Nashville artist and TSU professor Mike Mitchell, also known as mikewindy, is selling one of his latest works to benefit TNJFON.  Advocacy and Education Coordinator Hannah Smalley interviewed him last week about his vision for the piece, the role of art in building community, and why he supports TNJFON!

After graduating from the University of Memphis in 2004, Mike has continued exploring the possibilities of art– experimenting with diverse media, surprising exhibition locations, and exciting collaborations. Within and alongside his artistic practice, he has run community workshops, organized fundraisers, and taught art in MNPS and now at TSU. 

The piece he made to benefit TNJFON is entitled “We are quilts made of blood and bones and dreams and disasters and the things we hide from others under our cover so they can’t make us become who we can’t bear to be.” It is part of his new exhibit entitled “Where All the Things I Forgot Go,” which features multimedia pieces broaching themes of time, love, community, and more. You can see the show at University School of Nashville’s Christine Slayden Tibbott Center Art Gallery until November 28. Don’t miss your chance to see this piece and others in person!

Hannah: 

Can you start by telling us about what you were trying to say with the show in general and what you hope people take away from it?

Mike: 

A lot of the show is about learning to be comfortable with change and the complexities of the world we’re living in.

I feel like I'm slowly  becoming aware of the magic of slowing down and being present. There's a piece in the exhibit that has taken seven years to make, and as I'm putting the show up, I'm still working on it. And instead of that feeling ridiculous, it starts to make sense. If I could go back and fix yesterday with what I know today, I would do that.

Hannah: 

How did the TNJFON piece come to be?

Mike: 

Before I even reached out to Tessa, I had already been working on this piece and it was starting to feel good. I wanted to take this as an opportunity to learn more about TNJFON, its story, and how it impacts the state we live in. 

As I was making this painting, I was reflecting on quilts and the idea of community quilting. I have quilts from all the matriarchs in my family, and that was a direct influence for this.

I think if we are the best  of ourselves in any given community, we will see everybody as part of this quilt that keeps us warm, as opposed to separate pieces. And not only that, but our patterns don’t have to match. In a crazy quilt like my granny would make, all the different patterns can fit together in surprising and beautiful ways. If Nashville has a chance to become its best self, I think the way to do it is to become a crazy quilt, right?

To really, truly embrace everyone… Well, that's what's going to make us good. 

Left: The piece Mike Mitchell made to benefit TNJFON. Right: A digital quilt of fabrics from the 25 countries our clients came from in 2022.

Hannah: 

When I saw that it was a quilt themed piece, that really resonated with me because last year our big theme was “we're woven together.” So for a lot of our communications we took fabrics from each of the countries where our clients came from and put them together in the shape of Tennessee. So I've always thought a quilt was a great metaphor for our work.

Mike:

I also wanted it to be really open for interpretation because I feel like that's kind of the artistic equivalent of what Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors does.

They help people get to a spot where they have the documents they need, and from there people go off and lead their own lives in our city. It’s the curiosity of saying, “we can’t wait to see what your life is going to look like.” It’s seeing people take that opportunity and build something entirely their own. 

People from across Nashville- students, teachers, parents, artists, and even the mayor- connecting over art at the opening reception for “Where All the Things I Lost Go.”

Hannah: 

I’d love to hear more about the title of the piece: “We are quilts made of blood and bones and dreams and disasters And things we hide from others under our covers So they can't make us become who we can't bear to be”

Mike: 

For me, this is about creating a community where people can be themselves. We often hide parts of ourselves, I think out of this fear that if other people truly see us they will make us change. My goal would be that people coming here to Nashville can be themselves, and not feel like they need to conform to some other idea of what they should be in order to be included. 

Hannah: 

I'm curious how this piece and TNJFON’s mission resonate with your experience as an educator.

Mike: 

Having taught in two large public high schools in Nashville, I’ve heard heart-wrenching stories from lots of kids about how they aren’t always being fully welcomed into the community. Sometimes it seems like our state is happy to accept the work that immigrants do without accepting the people themselves. People talk about immigration and its economic benefits but then won’t care about a kid who can’t go to community college because of his status. 

So for me, it’s important to support a place like TNJFON that’s helping people participate in the community they help build.