![]() ![]() So, to have that support from the national endowments - that relatively small amount of money goes a long way here.” … In other states, there are plenty of other funders for these types of cultural activities. “We hope, down the road, that it results in more grant funding coming to Mississippi. Plus, the showcase of daily arts-related work in both rural and metro settings in Mississippi can “really be a beacon … for the rest of the country.”Īs well as the profile boost, it can bring benefits later on and inspire organizations to apply for funding, Rockoff said. “It is a treat for them and an opportunity for Mississippi to be a backdrop for larger conversations about our nation,” Lewis said. “It really puts it into context … the significance of arts and culture to people’s lives, to healing, to understanding our history, to moving forward in a more just future together.” “That doesn’t always happen with every institution or organization, so that is wonderful to see.”įor the cadre of arts and humanities leaders, it was a chance to connect outside of a Zoom room or formal meetings, have cultural and historical experiences together “and really sit with the arc of American history and Mississippi’s place in that, and really consider the implications on our own work today,” said David Holland, co-chair of the Creative States Coalition and deputy director of WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation). South Arts President and CEO Susie Surkamer praised the “incredible amount of really substantial work going on, and in all types of settings” in Mississippi, “and such high quality.” In much of it, the importance of involving the community also stood out. “For them to take an interest in a small, rural community and the work that we’re doing there, is remarkable, but it’s also remarkable for the state of Mississippi, because it just shows that there are a lot of things happening here that don’t necessarily show by the way that people think about the state from a national perspective.” ![]() It’s rare to get that many national arts and humanities figures together, and rarer still to host them in such a small-town setting, noted Carlton Turner, co-director of Sipp Culture, which harnesses food and story to reimagine their community and outfit it for the future. ![]() At Tougaloo’s historic Woodworth Chapel, they saw a preview of New Stage Theatre’s “Anne & Emmett’ Arts in Education production, a “meeting in memory” between Anne Frank and Emmett Till. ![]() In addition to the poetry festival, tours and stops took in Sipp Culture in Utica, the Utica Institute Museum, the Choctaw Chahta Immi Cultural Center in Philadelphia, and in Jackson, JSU, the Two Mississippi Museums, Smith Robertson Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, Tougaloo College, the Asylum Hill Research Project and more. With intergenerational conversations a big draw, the festival tapped elder wisdom and contemporary voices and vigor, to inspire and energize listeners in the continued uplift of Black excellence, and as a force to reckon with injustice and trauma both past and now.Īrts and humanities visitors hear about the history of the Utica Institute from Jean Greene, co-director of the Utica Institute Museum. The 2023 conference at JSU and the Jackson Convention Complex pulled in the next generation of prominent Black women writers, with Jesmyn Ward and Angie Thomas among a host of keynote participants. 1-4, was the core attraction, with its roster of illustrious Black women writers, including Alice Walker and Sonia Sanchez, who were also part of the original conference Margaret Walker organized at Jackson State University in 1973. The 50th anniversary reconvening of the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival, Nov. Their recent visit, in company with leaders of other national and regional arts and culture groups, offered a firsthand look at work in Jackson and central Mississippi that fosters creative pursuits, cultural celebration, connection, conversations and community cohesion. The humanities, and I would argue the arts, give us the strength to move forward.” “It helps us take this information, take difficult histories, and it allows us to pause and really think about those histories. “This is what the humanities does,” Lowe said. ![]()
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