News
W. Ralph Eubanks — photo by Ethan Payne
Unvanquished Soil, now on exhibit at the UM Museum. Photo courtesy of Thad Lee
Exhibits, Lectures Highlight Faulkner’s Greenfield Farm
May 3, 2026 by Clara Turnage
OXFORD, Miss. – This summer, two exhibits and a lecture series at the University of Mississippi will tell the story of Greenfield Farm, which was once William Faulkner's mule farm and will soon become the state's first writers residency.
Over the past year, photographer and documentarian Thad Lee has chronicled Greenfield Farm, a plot of land 15 miles northeast of Oxford that was once home to the Nobel Prize-winning author's livestock. Before welcoming its first group of new writers next year, the Mississippi Lab aims to highlight the farm's past with two exhibits and a lecture series that focus on Lee's work.
"Mississippi's story is the American story," said Mary Wise Conaway, project manager for the Mississippi Lab. "We hope these works become a part of how current and future generations of Mississippians understand our past: where we've been, what we've inherited and how this heritage shapes our collective identity."
The first exhibit, "Unvanquished Soil: A Year at Greenfield Farm" is on display at University of Mississippi Museum through Aug. 1.
"Thad's work bridges the gap from contemporary photography by Martin Dain in the 1960s to the writers residency which will revive the property," said Melanie Antonelli, the museum's curator and collections manager.
Unvanquished Soil is an official America250 project and was made possible in part by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the State of Mississippi. Unvanquished Soil: Life Past and Present is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Summer Brown Bag series at the UM Museum is made possible in part by financial assistance from the National Park Service and the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance.
Unvanquished Soil features images from Thad Lee’s Greenfield Farm documentary project, which was made possible in part by financial assistance from the National Park Service and the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance.
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OXFORD, Miss. - The contest brought together some of Oxford’s sharpest storytellers.
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Ibrahim Williams, winner of the micro memoir contest, reads his entry on stage at Double Decker. Photo courtesy of Carly Wiseman
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The writer studios at Greenfield Farm will offer Mississippi writers a place to work uninterrupted on projects in a natural setting. The Mississippi Arts Commission has provided $500,000 to construct one of the studios at the retreat. Illustration courtesy Marlon Blackwell Architects
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The mule farm hosted their last open invitational before construction begins on their writers’ residency. (image by Critz Campbell)
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Photo Documentary to Show History, Beauty of Greenfield Farm
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APRIL 21, 2025 BY CLARA TURNAGE
Daffodils grow in the ruins of Greenfield Farm. The flowers are evidence that there was once an abundant life on the dilapidated property, which the university plans to renovate into a writers retreat. Photo by Thad Lee
Support Tops $4 Million
Donors, state legislature provide resources for Greenfield Farm Writers Residency at UM
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Ouida and Wayne Drinkwater
Photo by Bill Dabney/UMF
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Foundation Gift Pays Tribute to Julia Reed
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Mississippi Artists to Paint Faulkners Mule Farm During Sept 17 Competition
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University Plans to Breathe New Life Into Faulkners Mule Farm
APRIL 24, 2023 BY ERIN GARRETT
