With the addition of a new mural on University Avenue and Oxford’s arts center, the Powerhouse, located there – this semester Oxford Stories is embarking on a small solutions journalism project. Our reporters are starting a community conversation about the possibility of a continued arts emphasis in the University Avenue area.
University Avenue business owners who run fabric, antique, and home furnishing stores said a few small tweaks could improve the already successful area.
Portland, Oregon is a city with a population of about 647,000 people compared to Oxford’s 23,000. With the slogan “Keep Portland Weird,” the city focuses heavily on the arts, with hundreds of galleries, theaters and murals.
If you spend a lot of time on the west side of town, you may not have much of a reason to venture over to University Avenue for anything, which might lead you to believe business is declining in that area. However, according to two University Avenue business owners, business has been steady.
Madison Mayfield, an Oxford citizen and artist, is from Portland, Oregon, a city known for arts inclusivity. While Portland has a well-known arts district, she isn’t sure a designated arts district would be a good fit for small town Oxford.
Kaleigh Hall, 22, began interning at Oxford’s Southside Gallery at 150 Courthouse Square in August. She and her boss, Wil Cook, said an arts district, or area of continued arts emphasis, could be beneficial to Oxford.
It’s no secret, but every year, a group of artists have a One Night Stand on University Avenue.
University Avenue is home to many of Oxford’s main attractions and businesses. While some may view it as the older part of town, a new mural recently added an injection of color to the corridor, and some say more public art in Oxford could mean more tourism.
Some say as Oxford continues to grow attracting more residents and students, some artists are being pushed out because of the cost of living.
Oxford resident Sarah Logan teaches at Hot Yoga Plus on Jackson Avenue, but brings new members to the yoga family during pop-up classes at the Oxford Community Market. The outdoors classes are free for anyone who wants to participate.
Bill McCrory, a University of Mississippi alumnus from the mid-1980s, was a child when he picked up a guitar for the first time. Since then, he can’t keep his fingers off the strings.
From working in a family-owned restaurant at age 16, to taking a desk job in corporate America, Brooke Krizbai realized working for someone wasn’t an option anymore. Today, she owns two Oxford restaurants – Volta Taverna and Track 61.
One of the best things about Oxford is there is a shop for almost anything you could want or need, but up until August, there were no specialty ice cream stores.
Fashion boutique owner Mary Catherine Strider-Logan, 26, is one of the latest business owners in growing Hernando, a city between Oxford and Memphis with a population of about 16,000.
If you’ve ever wanted to explore your creative side, but weren’t sure where to start, you may want to visit the Clay Canvas in Oxford.
Mississippi MUTTS is a non-profit animal rescue and transport team based in Oxford that works to mitigate the overpopulation of stray cats and dogs across the state and provide relief for overcrowded shelters.
University of Mississippi mechanical engineering students are shaping our future with technology by creating coding programs that help business save money and track production, and researching the creation of nanobots that may someday save lives.
Georgia native Clint Jordan was introduced to music at age 5 when his mother made him take piano lessons. His first gig at age 12 performing for the Turner County Stockyard Cattlemen’s Association dinner foreshadowed a long and successful career in the music industry. Today, he helps people fall in love with music.
Brewster is just one example of many Mississippi entrepreneurs who use Instagram to market their merchandise. Instagram and other social media sites have become a new marketplace for small businesses.
Nicole Harlow has always liked jewelry that tells a unique story. From going through her mom’s jewelry box, to visiting New Mexico’s finest leather shops with her dad, Harlow knew she wanted to pursue jewelry-making as a career.
