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Mississippi Arts Commission

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Mississippi Arts Commission

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency created in 1968 to support the arts in Mississippi.

10/15/2026

From church choirs to the Soul Music Awards, Jackson native Kessey Monae has built a career around her voice.

A new member of the Mississippi Arts Commission Artist Roster, Kessey was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2026 Soul Music Awards. She also received the 2025 Video of the Year award for “Love Sick” and was named Female Entertainer of the Year at the 2024 Best of Mississippi Awards.

Kessey is available for live performances and willing to travel nationally and internationally. Explore her Artist Roster profile to learn more about booking her: https://arts.ms.gov/artist-roster/

Kessey Monae

10/14/2026

This week on the Mississippi Arts Hour, Larry visits with Fletcher Cox, a master woodworker and craftsman who lives in the Jackson area. Cox is a past Governor’s Arts Award recipient and current member of MAC’s Artist Roster. They talk about his roots as a self-taught craftsman, how his work has evolved over the years, and how he has given “new life” to fallen trees as furniture and other items.

Listen by subscribing to the Mississippi Arts Hour podcast through your favorite podcast app, or listen online at http://msartshour.mpbonline.org/

video description: In this Mississippi Arts Hour clip, master woodworker Fletcher Cox shares how a 95-year-old sand pine changed his perspective on working with pine. After discovering grain shaped by decades of harsh coastal conditions, he transformed the tree into coffee tables, ornaments, plates and bowls, giving it a new life through his craft.

MPB - Mississippi Public Broadcasting

10/13/2026

The National Folk Festival is still in need of volunteers! Help welcome visitors and keep the festival running smoothly as it returns to downtown Jackson Nov. 13–15.

Whether you can lend a hand for a few hours or across all three days, there are opportunities to get involved. Volunteers receive a free T-shirt and free parking!

Groups interested in volunteering can email [email protected].

View available opportunities and register at https://bit.ly/NFF-VOLUNTEER.

Learn more about the festival at https://www.nationalfolkfestival.com/.

National Folk Festival

10/09/2026

Meet Mississippi Artist Roster member Annie Parr, a fiber and textile artist from Raymond whose work brings family keepsakes, photographs and craft traditions into contemporary quilts and installations.

Annie is available for art, painting and sewing lessons; printmaking workshops; and traveling demonstrations in weaving and machine sewing. Her printmaking workshops include relief carving, photo lithography, screen printing and alternative photography.

Explore Annie’s roster profile to learn more about her work and availability: https://arts.ms.gov/artist-roster/

10/08/2026

In case you missed it, meet the recipients of the 2027 Governor’s Arts Awards!

Mississippi’s creative legacy takes many forms, from music, photography and dance to literature and community-building through the arts. This year’s recipients represent the range of talent and artistic impact found across the state:

Alvin Shelby | Lifetime Achievement
Doy D. Gorton | Excellence in Photography
Duwane Pendarvis | Excellence in Dance
Square Books | Arts in Community
Wright Thompson | Excellence in Literature

Join MAC on Thursday, February 11, 2027, at The Westin Jackson. A public reception will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 6 p.m.

Stay tuned as MAC shares more about the remarkable backgrounds, work and lasting contributions of each recipient.

Learn more at arts.ms.gov/gaa.

10/06/2026

Thinking about applying for a Mississippi Arts Commission Mini-Grant? Join an upcoming webinar to learn more about these funding opportunities!

- Artist Mini-Grant Webinar: October 14 at noon
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_72qtfmCgS0-WWb4dqFzp0A #/registration

- Organization Mini-Grant Webinar: October 16 at noon
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_I4ObZXVLQv2O7BctrHk5yA #/registration

During the Organization Mini-Grant Webinar, Deputy Director of Grants Lauren Rhoades will walk participants through the FY27 Round 2 application and answer grant-related questions. The session will be recorded and shared afterward.

Individual Mini-Grants provide up to $500 for professional development, marketing or art supplies. Organization Mini-Grants provide $200–$1,000 for professional development and capacity building, with a dollar-for-dollar cash match required.

Explore the opportunities and apply at arts.ms.gov/grants.

10/05/2026

MAC Deputy Director of Grants Lauren Rhoades joined Anne E. Marshall and Saddiq Dzukogi for “Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters,” a panel moderated by Ellen Ann Fentress and Julian Rankin.

The conversation explored the stories and creative journeys behind this year’s award-winning work, including Lauren’s Split the Baby: A Memoir in Pieces, recipient of the 2026 memoir award.

MAC is proud to celebrate Lauren and the writers whose work reflects the depth and diversity of Mississippi’s creative community!

Mississippi Book Festival
Ellen Ann Fentress
Saddiq M Dzukogi

09/30/2026

This week on the Mississippi Arts Hour, Larry talks with longtime north Mississippi blues performer Eric Deaton. A native of North Carolina, Deaton moved to Mississippi in his late teens and learned the Hill Country blues style by playing with the masters of the music, including Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside. Deaton has played with a “who’s who” of blues performers over the years and most recently recorded and toured with The Black Keys, the Grammy award-winning rock group.

Listen by subscribing to the Mississippi Arts Hour podcast through your favorite podcast app, or listen online at http://msartshour.mpbonline.org/

video description: Eric Deaton describes the hypnotic power of Junior Kimbrough’s music and how a Hill Country blues groove can make time disappear, move an audience and draw musicians into the sound.

Eric Deaton Music

09/29/2026

Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director David Lewis joined SNL star and two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner Kate McKinnon for KidNote at the 2026 Mississippi Book Festival!

David moderated a lively conversation about The Jungle of Carabanana, the final book in McKinnon’s hilariously quirky Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science trilogy. The session celebrated imagination, individuality and the wonderfully weird adventures of three peculiar sisters tasked with saving the world.

Listen to the full interview here: https://vimeo.com/1230509452

Mississippi Book Festival

Photo credit: Emmi Dees Sprayberry

09/28/2026

Meet Mississippi Artist Roster member Christopher Windfield, a public artist and muralist.

Working primarily with spray paint, Christopher creates large-scale indoor and outdoor murals that reflect the cultural richness of African American communities and connect with the spaces they inhabit.

His portfolio includes commissions for Jackson State University, the City of Jackson, the City of Indianola and Walmart. Through his work with Briarwoods Arts Center in Jackson, Christopher also leads workshops, mentors young adults and helps develop the next generation of artists.

Available to travel nationally and internationally, Christopher offers live mural activations and demonstrations, artist talks, custom programs, and workshops in murals, drawing, comic books and traditional painting.

Discover Christopher’s work and find booking information through the Mississippi Artist Roster at arts.ms.gov.

Address

455 N. Lamar Street Suite 2A
Jackson, MS
39202

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+16013596030

Website

http://www.arts.ms.gov/

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