Mississippi Transplant: Simone Cottrell
"I've moved multiple times at this point and at thirty-nine, I'm trying to live a life without geographical borders. I'm in my 'cloud era.'"
What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Multi-hyphenate artist Simone Cottrell proudly claims the Deep South as home, yet she also feels a sense of “loneliness” in this claim. “I'm a geriatric millennial mixed-race Khmer woman from the Deep South with the arts as my chosen profession. Everywhere I go, I'm the only one, and I mean this sincerely.” She sees part of her mission as creating a “blueprint” for other “mixed race Asian Deep South children and young adults.” Today Simone shares how her artistic practice has allowed her to forge deep and meaningful connections with communities across the South, while fighting against misperceptions about the region itself.
Where are you from?
Oooohhhh, the dreaded question for every Asian-presenting person! Where I'm REALLY from and how I want the public to know me is being rooted in the Deep South. I have lived most of my life in five Southern states at this point and I enjoy further complicating the question of where I'm from.
When did you move to Mississippi and why did you move here?
I have officially moved to Mississippi three times now. First in early 1994, again in 2010, and most recently in 2024. In 1994, my father began working at Mississippi State University, which is also where I received my B.A. in Communication - Theatre in 2008. My return home in 2010 and 2024 both involved the impact of the creative economy and the economy overall on creatives. The last time I returned, I gained invaluable skills regarding grant development and research which has taken me pretty far in being a multi-hyphenate creative. I look forward to seeing what lessons this return will teach me!
I stand ten toes down on this belief: If anyone knows how to fix America, it's specifically going to be the Black creative community leaders found in rural Mississippi.
What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?
When I teach creative workshops or work with vulnerable communities for the first time, there's a small three-minute drawing imagination exercise that I lead called "The Home Test." At this point, thousands of folks have done it, from little ones to senior citizens. 98% of the time, everyone ends up with the same drawing and we unpack together why that is. It usually comes down to someone in our life telling us that what we think of as "home" is wrong.
That's how I feel about Mississippi in the greater American collective imagination—that this state and its beautifully creative people who give the world so much are given the narrative that we are "wrong." Wrong as in "we don't want to talk about it." Wrong as in "it’s not worth including in our plans." Wrong as in "too Black, too backwards, too broken." But nobody says that when they're enjoying our music, our food, our hospitality, our arts and culture heroes that changed American culture. I know that we're living in tough times, but Mississippi has lived and survived it the longest. I stand ten toes down on this belief: If anyone knows how to fix America, it's specifically going to be the Black creative community leaders found in rural Mississippi.
What do you miss most about the place where you’re from?
I don't miss things often. I think that's the Khmer Theravada Buddhist in me in not getting attached. There are things that I crave when I'm away from the Deep South and when I have them, it's so deeply comforting. Though pork is not my friend, I absolutely love the smell of BBQ from corner gas stations early in the mornings. I love it when people say "Excuse me," when passing by. Don't get me started on a blue plate lunch and a sweet tea! It makes me cry when I can get fried fish, cornbread, and greens. I'm tickled when strangers tell me gossip for no good reason other than I think I have an open face for receiving such stories. I appreciate that my shoulders drop just a little bit when my Google map tells me I'm in Mississippi.
I'm tickled when strangers tell me gossip for no good reason other than I think I have an open face for receiving such stories. I appreciate that my shoulders drop just a little bit when my Google map tells me I'm in Mississippi.
How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here?
This is a hard question because most of who I would consider my community has moved away. I am very excited about the prospects of building new community through arts and culture through sharing resources, knowledge, and experiences. The one creative community I will cheer on no matter where I'm at is Sipp Culture in Utica, Mississippi. Sipp Culture is a shining example of great homegrown Mississippi creativity that is making waves across the country. I love how they tie agriculture + art together and have created a welcoming space for Deep South creatives of color. They're truly doing something different in Utica and folks need to pay attention (and donate!)
What’s the weirdest question or assumption you’ve encountered about Mississippi (or about you as a Mississippian) by someone who’s never been here?
When I lived in New York, there was an individual who was trying to prove to me how much sweet tea from McDonald's he could consume every single time he saw me. I sincerely hope he's doing okay. Other than that guy, there was a woman in Michigan who asked me over dinner why Southerners fake being nice. I was truly perplexed by this question, and I've gotten variations of this question throughout my travels. As a Southerner, I think folks outside of the region confuse genuine hospitality with being fake. And honestly? That makes me so sad to know how many people outside of the South have not had genuine, neighborly care present itself in their lives that when it shows up, it can't be believed.
