested in applying? Click the button below to learn more and begin the conversation.
Previous Artists in Residence
Pablo Santibáñez Servat
Born in Santiago, Chile and currently living and working in Madrid, Spain, Santibáñez Servat earned a degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1996.
The artist has five solo exhibitions to his credit including two solo museum exhibitions, the Treccanni Museum (Milan, Italy) in 2004, and the Diego Rivera Museum (Guanajuato, Mexico) 2013, as well as in Plus One Gallery (London, England) 2003, the Drexel Gallery in (Monterrey,Mexico) 2015 and Benjamin Eck Gallery (Munchen Germany).
His work has been sold in New York in at least 8 Latin American art auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Santibáñez Servat has received multiple awards both in his home country and abroad, chief among them his prize at the Palais De Glace of the Biennial of Sacred Art of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The artist ranked in the final selection, three times, of the MEAM contest of the Museum of Figurative Arts in Barcelona, Spain where he has a work in permanent collection. In 1998 he won the Fondart Award from the Government of Chile.
In 2002 he earned a postgraduate scholarship at the Arauco Academy taking classes with the Chilean master Guillermo Muñoz-Vera and later became a professor at the art school. In 2003 he obtained a scholarship from the Complutense University of Madrid as a student of Antonio López , "Painting and Drawing Lessons" (El Escorial-Madrid).
Santibáñez Servat has also participated in multiple international art fairs such as Dallas Art Fair, Houston Art Fair, LA Art Fair, Hamptons Fine Art Fair, Monaco Fair, Bologna Fair, as well as in numerous collective shows.
Pablo’s residency is made possible in part by a grant from Mississippi Arts Commission. Enjoy images of the exhibition opening and portrait painting workshop with Pablo below.
Gerry Stecca
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Gerry Stecca was raised in a scientifically oriented environment; however, the artist gene runs strong in the family, eventually trumping his earlier academic interests.
Soon after moving to the United States with his family, formal art training began at San Diego Mesa College 1983-86 (CA) while seeking a degree in Biology. He later earned a BA in Visual Arts with a minor is Sciences from the University of California, San Diego in 1987. In May of 2015 he earned a Master in Fine Arts in painting from the Savannah College of Art & Design.
Stecca has collaborated with designers and architects throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, and Spain, creating large-scale works for retail and hospitality spaces, including a mural for Starbucks (Savannah, GA) and two murals in the Bahamas commissioned by Holland America/Carnival Cruise Line. His exhibitions include Jacob Karpio and Silvana Facchini Gallery, Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, and FIU’s Frost Museum of Art, with international showings at Art Basel (Switzerland) and major Miami art fairs. His work is held in public and corporate collections worldwide, including the Courtauld East Wing and Related Group’s Trump Tower III.
Stecca resides and works in Savannah, GA and Miami (FL). He is a full time Foundations professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Rubén Torres Llorca
Rubén joined us for a series of events kicked off by an exhibition of selected works on Friday, May 10, 6-8 pm, and an artist talk hosted by Kristen Brandt of Mississippi Arts Commission on Saturday, May 11, from 12-2 pm at Conde Contemporary, 334 Main Street, Natchez.
The Cuban born artist, based in Miami, is well known for his thought provoking, and technically skilled work across multiple mediums. The artist’s paintings, sculpture and installations are found in museums, institutions and private collections internationally. Llorca is, without a doubt, one of the most important Cuban artists of his generation.
“My fundamental influences are coming from film and literature. The only reason I choose to be a visual artist is the independence that it carries. Of the art forms, it is the one least in need of an outside producer, and I have a pathological inclination for naughtiness,” says Torres Llorca. “Through the years I haven’t cared what type of classification my art is subject to, whether it’s considered art, post-art, literature, or a simple commentary. I do not care what type of resources it uses, the provenance, or how bastardized it could be if I can use it. The essence for me is to establish a public dialogue.” - Rubén Torres Llorca, Cuban Art News
This series is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Mississippi Arts Commission.
Strengthen Our Creative Economy.
Your donation to Arts Danu fuels public art, free education, and world-class cultural programming that strengthen Natchez’s economy, enrich community life, and keep creativity shining at the heart of our city.
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KateLee Laird
Upcoming painting residency.
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Alon Skuy
Upcoming photography residency and workshop.
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Andrés Conde
Upcoming pop realism painting workshop.
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Aurora Molina
Upcoming fiber arts residency.
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Kevin Sloan
Upcoming painting residency and workshop.
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Cristina Molina
Upcoming new media residency and workshop.
cristinamolina.com
Allumer Natchez 310 — Autumn 2026
Allumer Natchez returns to downtown Natchez, November 6 & 7, brighter, bolder, and more immersive than ever. This free, light-based arts festival celebrates creativity at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM)—transforming streets, buildings, and public spaces into a living gallery of illumination and innovation.
Timed to coincide with America’s 250th and Mississippi’s 250th anniversaries, Allumer 310 honors more than three centuries of Natchez history, the oldest port on the Mississippi River, and its enduring spirit of culture and exchange. Artists from across the U.S. and around the world will create works inspired by Natchez’s architecture, landscape, and layered past—revealing how art and light connect us across time.
Visit allumernatchez.com for updates, calls for artists, and event details.