Mobile artist Lydia Harsany Host, a longtime Bishop State instructor and repeat Reader’s Choice Award finalist, won Best Portrait Artist in the 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards after years building Mobile’s arts community.
Tag: Mobile Alabama culture
Mobile
An Artist Who Calls Himself ‘Grantham Unknown’ Left New Orleans Calling It ‘Spiritually Desolate.’ Mobile Gave Him His Light Back.
Self-taught artist Grantham Unknown left New Orleans calling its arts scene ‘spiritually desolate’ and found new footing in Mobile, where he now co-manages the Lupercalia Gallery on Dauphin Street.
Mobile
He Moved to Mobile to Be a Ballet Dancer. Now He’s the City’s Best Local Filmmaker.
Israel Rodriguez moved to Mobile in 2018 to dance with Mobile Ballet and has since built a filmmaking career that earned him Best Local Filmmaker in the 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards.
Mobile
She Moved to Mobile for ‘The Nutcracker’ and Never Left. Now She’s the City’s Best Arts Educator.
Katia Garza moved to Mobile in 2017 to help with Mobile Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ and stayed to build a dance-teaching career, winning Best Arts Educator in the 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards.
Mobile
MAMGA Royal Coronation Crowns King Elexis I in Mobile
Mobile’s Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association held its 77th annual Royal Coronation, crowning King Elexis I and Queen Morgan amid elaborate custom regalia.