I grew up really poor and in a single-wide trailer in a segregated trailer park. As neighbors, we didn't have much, but what we did have, we shared. I recently just had a conversation with another creative in Wisconsin who marveled about how direct Southerners are about things that upset us while still leaving room for grace. Generally-speaking, our Southern culture of communication with the public is this beautiful, complex intersectionality of our values. We know how to make folks feel welcomed while keeping our boundaries firm.
As far as that woman in Michigan, how that dinner ended was her admitting that her son-in-law from Tennessee just didn't like her.
There's not a blue print from the past from someone who identifies exactly like me that I can follow, and I'm finding that my life's path includes building the blueprint for the many mixed race Asian Deep South children and young adults born in the late 1990s and 2000s.
How has living in Mississippi affected your identity and your life’s path?
I'm a geriatric millennial mixed-race Khmer woman from the Deep South with the arts as my chosen profession. Everywhere I go, I'm the only one, and I mean this sincerely. It wasn't until 2024 that it was confirmed by an arts scholar from University of California-Santa Barbara that I was the only person in America with my identities that she could find who is actively working in the arts across many disciplines and sectors and from a local, regional, and national level. The loneliness I felt growing up in Mississippi and the loneliness I feel in this present moment as an adult hasn't gone away. What I suspected turned out to be true which makes all the obstacles I feel even more real. There's not a blue print from the past from someone who identifies exactly like me that I can follow, and I'm finding that my life's path includes building the blueprint for the many mixed race Asian Deep South children and young adults born in the late 1990s and 2000s. Since I was ten and received my first copy of The Diary of Anne Frank for Christmas, I've documented so much of my life in the hopes that someone won't have to start from scratch.
What is something that you’ve learned about Mississippi only by living here? In what ways has Mississippi lived up to your expectations?
Grit and perseverance. I try not to have expectations of locations because then I get the experience of just enjoying a space and a community for who they are. I'm just here for whatever experience shows up.
Have you ever thought about moving away? Does a sense of duty keep you rooted here? Do you have a “tipping point”?
I've moved multiple times at this point and at thirty-nine, I'm trying to live a life without geographical borders. I'm in my "cloud era." The only experience I would want someday is to see what it's like living in a blue state and/or New Orleans. Whichever area flips first and whichever area is protected from flooding, I guess.
I'm trying to live a life without geographical borders. I'm in my "cloud era."
What do you wish the rest of the country understood about Mississippi?
I hope folks can read between the lines when I say this: the rest of the country is about to understand pretty clearly what its like to be in Mississippi if some things don't change and they don't start listening to folks who've already been living this reality for a very long time.
Is there a Mississippi change-maker who you think everyone needs to know about?
My absolute favorite-favorite-favorite Mississippians to brag on, and they just so happen to be my friends, are the Swan sisters who created Start By Talking, LLC. Melissa and LaWanda split their time between Georgia and Mississippi. They have done some of the most accurate, creative, and effective anti-violence work across the US. And they do it without shying away from their Mississippi country rural roots. They are literally continuing the Black radical liberation tradition created by Black women in Mississippi to the rest of the world. They are so special to me and I'm thankful everyday that they are sharing the same earth plane as the rest of us.
If you had one billion dollars to invest in Mississippi, how would you spend your money?
By first investing deeply into the much needed infrastructure of The Delta and the rest of Mississippi where multi-layered water issues need to be addressed. Secondly, using the money to create unions to secure labor rights for all working class folks in the state, including artists and creatives. Third, keeping whatever's left as far away from Brett Favre as possible.
What or who do you want to shamelessly promote? (It can absolutely be a project you’re working on, or something you are involved in.)
I am currently working on the fourth iteration of my performance art protest piece Where is Justice: The People's Rug, which is a constellation of large rag rugs that can be redesigned through snaps. Once the that artwork is completed, the next step is to devise original movement pieces with community leaders, activists, and organizers who are engaged in the protection of our rights to bodily autonomy in its many forms. Right now, it's been a heavily therapeutic piece to hand sew because it feels like I'm mending a lot of cross-community and individual pain points that we're all feeling and have felt for a long time. I'm always taking donations of clothing, fabric, and materials that mean something to the giver to be added to the rag rugs. Folks can find me at www.thesimonecottrell.com or on Instagram @thesimonecottrell.
Simone Cottrell is a multi-hyphenate creative from the Deep South. Her 2025 in-process project is a community-engaged fiber installation titled Where is Justice: The People’s Rug. Recent projects included Arts for EveryBody: Phillips County, AR - Blue Hole Homecoming in collaboration with Hollerin’ Space and the youth of Phillips County, cultural dramaturg for TheatreSquared’s production of Cambodian Rock Band, and cultural researcher + presenter for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - The Ozarks: Facets of a Region. www.thesimonecottrell.com
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I like this recognition by your Wisconsin friend: "how direct Southerners are about things that upset us while still leaving room for grace." Thank you for the good work you do in Mississippi and across the South!